Today in Hip-Hop: The Roots Drop ‘Do You Want More?!!!??!’ Album
On this day, Jan. 17, in hip-hop history…
1995: Philadelphia band The Roots made their major label debut when they dropped their sophomore album Do You Want More?!!!??! on Jan. 17.
Released under DGC/Geffen Records, the 16-track LP showed off the crew’s range in hip-hop and jazz, thus making it a quintessential fusion album among alternative fans. Prior to the album dropping, The Roots pushed the project with the single “Distortion to Static,” followed by “Proceed,” “Mellow My Man” and “Silent Treatment.”
The heartbeat of the album was the immersive and soulful live instrumentation. Producers on Do You Want More?!!!??! ranged from Grand Negaz, Scott Storch and A.J. Shine to Questlove, Black Thought and beatboxer Rahzel. The album flowed like one cohesive jam session, complete with a revolving door of friends, musicians and spoken word poets stopping by. In a time when the melding of jazz and hip-hop was considered the new frontier, The Roots conquered the territory like old pros. The album as a whole peaked at No. 22 on Billboard‘s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
More than 20 years later Do You Want More?!!!??! is considered one of the strongest albums in The Roots’ discography and a genre-blending jazz rap classic.
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