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THE ROOTS Homegrown! The Beginners Guide to Understanding The Roots Okayplayer ****

These two Homegrown CDs, housing a bounty of remixes and fresh discoveries from the crates, serve as a state of the nation address from Philly's unsung heroes as they say goodbye to Okayplayer and jump ship to the new Def Jam Left label. Over the last 13 years The Roots have tried their darndest to swap all those rave reviews, prestigious awards and much mad love from fellow MCs and singers for mainstream success. Such a trade-off never came about, despite the apparent quality of You Got Me (a defining tune from their Things Fall Apart album), Act Two (Love of My Life) (with Common helping out) and Star (the standout tune from 2004's Tipping Point album). The Roots themselves just shrugged and continued to be the only hip-hop act whose live show was worth making the effort to catch. Lets hope Def Jam Left pres Jay-Z can do the business for them now. www.theroots.com Jim Carroll