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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:"Palatino","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><img width="215" height="85" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.jpg@01CC8CB5.F6B666E0"></span></b><b><span style="font-family:"Palatino","serif""><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><u><span style="font-family:"Palatino","serif"">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><u><span style="font-family:"Palatino","serif""><o:p><span style="text-decoration:none"> </span></o:p></span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:20.0pt;font-family:"Palatino","serif"">THE ROOTS</span></b><b><span style="font-size:20.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic","sans-serif""><br>
<br>
</span></b><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Palatino","serif""><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Palatino","serif"">“undun”<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Palatino","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><i><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Palatino","serif"">New Album Set For Release on December 6, 2011<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:"Palatino","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:"Palatino","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:"Palatino","serif"">Amidst The Roots’ busy schedule, from performing as the house band on
<u>Late Night with Jimmy Fallon</u> to recently fronting a Pre-Emmy Awards jam session, the legendary crew has returned with their latest musical creation, a new album entitled
<b><u>undun</u></b> (Island Def Jam). Set for release on <b>December 6, 2011</b>,
<u>undun</u> marks the first conceptually-based album from The Roots and quickly reaffirms the creativity of the outfit that are notorious for pushing the envelope. The album’s first single, “Make My” featuring Big K.I.R.T. is set for release November 1<sup>st</sup>
on iTunes. In addition to their new album, The Roots are set to perform in New York City on November 29<sup>th</sup> and 30<sup>th</sup> and December 5th at the Highline Ballroom.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify"><u><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Palatino","serif";color:black">undun</span></u><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Palatino","serif";color:black"> is an existential re-telling
of the short life of one Redford Stephens (1974-1999). Through the use of emotives and Redford’s internal dialogues the album seeks to illustrate the intersection of free will and prescribed destiny as it plays out ‘on the corner’. Utilizing a reverse narrative
arc, the album begins as the listener finds Redford disoriented--postmortem--and attempting to make sense of his former life. As he moves through its pivotal moments he begins to deconstruct all that has led to his (and our own) coming
<i>undun</i>.</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Palatino","serif""><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:"Palatino","serif"">
</span><span style="font-family:"Palatino","serif""><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:"Palatino","serif"">“At this point in our career we'd like for our work to have a unifying theme, and an experiential quality,” says Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, 40. “We've been intentionally
making our albums shorter in length so that they can be experienced as a continuous work. The music is band-oriented with an eye on the moody cinematic. As a DJ, I am the King of playlists, but I don't want our albums to feel like a playlist or a mixtape for
that matter. We want to tell stories that work within the album format and we want the stories to be nuanced and useful to people.
<u>undun</u> is the story of this kid who becomes criminal, but he wasn't born criminal. He's not the nouveau exotic primitive bug-eyed gunrunner like Tupac’s character Bishop in “Juice”... he's actually thoughtful and is neither victim nor hero. Just some
kid who begins to order his world in a way that makes the most sense to him at a given moment... At the end of the day... isn't that what we all do?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:"Palatino","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><u><span style="font-family:"Palatino Linotype","serif"">TRACKLISTING:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:"Palatino Linotype","serif"">1) Sleep</span></b></span><span style="font-family:"Palatino Linotype","serif"">
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Palatino Linotype","serif"">2) Make My</span></b><span style="font-family:"Palatino Linotype","serif""><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Palatino Linotype","serif"">3) One Time</span></b><span style="font-family:"Palatino Linotype","serif""><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Palatino Linotype","serif"">4) Kool On</span></b><span style="font-family:"Palatino Linotype","serif""><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Palatino Linotype","serif"">5) The Jump</span></b><span style="font-family:"Palatino Linotype","serif""><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Palatino Linotype","serif"">6) Stomp</span></b><span style="font-family:"Palatino Linotype","serif""><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Palatino Linotype","serif"">7) Lighthouse</span></b><span style="font-family:"Palatino Linotype","serif""><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Palatino Linotype","serif"">8) I Remember</span></b><span style="font-family:"Palatino Linotype","serif""><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Palatino Linotype","serif"">9) Tip The Scale</span></b><span style="font-family:"Palatino Linotype","serif""><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Palatino Linotype","serif"">10) Redford</span></b><span style="font-family:"Palatino Linotype","serif""><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:"Palatino","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:"Palatino","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:"Palatino","serif"">Formed in 1987, in Philadelphia, PA, the legendary Roots Crew, consists of Black Thought (MC), Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson (drums), Kamal Gray (electronic keyboards),
F. Knuckles (percussion), Captain Kirk Doublas (electronic guitar), Damon Bryson (sousaphone) and James Poyser (electronic keyboard) Having previously released twelve projects, The Roots have become one of the best known and most respected hip-hop acts in
the business, winning four GRAMMYs, most recently for Best R&B Album for <u>Wake Up!</u>, Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for “Hang in There” (with John Legend) and Best Group or Duo R&B Vocal Performance for
<u>Shine.</u> Additionally, The Roots have also become the faces of Philly’s Fourth of July Jam, an annual concert held during the Fourth of July with the biggest names in music, and The Roots Jam Session, a yearly star-studded mix of musicians, that has become
a celebrated institution during awards season. In 2009, The Roots, named one of the greatest live bands around by both
<u>Spin</u><i> </i>and <u>Rolling Stone</u><i>,</i> became the official house band on
<b><u>Late Night with Jimmy Fallon</u></b> where they currently perform every Monday- Friday.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:"Palatino","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:"Palatino","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:"Palatino","serif"">For more information on The Roots, please go to
</span><a href="http://www.TheRoots.com"><span style="font-family:"Palatino","serif"">www.TheRoots.com</span></a><span style="font-family:"Palatino","serif"">
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:"Palatino","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:"Palatino","serif"">###<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:"Palatino","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-family:"Palatino","serif"">FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:"Palatino","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Palatino Linotype","serif"">Carleen Donovan/ Natalie Sawyer Gabe Tesorio<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Palatino Linotype","serif"">Press Here Publicity Island Def Jam<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Palatino Linotype","serif"">212.246.2640 212.445.3632<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Palatino Linotype","serif""><a href="mailto:carleen@pressherepublicity.com">carleen@pressherepublicity.com</a>
<a href="mailto:Gabriel.Tesoriero@umusic.com">Gabriel.Tesoriero@umusic.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Palatino Linotype","serif""><a href="mailto:natalie@pressherepublicity.com">natalie@pressherepublicity.com</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Palatino Linotype","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic","sans-serif";color:#595959">----->For downloadable photos, press kits, releases, bios & tour dates go to our website
(all info in the "current roster" section): <br>
<a href="http://www.pressherepublicity.com"><span style="color:#595959">http://www.pressherepublicity.com</span></a>
<br>
<a href="http://www.twitter.com/presshere"><span style="color:#595959">http://www.twitter.com/presshere</span></a>
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