John Legend & The Roots

This album has a lot of cover music, taking rhythms from funky eras and very old fashioned music from black history. And history is also an important concept on this album because it’s full of black history and son writing that raises political issues in a very funky and youthful appeal.

The music on this album is not original, stays too close from the original versions that were used, this could've been another Marvin Gaye or Nina Simone album featuring The Roots or John Legend, or a tribute concert to any of this all time musicians, but the lack of originality doesn't make this a bad album, or an album not worth listening to, because there is still something to say.

Back when the music was used to give voice to those who didn't have one changes were being made, and today we have still minorities and people without a voice, and in mainstream hip hop everything is about obscene lyrics and sex/drug references, that's what this LP has and what other hip hop artist should be following. This is indeed a wake up call, so it’s a got thing that the album is called Wake Up! (with exclamation point).

Tracklist:

1. Hard Times feat. Black Thought
2. Compared to What
3. Wake Up Everybody feat. Common & Melanie Fiona
4. Our Generation (The Hope of the World) feat. CL Smooth
5. Little Ghetto Boy (Prelude) feat. Malik Yusef
6. Little Ghetto Boy feat. Black Thought
7. Hang On In There
8. Humanity (Love The Way It Should Be)
9. Wholy Holy
10. I Can't Write Left Handed
11. I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free
12. Shine
13. Shine (Waiting for "Superman" Version)
14. Wake Up Everybody (Live In Studio Performance)

Rate: 7.6/10

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