John Morrison's Five Great Guest Spots On The Roots' Do You Want More?!!!??! (HALFWAY BOOKS)
As tight and insular a unit as The Roots can be, a great deal of their identity is rooted in their open and experimental approach to collaboration. Throughout the band's life, they've brought in a revolving cast of vocalists, poets, emcees, singers, and DJ's [who] laid down their own unique contributions to The Roots' sound. Like each of the band's albums that followed it, Do You Want More?!!!??! (DYM?!!!??!) is packed with outstanding performances from guests. Here are five great guest spots on Do You Want More?!!!??!
Rufus Harley
North Carolina-born bagpiper, Rufus Harley spent most of his life in Philadelphia's Germantown and North Philly sections. An unsung innovator, Harley would spend the 60's and 70's carving out a space for the bagpipes in Jazz with his delightful, Soul-Jazz records for the Atlantic label, as well as his highly spiritual Jazz classic Re-creation of The Gods. In the 90's, Harley would link up with The Roots and lay down some truly unique bagpipe playing on the title track of Do You Want More?!!!??!
Dice Raw
For decades, Black Thought has built a reputation for outshining other rappers on tracks, so it takes a special class of emcee to hold their own with him. During the DYWM?!!!??! Sessions, a 10th grader at Philly's Frankford High School named Karl Jenkins (AKA Dice Raw) would do just that. Packed with metaphors, slick lines, and a confident air, the verse was completely improvised and would prove to be a star-making performance.
Steve Coleman
Steve Coleman shows up on several cuts on DYWM?!!!??!, including "Dat Skat," "Mellow My Man," "Essaywhuman," and the title track, "Do You Want More?!!!??!" Hands down, one of the most innovative and versatile saxophonists of the modern era, Coleman is equally comfortable in a straight-ahead Jazz context, as well as Funk, Avant-garde, and Hip-Hop. Coleman would, also, recruit Black Thought to provide vocals for "Slow Burn," a tough, Jazzy cut from his 1994 EP, A Tale of 3 Cities.
Rahzel The Godfather of Noise
"? vs. Rahzel" is an odd and Funky little interlude that lends so much personality to DYWM?!!!??!. While ?uestlove holds down a tight backing rhythm, Rahzel The Godfather of Noise uses his voice to imitate everything from a trumpet to a bass to James Brown. If you notice, during his shout-outs and ad-libs, Rahzel refers to ?uestlove, but never, actually, says his name. That's because the recording captures the first time the two had ever been in a room together. Rahzel didn't even know ?uestlove's name; that is why he refers to him as "The Funky Drummer" or "Roots." You can read more about this in Questlove's fantastic memoir, Mo' Meta Blues[: The World According to Questlove].
Ursula Rucker
Initially, The Roots recruited famed experimental playwright Ntozake Shange to deliver the poem that would close Do You Want More?!!!??!. When it came time for the group to pick up Shange at her apartment and go to the studio, she was nowhere to be found. At the time, Shange lived around the corner from The Painted Bride Art Center and the group would tap a young employee of The Painted Bride named Ursula Rucker to take her place. Rucker was an emerging poet with a velvety voice and her poem "The Unlocking" put a poignant and shocking exclamation point on the album.
John Morrison is a music journalist, DJ, and sample-flipper. He has spent the last 20 years writing about Philly's Hip-Hop scene. His latest, on The Roots' Do You Want More?!!!??!, is a loving deep-dive into the band's 1994 major label debut. John Morrison not only explores this classic album and it's recording process, but he, also, illustrates Philly's vibrant music scene in the 90's, as well as the self-imposed exile in London that led up to the album's release. This is (approximately) 3,000 words about The Roots' Do You Want More?!!!??! It will be delivered to you as a PDF that you will be able to read on your phone, laptop, Kindle, or wherever it is that you read things. Follow John Morrison on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
