The Roots’ career trajectory has been incredibly diverse since Blackthought and Questlove released their first album in 1993. Organix! and Do You Want More?!!!??!, The Roots’ first two albums, showed off a gifted band that backed Blackthought’s battle-ready rhymes. The calm inspiration that pumps through Undun, the crew’s 13th album, is something that has been cultivated through years of musical camaraderie, and dedication to the concept album’s narrative.
Undun tells the story of the fictional “Redford Stevens” in reverse: finding the character dizzy and disoriented in death, and then moving backwards through his life. Blackthought and long-time collaborators Greg Porn and Dice Raw lay out Redford Stevens’ life for the listener. The gifted rappers paint Redford with a soft brush; his street pessimism and empowering moments are never sharply defined. The interchangeability of Redford Stevens’ story is carefully created by the band: Dice Raw asks “lotta niggas go to prison / How many come out Malcom X?” Stevens’ narrative is expertly handled, as each song is thematically tight and the collaborators work well with Blackthought’s rough, blue-collar delivery.
Questlove, outspoken counterpart to the reclusive Blackthought, is the chemist behind the drums that oversaw the production of the album. Undun opens with a solitary note: Redford Stevens’ ears ringing emotionless at his own death, and moves into the minimal and haunting “Sleep.” The beats are gorgeously restrained, rooted by keys that grow more aggressive as the album moves backwards in time. In this respect the album is moving backwards through the Roots’ own discography, each song echoing musical motifs that the band has abandoned, before everything breaks on the shores of Sufjan Stevens’ “Redford.”
“Make My,” the first single off Undun, has Redford Stevens questioning his life’s route, and is one of only three songs on the short album to clock in at over four minutes. The song’s plodding rhythm is perfect for the introspective verses that Blackthought and Big K.R.I.T. composed for the track.