Undun
by The Roots
  • Record Label: Island
  • Release Date: Dec 6, 2011
User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 169 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 154 out of 169
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 169
  3. Negative: 11 out of 169
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  1. 9zep_peppers
    Dec 7, 2011
    6
    This album is alright for rap i dont get too much into rap but ost of the songs follow the same structure and the lyrics are all the same: tough times and cursing. That aside "Kool On" has some awesome music to it. Good bass line and funky guitar and the lyrics are good. The instrumentals def show a different side of the Roots. Violins and edgy and soft piano mixed with some crazy drumThis album is alright for rap i dont get too much into rap but ost of the songs follow the same structure and the lyrics are all the same: tough times and cursing. That aside "Kool On" has some awesome music to it. Good bass line and funky guitar and the lyrics are good. The instrumentals def show a different side of the Roots. Violins and edgy and soft piano mixed with some crazy drum beats???? Awesome. Going from gangsta to classical music? Gotta give the Roots some prop, seems like they would be the only ones to get away with it.… Expand
  2. Whiskeyclone
    Sep 14, 2013
    6
    Wow, everyone hear loved this? I know it got some critical love, but this was a big letdown for me. I don't begrudge the Roots for their ambition here, but I think it mostly amounted to a somewhat dull album. How I Got Over, its predecessor, took me a few listens but I really came around on that one. Never happened here.

    One problem the band seems to have developed here is overuse of    Wow, everyone hear loved this? I know it got some critical love, but this was a big letdown for me. I don't begrudge the Roots for their ambition here, but I think it mostly amounted to a somewhat dull album. How I Got Over, its predecessor, took me a few listens but I really came around on that one. Never happened here.

    One problem the band seems to have developed here is overuse of their choruses and hooks. "Kool On" is nearly excellent, but it repeats the soul scream about twice as much as they should, taking away from its effect and even bordering on annoying by the end. That's the best example, but they overuse it throughout. The album contains a general lack of funk and immediacy, two things they've never been short on before. Lastly, and I'm sorry to say it because I'm sure they put a lot of time into it, but the story isn't particularly compelling to me, maybe because of how they tell it (not terribly well). It all seems more like a failed noble experiment to me, though being the Roots it's never really in danger of being outright bad.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

5
#5 Best Album of 2011
36
#36 Most Discussed Album of 2011
59
#59 Most Shared Album of 2011

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
88

Universal acclaim - based on 32 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 32
  3. Negative: 0 out of 32
  1. Prefix Magazine
    Jan 5, 2012
    70
    The Roots manage to craft another interesting hip-hop experiment with undun.
    Read full review
  2. Tiny Mix Tapes
    Jan 4, 2012
    70
    The listener need be an equally astute one.
    Read full review
  3. Blurt Magazine
    Jan 3, 2012
    100
    [An] excellent record that anyone who wants to hear the graceful way by which hip-hop should age should add to their collections right away.
    Read full review
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