Things Fall Apart

Things Fall Apart
Studio album by The Roots
Released	February 23, 1999
Recorded	April 1997 - February 1998
Studio	Electric Lady Studios (Greenwich Village, New York City)
Genre	East Coast hip hop, Alternative hip hop, Conscious hip hop, Jazz rap, Progressive rap
Length	70:32
Label	MCA Records
Producer	?uestlove, Chaos, The Grand Wizzards, Jay Dee, Kamal, Kelo, Richard Nichols (exec.), James Poyser (co.), Rahzel, Scott Storch (co.)

The Roots chronology
Previous	Illadelph Halflife (1996)
Next	Phrenology (2002)

Things Fall Apart is the fourth studio album by American hip hop band The Roots, It was released on February 23, 1999 via MCA Records. Recording sessions took place at Electric Lady Studios in Greenwich Village, New York City through April 1997 to February 1998, coinciding with recording for other projects of the Soulquarians collective, including albums by D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, and Common. Production was handled by The Grand Wizzards, Kelo, Kamal, J Dilla, ?uestlove and Rahzel, with co-production from James Poyser and Scott Storch. It features guest appearances from Common, Elo, Dice Raw, Lady B, Mos Def, Beanie Sigel, Erykah Badu, Eve, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Jazzyfatnastees and Rehani Sayeed.

The album peaked at #4 on the Billboard 200 and #2 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in the United States. Things Fall Apart spawned the two singles: "You Got Me" and "The Next Movement". On April 5, 1999, the album was certified by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of 500,000 units and fourteen years later on April 22, 2013, the album was also certified platinum by the RIAA for shipments of 1,000,000 units in the United States.

The album is a landmark moment for The Roots and the collective, as it turned The Roots and its associates into a hip hop movement. Things Fall Apart takes its name from Chinua Achebe's novel of the same name, which in turn took the phrase from William Butler Yeats' poem "The Second Coming".

Upon its release, the album was widely regarded as the group's most fully realized work and was the first album by The Roots to sell over 500,000 copies. It is viewed as The Roots' breakthrough and was praised by critics for its sobering themes, sonic quality, and fluid, cohesive sequencing. It includes the song "You Got Me", which won the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, while Things Fall Apart was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album of the same year, losing to Eminem for his The Slim Shady LP. 

Legacy

Rolling Stone listed Things Fall Apart at #416 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" in 2020.

Track listing

No.	Title	Performer(s)	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Time
1.	"Act Won (Things Fall Apart)"	-	Lee, Thompson	The Grand Wizzards	0:54
2.	"Table of Contents (Parts 1 & 2)"	Black Thought, Malik B	Abdul-Bassit, Roots, Thompson, Trotter	The Grand Wizzards	3:37
3.	"The Next Movement"	Black Thought	Gray, Hubbard, Thompson, Trotter	Kamal	4:10
4.	"Step Into the Realm"	Malik B, Black Thought	Abdul-Bassit, Gray, Hubbard, Thompson, Trotter, Williams	The Grand Wizzards	2:49
5.	"The Spark"	Malik B, Black Thought	Abdul-Bassit, Gray, Hubbard, Thompson	The Grand Wizzards	3:53
6.	"Dynamite!"	Black Thought, Elo	Sayeed, Trotter, Yancey	Jay Dee	4:46
7.	"Without a Doubt"	Lady B, Black Thought	Lewis, Trotter, Weaver	Chaos	4:15
8.	"Ain't Sayin' Nothin' New"	Black Thought, Dice Raw	Jenkins, Roots, Storch, Thompson, Trotter	The Grand Wizzards, Scott Storch (co.)	3:34
9.	"Double Trouble"	Black Thought, Mos Def	Beze, Poyser, Roots, Thompson, Trotter	The Grand Wizzards, James Poyser (co.)	5:50
10.	"Act Too (The Love of My Life)"	Black Thought, Common	Lynn, Poyser, Roots, Thompson, Trotter	?uestlove, James Poyser	4:55
11.	"100% Dundee"	Black Thought, Malik B	Abdul-Bassit, Brown, Gray, Roots, Trotter	Kamal, Kelo, Rahzel	3:53
12.	"Diedre vs. Dice"	Dice Raw	Jenkins, Murray, Thompson	The Grand Wizzards	0:47
13.	"Adrenaline!"	Black Thought, Malik B, Dice Raw, Beanie Sigel	Abdul-Bassit, Grant, Roots, Storch, Thompson, Trotter	The Grand Wizzards, Scott Storch (co.)	4:28
14.	"3rd Acts: ? vs. Scratch 2... Electric Boogaloo"	-	Abdul-Bassit, Gray, Hubbard, Thompson	The Grand Wizzards	0:51
15.	"You Got Me"	Black Thought, Eve, Erykah Badu	Roots, Scott, Storch, Thompson, Trotter	The Grand Wizzards, Scott Storch (co.)	4:19
16.	"Don't See Us"	Black Thought, Malik B	Abdul-Bassit, Jenkins, Poyser, Thompson, Trotter	The Grand Wizzards, James Poyser (co.)	4:30
17.	"The Return to Innocence Lost"	Ursula Rucker	Rucker, Thompson, Tidd	The Grand Wizzards	11:55
18.	"Act Fore...The End?"	-	-	-	0:05

Notes

• Track 3 features background vocals performed by The Jazzy Fatnastees, and scratching performed by DJ Jazzy Jeff.
• Track 5 features bass keys performed by D'Angelo.
• Track 8 features background vocals performed by Eve of Destruction.
• Track 9 features additional keys performed by James Poyser.
• Track 10 features additional keys performed by James Poyser, violin performed by Igor Szwec and Emma Kumrow, viola performed by Davis Garnet and Larry Gold, and background vocals performed by Marie Daulne.
• Track 12 features viola performed by Deidra Murry.
• Track 15 features guitar performed by Anthony Tidd and Warren Wimbly, synth performed by Bob Powers, violin performed by Igor Szwec and Emma Kumrow, and viola performed by Davis Garnet and Larry Gold.
• Track 16 features additional keys performed by James Poyser, additional vocals performed by Dice Raw, guitar performed by Spanky, and hand claps performed by Shawn Gee.
• Track 17 features guitar performed by Anthony Tidd.