When they’re not doing their thing with Jimmy Fallon on the Tonight Show, the “greatest band in late night” are usually working on new concept albums. On May 20, the Philadelphia wrecking crew return with the follow-up t their conceptual album Undun, with a new story to tell in …And Then You Shoot Your Cousin (&TYSYC in the interest of brevity). The album cover was revealed today and you can check it out above. The artistic design features a sharp collage on faces forming two people.

Whereas Undun focused on one character, the new album will explore several different people. In an interview with XXL, Black Thought stated that the album will be satirical, but still “an analysis of some of the stereotypes perpetuated in not only the hip-hop community, but in the community.”

Questlove noted back in 2011 that the band was purposely creating shorter albums so that it could be digested in one sitting in this generation of easily-distracted music listeners. Undun clocked in at 38 minutes and Black Thought says &TYSYC should be about the same. The album arrives May 20 and is available for pre-order here.

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The Roots have blessed us with the first single off their upcoming 13th studio album And Then You Shoot Your Cousin. “When The People Cheer” is an exquisite mash-up of hip-hop meets jazz meets classical. The track has many layers, and is just a small glimpse of what we can expect from the album. Black Thought spoke with XXL earlier this year about the project, stating:

“It’s conceptual; it’s another concept album in the spirit of undun, but it’s not just about just one kind of character, we create quite a few different characters in this record. It’s satire, but in that satire it’s an analysis of some of the stereotypes perpetuated in not only the Hip-Hop community, but in the community. I don’t know if that makes any sense.”

This track leaves us anticipating more from the legendary group. Listen for yourself below.

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After releasing (one of the best albums of the year) undun, The Roots’ Black Thought hinted that the future could see the album’s concept character Redford Stephens be brought to light in a feature film. For now though we’ve got a short film from the said album which is – like everything The Roots – quality.

The Roots – UNDUN from The Ghettonerd Company, LLC on Vimeo.

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As we impatiently await tomorrow’s release of The Roots first ever concept album undun, NPR has allowed us to sneak a quick listen (stream only) to the album in its entirety, and glimpse into the life of fictional character Redford Stephens, the protagonist of the aforementioned conceptual album. Make sure to cop that tomorrow! It’s The Roots family, not Rihanna.

Death pervades undun; it follows Stephens, a poor kid from Philadelphia and victim to the drug trade, from the moment he surrenders himself to the game all the way to his inevitable end. Along the way, no verse is wasted, no optimism is spared; each line is like a shovelful of dirt on Redford’s coffin. At 39 minutes, undun feels like a lifetime, because it is one. – NPR’s Charlie Kaplan

STREAM IT HERE

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13 is supposed to be unlucky, but nothing can touch these guys. Most artist’s consider it a big enough feat to get to their second album, and then we have The Roots in the studio preparing their 13th. Questlove released some video footage of the Philly musicians recording a track for their follow up to their Grammy-nominated, How I Got Over. The album will be titled Undun.

Check out the preview clip, albeit a brief one, as it gives a little taste of what could be the first single with Dice Raw spitting his patented rhyme cuisine before it cuts off. If you let history tell it, the odds are in their favor for success.

Via The Smoking Section.

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