The Roots Let Heads Listen Early To …And Then You Shoot Your Cousin In Its Entirety (Album Stream)
Between Masta Ace’s crew, J-Live, and now The Roots’ latest album, today (May 13) is a day for the books in terms of album streams. Out of nowhere, ?uestlove, Black Thought, Tuba Gooding, Jr. and the rest of The Roots crew liberated their latest in-house LP (due May 20), …And Then You Shoot Your Cousin. Pitchfork users get to dive right in to the long-anticipated album from the Grammy Award mainstays from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
After some initial belief that the title was a nod to Slick Rick’s famed felony that sent the lyricist to prison throughout the early ’90s, Def Jam Records, who is releasing the album (their fifth with The Roots), confirmed that the title nods to this below-the-radar KRS-One 1997 “Step Into A World (Rapture’s Delight)” reference, “MCs more worried about their financial back in’ / Steady packin’ a gat as if something’s gonna happen / But it doesn’t, they wind up shootin’ they cousin, they bugging.” I wonder what Blastmasta would think of the clique’s eleventh album together, not counting a massive handful of side projects, compilations, and collaborative works with an assortment of other artists, ranging from John Legend to Elvis Costello.
Notably, this LP features a full Nina Simone composition—the sort of action The Roots have embraced on recent albums. Additionally, regular affiliates Dice Raw, P.O.R.N., and manager Richard Nichols are strong contributors, as well as Raheem DeVaughn. Longtime Freeway affiliate Mike Jerz has also joined the production outfit responsible for this Def Jam presentation.
Check out the whole album at Pitchfork, and let AFH know what you think…