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How I Got Over (album)

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This article is about an album. For a gospel song, see How I Got Over.

How I Got Over
Studio album by
the Roots
ReleasedJune 22, 2010
RecordedA House Called Quest, Fruity Loops, The Boom Room, The Studio; Philadelphia
MSR Studios, New York City
GenreHip hop[1]
Length42:25
LabelDef Jam
ProducerRichard Nichols (exec.), Black Thought, Questlove, Dice Raw, Rick Friedrich
The Roots chronology
Rising Down
(2008) 		How I Got Over
(2010) 		Wake Up!
(2010)
Singles from How I Got Over
  1. "How I Got Over"
    Released: June 25, 2009
  2. "Dear God 2.0"
    Released: May 22, 2010
  3. "The Fire"
    Released: June 1, 2010

How I Got Over is the ninth studio album by American hip hop band the Roots. It was released on June 22, 2010, by Def Jam Recordings.

Produced primarily by band members Black Thought, Questlove, Dice Raw, and Rick Friedrich, How I Got Over features a subtle, somber sound and lyrics concerning themes of self-determination, existentialism, and African-American middle-class angst.[2] Although primarily a hip hop album,[1] its music also draws on indie rock, soul, funk,[3] gospel,[4] and neo soul styles.[5]

The album debuted at number six on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 51,000 copies in its first week. It was also met with widespread critical acclaim and named by several publications as one of the best albums from 2010. Music critic Robert Christgau later called How I Got Over the Roots' "most substantial" album and the best of the 2010s.

Recording and production

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In 2008, the Roots stated that their final album would be Rising Down (2008), until drummer and producer for the Roots, Questlove, stated via his Twitter account that the band would release an album called How I Got Over in the summer.[6] How I Got Over was recorded during the Roots' tenure as the house band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.[7] It was recorded in sessions at several Philadelphia studios—A House Called Quest, Fruity Loops, The Boom Room, and The Studio—and at MSR Studios in New York City.[8]

On June 23, 2009, Billboard reported: "Among the tracks expected to make the cut are 'Walk Alone,' the vintage R&B-leaning 'Make a Move,' 'The Day' featuring Icelandic vocalist Patty Crash and a cover of Frank Zappa's instrumental classic 'Peaches en Regalia.' 'How I Got Over' is also expected to include a version of Cody Chesnutt's 'Serve This Royalty;' the singer-songwriter rose to fame in 2002 when the Roots re-recorded his song 'The Seed' for their album 'Phrenology'".[9] From the tracks initially expected to make the album, only 'The Day', 'Walk Alone' and the title song 'How I Got Over' made the final track listing.[7][10] Similar to the previous The Roots full-length, 2008's Rising Down, the album features a wide array of guest singers and rappers. John Legend appears on the single 'The Fire' and alternative rock group Monsters of Folk help The Roots remake their own song, 'Dear God' into an updated '...2.0' version which was released as the most promoted single.[7] The album also feature a track that samples Joanna Newsom's "Book of Right-On," a track featured on her 2004 release The Milk-Eyed Mender, as well as new overdubs for the track, The Roots' version appears under the title 'Right On' here.[7][11]

Release and sales

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The album was set to be released in February 2010,[12] but was subsequently pushed back to June 8, 2010.[13] Their ninth album,[14] it was released June 22, 2010 on Def Jam Recordings.[15]

The album debuted at number six on the US Billboard 200 chart with first-week sales of 51,000 copies.[16] It also entered at number three on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Rap Albums charts,[17][18] and at number four on the Digital Albums chart.[19] In Canada, the album entered at number 14 on the Top 100 Albums chart.[20] It also charted at number three in Switzerland, at number 117 in France, at number 61 in the Netherlands, and at number 35 in New Zealand.[21]

In its second week on the Billboard 200, How I Got Over dropped to number 17 and sold 21,000 copies.[22] It fell to number 25 on the chart and sold 14,000 copies in its third week.[23] By November 3, 2010, the album had sold 151,000 copies in the US.[24]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.6/10[25]
Metacritic86/100[26]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[27]
The A.V. ClubA−[5]
Chicago Tribune[28]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[29]
The Guardian[30]
MSN Music (Expert Witness)A[1]
Pitchfork8.1/10[31]
Rolling Stone[32]
Spin8/10[33]
USA Today[34]

How I Got Over was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 86, based on 23 reviews.[26] According to the website, it was the 15th-best reviewed album of 2010.[35]

Reviewers praised How I Got Over for its slow-grooving music, the contributions of its guest artists, and the substance of its lyrics.[36] AllMusic's Andy Kellman described the album as "deeply planted in realism ... gracefully and cleverly sequenced",[27] while Rolling Stone critic Nathan Brackett highlighted The Roots' incorporation of indie rock elements into an "in the pocket" sound.[32] Pitchfork's Nate Patrin deemed How I Got Over "a particularly efficient album ... the Roots' shortest (a lean 42 and a half minutes), one of their most lyrically straightforward, and a work of strong stylistic cohesion".[31] In The New York Times, Jon Pareles appraised the record as a meditative work about self-determination that he believed was particularly relevant to the economic downturn of the late 2000s. "Even in its boasts, How I Got Over is selfless: an album of doubts, parables and pep talks", Pareles wrote.[4]

James Shahan from URB found it "dark and tragic in places, but also enlightening and empowering",[37] and Spin journalist Charles Aaron said "you'd have to rewind early-'90s Scarface or Wu-Tang for such convincingly cold-eyed hip-hop existentialism".[33] Writing for MSN Music, Robert Christgau was impressed by how the rappers on the album had expressed "garden-variety upper-middle-class anxiety" in a forthright, thoughtful, articulate, and enjoyable manner, while musical elements such as Kamal Gray's keyboards and Questlove's drums "embodied" the "fortitude and even optimism" of the lyrics.[1] Eric Henderson was less enthusiastic in Slant Magazine, finding the lyrics inconsistent and "mildly self-delusional" while calling the album "stylistically the most inert, contemplative, offputtingly soft music they've possibly ever released".[38]

Critics also included the album in their top-10 records lists for 2010; it was ranked at number seven by Vibe, number five by both The A.V. Club and Todd Martens from the Los Angeles Times, number 10 by both Consequence of Sound and Jim DeRogatis, and number three by BBC Music.[39] Christgau named How I Got Over the year's best album and wrote in The Barnes & Noble Review, "in 2010 what sounded best was the Roots' brave and sometimes painful change-of-life hip-hop, a multivalent reflection on the pop lifer's danger years, the late thirties."[40] He later called it the "most substantial" album of the Roots' career[41] and the best album of the 2010s.[2] How I Got Over was also nominated for a 2011 Grammy Award in the category of Best Rap Album, but lost to Eminem's Recovery.[42]

Track listing

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Continuation from Rising Down

The track listing was confirmed by Okayplayer.[43]

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
143."A Peace of Light" (featuring Amber Coffman, Angel Deradoorian & Haley Dekle)
  • Thompson
  • Angry
1:50
144."Walk Alone" (featuring Truck North, P.O.R.N. & Dice Raw)
  • Thompson
  • Grenhart
  • Jenkins
  • Richard Nichols
3:55
145."Dear God 2.0" (featuring Monsters of Folk)
  • Trotter
  • Thompson
  • Pedro Martinez
  • Nichols
  • Jim James
  • Thompson
  • Nichols
  • Martinez
3:52
146."Radio Daze" (featuring Blu, P.O.R.N. & Dice Raw)
  • Thompson
  • Grenhart
  • Jenkins
4:16
147."Now or Never" (featuring Phonte & Dice Raw)
  • Thompson
  • Grenhart
  • Jenkins
4:34
148."How I Got Over" (featuring Dice Raw)
  • Trotter
  • Jenkins
  • Grenhart
  • Friedrich
  • Thompson
  • Grenhart
  • Jenkins
  • Nichols
  • Friedrich
3:36
149."DillaTUDE: The Flight of Titus"
  • Thompson
  • Angry
  • Thompson
  • Angry
0:42
150."The Day" (featuring Blu, Phonte & Patty Crash)
3:44
151."Right On" (featuring Joanna Newsom & STS)
  • Trotter
  • Thompson
  • Don Carlos Price
  • Joanna Newsom
  • Delon Lawrence
  • Amanda Goad
  • Thompson
  • Alectrick.Kom
3:36
152."Doin' It Again"
Thompson2:24
153."The Fire" (featuring John Legend)
  • Trotter
  • Thompson
  • Friedrich
  • Jenkins
  • Thompson
  • Jenkins
  • Nichols
  • Friedrich
3:41
154."Tunnel Vision"
  • Thompson
  • Angry
  • Thompson
  • Angry
0:40
155."Web 20/20" (featuring Peedi Peedi & Truck North)
Thompson2:46
156."Hustla" (featuring STS) (bonus track)
  • Thompson
  • Pentz
2:56

Personnel

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Credits for How I Got Over adapted from liner notes.[44]

Charts

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Christgau, Robert (November 30, 2010). "The Roots/Kanye West". MSN Music. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
  2. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (December 20, 2019). "Dean's List: The 2010s". And It Don't Stop. Substack. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  3. ^ Vozick-Levinson, Simon. Review: How I Got Over. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on June 19, 2010.
  4. ^ a b Pareles, Jon (June 21, 2010). "The Roots 'How I Got Over' (Def Jam)". The New York Times. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
  5. ^ a b Rabin, Nathan (June 29, 2010). "The Roots: How I Got Over". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
  6. ^ Roots Do Residencies ?uestlove Twitters Album Title. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on May 18, 2010.
  7. ^ a b c d The Roots Enlist John Legend, Others For "How I Got Over" Archived September 27, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. HipHopDX. Retrieved on June 7, 2010.
  8. ^ "Roots - How I Got Over CD Album". CD Universe. Muze. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
  9. ^ Roots to Debut New Singles on Jimmy Fallon. Billboard. Retrieved on May 18, 2010.
  10. ^ Roots Working With Dirty Projectors. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on May 20, 2010.
  11. ^ The Roots enlist Joanna Newsom, John Legend, Jim James for new album. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on May 20, 2010.
  12. ^ "The Roots Push Back "How I Got Over"". okayplayer. June 10, 2009. Archived from the original on November 13, 2011. Retrieved June 11, 2009.
  13. ^ "The Roots' 'How I Got Over' Out in June". March 5, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
  14. ^ ?uestlove Reveals New Roots Album Title 'How I Got Over'. Showhype.com. Retrieved on May 18, 2010.
  15. ^ Island Def Jam
  16. ^ Caulfield, Keith. Eminem's Huge 'Recovery' Leads Big Week On Billboard 200. Billboard. Retrieved on June 30, 2010.
  17. ^ R&B/Hip-Hop Albums - Week of July 10, 2010. Billboard. Retrieved on June 26, 2010.
  18. ^ Rap Albums - Week of July 10, 2010. Billboard. Retrieved on June 26, 2010.
  19. ^ Digital Albums - Week of July 10, 2010. Billboard. Retrieved on June 26, 2010.
  20. ^ Top 100 - For the Week Ending 1 July, 2010[usurped]. Jam!. Retrieved on 2 January 2020.
  21. ^ Album Performance: How I Got Over. acharts. Retrieved on 2 January 2020.
  22. ^ Jacobs, Allen. Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 7/4/2010 Archived July 7, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. HipHopDX. Retrieved on July 15, 2010.
  23. ^ Jacobs, Allen. Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 7/11/2010 Archived July 14, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. HipHopDX. Retrieved on July 15, 2010.
  24. ^ "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 10/3/2010 | Get the Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales | HipHopDX". Archived from the original on October 8, 2010. Retrieved October 8, 2010.
  25. ^ "How I Got Over by The Roots reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
  26. ^ a b "Reviews for How I Got Over by The Roots". Metacritic. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
  27. ^ a b Kellman, Andy. "How I Got Over – The Roots". AllMusic. Retrieved June 22, 2010.
  28. ^ Kot, Greg (July 8, 2010). "Album review: The Roots, 'How I Got Over'". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on July 11, 2010. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  29. ^ Vozick-Levinson, Simon (June 16, 2010). "How I Got Over". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on September 2, 2016. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
  30. ^ Simpson, Dave (July 1, 2010). "The Roots: How I Got Over". The Guardian. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
  31. ^ a b Patrin, Nate (June 25, 2010). "The Roots: How I Got Over". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
  32. ^ a b Brackett, Nathan (June 22, 2010). "How I Got Over". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 22, 2010.
  33. ^ a b Aaron, Charles (June 21, 2010). "The Roots, 'How I Got Over' (Def Jam)". Spin. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
  34. ^ Jones, Steve (June 22, 2010). "Listen Up: Miley Cyrus' 'Can't Be Tamed' is kind of lame". USA Today. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  35. ^ Dietz, Jason. "Best Albums of 2010". Metacritic. Archived from the original on March 14, 2012. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
  36. ^ Burns, Zeenat. June's Best New Music. Metacritic. Archived on June 29, 2010.
  37. ^ Shahan, James (June 21, 2010). "The Roots – How I Got Over". URB. Archived from the original on December 5, 2011. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  38. ^ Henderson, Eric (June 23, 2010). "The Roots: How I Got Over". Slant Magazine. Retrieved June 23, 2010.
  39. ^ Dietz, Jason (December 6, 2010). "2010 Music Critic Top Ten Lists". Metacritic. Archived from the original on April 7, 2016. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
  40. ^ Christgau, Robert (January 12, 2011). "Live Albums". Barnes & Noble Review. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
  41. ^ Christgau, Robert (June 17, 2013). "Give the Drummer Some". The Barnes & Noble Review. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
  42. ^ ajacobs (February 13, 2011). "Eminem's 'Recovery' Gets 'Best Rap Album' Grammy Award Category". HipHopDX. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  43. ^ Audio: The Roots "The Fire" feat. John Legend Archived June 10, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Okayplayer.com. Retrieved on June 10, 2010.
  44. ^ Track listing and credits as per liner notes for How I Got Over album
  45. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 239.
  46. ^ "Ultratop.be – The Roots – How I Got Over" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  47. ^ "The Roots Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  48. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Roots – How I Got Over" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  49. ^ "Lescharts.com – The Roots – How I Got Over". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  50. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Roots – How I Got Over" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  51. ^ "Greekcharts.com – The Roots – How I Got Over". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  52. ^ "Charts.nz – The Roots – How I Got Over". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  53. ^ "Swisscharts.com – The Roots – How I Got Over". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  54. ^ "The Roots Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  55. ^ "The Roots Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  56. ^ "The Roots Chart History (Top Rap Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  57. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2010". Billboard. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
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