The not-very-hip-hop
Dirty Projectors,
Monsters of Folk,
Patty Crash, and
Joanna Newsom contribute one way or another to
How I Got Over. Rest assured, the ninth studio album from the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon house band is very much its own, and skeptics should be reminded that hip-hop history is filled with figures as unlikely as
Billy Squier (who probably did not bump into
Run-D.M.C. backstage at The Alan Thicke Show). Very much in line with recent albums like
Game Theory and
Rising Down, neither of which was tailored for a good time,
How I Got Over is the most subdued of the three. The blood doesn’t really get pumping until the fifth track. Up to that point, however, the band creates some of its most downcast and alluring material, covering solitude, self-destruction, and just about every planetary ill. It’s all vividly conveyed through pensive arrangements, sobering rhymes, spooky choruses, and even spookier backing vocals. Truck North, P.O.R.N.,
Dice Raw, and
Blu make gripping contributions, but no one cuts to the chase quite like
Black Thought, who can condense modern reality into one deftly delivered and commanding line, like “Got immunized for both flus, I’m still sick.” From there, the spirit lifts a little, though the songs are still deeply planted in realism. The title track is modern soul-blues that cooks, assisted by some serious singing from
Black Thought and an inspiring chorus from
Dice Raw. On “Now or Never,”
Phonte’s dejection (“My role was cast before I even auditioned for it”) is tempered with
Dice Raw's glints of determination. For good measure, or perhaps for the sake of a little balance, the back half also features a hardcore boast session between
Thought,
Peedi Peedi, and Truck North that cannot be disregarded. This is yet another
Roots album that lends itself to repeated, beginning-to-end listening. It is gracefully and cleverly sequenced, from the way the tracks melt into each other to the way “Doin’ It Again” utilizes
John Legend's anguished “Again” prior to transitioning into the subtly anthemic “The Fire,” which features a fresh collaboration with…
John Legend. ~ Andy Kellman