The Roots in concert - Nov. 7, 2008

Friday, November 7, 7:30 p.m. Egan Center

The UAA Concert Board is proud to present The Roots on Friday, November 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the Egan Center. Grammy award-winning hip-hop trailblazers, The Roots released Rising Down on April 29 via Def Jam Recordings.

The group is known for their prolific lyrics and live instrumentation. The legendary Philadelphia crew is composed of Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter (vocals), Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson (drums), Kamal Gray (keyboards), Frank Knuckles (percussion), Kirk "Captain Kirk" Douglas (guitar) and Owen Biddle (bass). Garnering critical praise throughout their career, The Roots have firmly established themselves as a band with uncompromised artistic control and integrity. With Rising Down, the band's 10th album release, The Roots continue to take bolder steps adding new depths and range to their repertoire.

The Roots co-founder "?uestlove" states, "This is probably our most political album to date dealing with addiction, nihilism, hypocritical double standards in the prison system and overall life in Philadelphia. I'd say it's more mature and intense than all of our efforts but not a 'downer' as most people expect us to do."

The political nature of Rising Down is not only heard within the music. The title comes from William T. Vollmann's treatise on violence entitled Rising Up and Rising Down, and the album was released on the 16th anniversary of the Los Angeles riots sparked by the acquittal of the police officers accused of beating Rodney King.

Tickets are $35 for the general public and $25 for UAA students (with valid UAA ID). Tickets are available online, UAA student tickets are only available at the UAA Student Union Information Desk. For more information, call Zac Clark, Concert Board Coordinator, at (907) 786-1210 or zac@uaa.alaska.edu.