Depending on what you read, The Tipping Point (Geffen), the seventh album from Philadelphia hip-hop icons the Roots, is either an overt grab for mainstream success or simply uninspired. Neither charge is totally baseless. Measured against the high standard of the Roots’ previous work–particularly Phrenology (MCA, 2002), their most ambitious and progressive effort so far–the new record feels slight. From a group that’s made its reputation by taking chances, a rap about getting paid (“Give it here, Geffen Records, I’m off the handle / Cut the check, yo, it betta be heavy as anvils”) is a letdown. That said, The Tipping Point is yet another solid effort by what may well be the most consistent hip-hop act in history. As usual the grooves are tight and deeply funky. Front man Black Thought flexes his muscles on a pair of old-school beats-and-rhymes joints, “Web” and “Boom!,” zigzagging through the lean, kinetic tracks; on “Don’t Say Nuthin’,” an electro-tweaked jam produced by Scott Storch, the group mocks the vacuous hooks of mainstream hip-hop by mumbling indecipherably through an otherwise radio-friendly chorus. There are some unambiguously ingratiating ploys too–the Family Stone sample on “Star/Pointro,” the Timbaland-biting “Duck Down!”–but the Roots still mostly sound like the Roots. The only real surprise comes on the untitled outro medley, where drummer and musical mastermind ?uestlove shows off on a spastic cover of George Kranz’s 80s Eurodance hit “Din Daa Daa.” Commercial bid or not, the album’s hardly burning up the charts; here’s hoping the Roots get back to pushing the envelope next time they convene in the studio. St. Juste opens this sold-out show, followed by Common. $35; 18+. Thursday, September 16, 9 PM, House of Blues, 329 N. Dearborn; 877-259-5299 or 312-559-1212.
