All preconceived notions of ‘hip-hop’ are tossed out the window, as the transcendence of the sometimes one-dimensional genre is epitomized here.

Putting the record on the turntable is an immersive experience that I consider to be synonymous with hip hop as the music will not only radiate through your body but will also touch your soul.

In The Roots’ …And Then You Shoot Your Cousin, pianos and strings clash in explosions of third-stream jazz, French electro-acoustic pioneer Michel Chion brings noise, deep-blue tones vibrate like Miles Davis' Porgy and Bess.

It’s hard to deny the overall effect of this strange, smartly conceived album.

Le Poisson Rouge
April 27, 2014

Le Poisson Rouge
April 6–7, 2014

The Roots have total command of their combination of jazz-influenced hip-hop and social awareness.

His second record, last year’s “Home Stretch,” boldly fills in the absent left hand of Mozart’s “Coronation” Concerto and also offers up a 14-minute “Paraphrase on Themes of Brian Eno.”

The 56th Annual Grammy Awards on January 26, 2014 proved to be a stellar night for the artists and collaborators of Metropolis Ensemble in multiple winning categories!