The Roots have unveiled a beautiful short film “UNDUN” for the recently released album of the same name. The black and white exploration into music and life from the Philadelphia collective finds their latest offerings as a sonic backdrop for the exploits of a fictional character named Redford Stephens. Directed by Clifton Bell, “UNDUN” serves every bit as an album sampler as it does as a piece of art.

As a preview to their latest project, the legendary Roots crew have just provided a full album stream of their upcoming effort, undun. Serving as the band’s 13th overall album, the project will be The Roots’ first-ever concept album, which retells the story of a character named Redford Stephens. Who is this Redford Stephens you ask? They’re not exactly revealing that piece of information just yet. The album hits stores on December 6 via Def Jam. Peep the tracklist and NPR stream below.

01. The Un
02. Sleep
03. Make My (feat. Big K.R.I.T.)
04. One Time (feat. Phonte & Dice Raw)
05. Kool On (feat. P.O.R.N.)
06. The Other Side
07. Stomp feat. (P.O.R.N.)
08. Lighthouse
09. I Remember
10. Tip The Scale
11. Redford (For Yia Yia & Pappou)
12. Possibility
13. Will To Power
14. Finality

Legendary hip-hop group The Roots continues their onslaught of video releases to promote their forthcoming album undun. The latest highlights the Aaron Livingston-featured track “Sleep.” With the project’s drop date nearing – as it will be available on December 6 – expect no signs of letting up now.

“Tip The Scale” is the second video from The Roots after they’ve promised a weekly unveiling of visual accompaniment for their upcoming release, undun. Directed by Clifton Bell, it tells the tale of a youngster as he navigates the pitfalls of his neighborhood. The Roots have offered additional information on the release of undun, saying, “undun 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 undun.”

Source: Hypetrak

A new visual interpretation of “Make My” has just unveiled from the legendary Roots stemming from their new undun album which is due out on December 6. Big K.R.I.T. also made a notable feature on this single with some impressive guest verses. Below is the official press release on the upcoming album.

undun 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 undun.

Following the tracklist announcement earlier today, The Roots crew now unveil their first official single from that project entitled “Make My.” The song highlights a guest appearance from Big K.R.I.T., whose name has been making steady waves in hip-hop over the course of 2010/2011. Meanwhile, The Roots are now 13 albums deep and still going strong, with Undun set drop in stores and online retailers December 6, 2011. You can peep the full tracklist for Undun here.

John Varvatos has always linked his fashion brand tightly with the musical realm, from buying the historic CBGB space on New York’s Bowery and turning it into a rock ‘n’ roll-themed store to featuring the likes of Iggy Pop and Dave Matthews in previous ad campaigns. Bridging out a little bit from his usual suspects of aging rockers, Varvatos has recently tapped The Roots, who the designer has referred to as “one of the most innovative musical forces on the planet,” to front his 2011 Fall/Winter ad campaign. Not merely content with swathing the four-time Grammy-winning group in his trademark punk-inspired takes on luxury tailoring, Varvatos also commissioned them to perform an original track during the campaign’s shoot at Republic Airport in New York. Luckily for fans, the dope result has been chronicled on video for all to enjoy.

Filmmakers Cam Be and Jeff Baraka uncover their brand new mini-film that was shot with the Legendary Roots Crew. Most of the in-depth footage was captured during their live shows and backstage. Below is Cam’s own description of the film:

During the latter part of 2010 Jeff Baraka and I had the opportunity to cover a number of concerts on the Hennessey Artistry Tour with the Legendary Roots Crew.

I have always been a huge fan of the music created by the best band to ever grace the Hip-Hop genre. In this film I wanted to not only highlight the versatility of a group that has played with most everyone in the industry. But also capture candid moments of real human beings just trying to share the gifts they have been given to the best of their abilities.

In addition to the Hennessey Tour, we got an chance to sit down with drummer ?uestlove at the House of Blues in Chicago as the Roots gave the audience a glimpse of why they are considered by many the hardest working band in show biz. All and all the Roots have proven time again that they are indeed Legendary.

NOWNESS together with Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin recently followed Black Thought and Questlove of The Roots on a trip to Cognac, France. While the original intent of the trip was for Broomberg and Chanarin to document Black Thought and Questlove as they were guests at a Hennessy party, a short but impactful conversation with The Roots’ long-serving manager Richard Nichols was recorded the day after the party. Nichols presented an interesting take on what Soul music of the past and now Hip-Hop has impacted culture and it’s intersection through other cultures.

Offered is is the latest tune set to appear on the upcoming collaborative album with John Legend & The Roots titled, “Hard Times.” This is a follow up on an single they released earlier today, both of which are expected to appear on their upcoming Wake Up! album due out on September 21st. Enjoy!

Source: Hypetrak