The Roots’ success didn’t fall in their lap overnight. The band had to move to London and released their first album “Organix” independently before making real noise in the industry. Gilles Peterson, a well known DJ and founder of the label Talkin’ Loud, saw the potential and signed them to release this EP titled “From the Ground Up”. This project is the real breakthrough for The Roots, especially for the emcees Black Thought & Malik B, who delivered a stellar performance, a lot more cohesive than on the first LP. In fact, four songs out of the six of this EP ended up on their major debut “Do You Want More?!!!??!” released on DGC/Geffen in the beginning of 1995, like the classics “Distortion to Static” and “Mellow My Man”.
Listen to the album below, watch the video for “Distortion to Static”, witness a live performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival from 1994 and enjoy the coming of age of the legendary Philly Roots crew!
Album on YouTube:
Listen on Spotify or Apple Music.
Video & Live Performance:
- Distortion To Static
- Live In Montreux 1994
