The Roots – Things Fall Apart T-Shirt

Description

Riot police on a Bed-Stuy street. Two kids running for their lives. The Roots put it on the cover and dared you to look away.

Things Fall Apart dropped on MCA in February 1999 and it’s the record where the Roots stopped being the best-kept secret in Philly. Cut at Electric Lady during the Soulquarians era, with Jay Dee laying down “Dynamite!” and “Step into the Realm,” Scott Storch on the keys, and Black Thought sharper than he’d ever been. “You Got Me” (written with Jill Scott, sung by Erykah Badu on the single, with Eve on the verse) took home the Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. The album peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and later went Platinum.

The title comes from Chinua Achebe’s novel, which took it from Yeats: “the centre cannot hold.” That was the whole point. A live band telling hip-hop where it was headed at the end of the ’90s, as jiggy-era excess ran the charts. This tee redraws that civil-rights-era photo in raw pen-and-ink, with the MCAD-11999 catalog number up top for the heads who still own the CD.

Product Details

• Premium Bella Canvas 3001 – 100% combed and ring-spun cotton
• Lightweight (4.2 oz) with retail fit
• Pre-shrunk fabric
• Side-seamed construction
• Tear-away label for comfort
• Available in Black, Navy, and Chocolate

For the ones who ran “Act Too (The Love of My Life)” back until the tape wore thin. For the ones who knew ?uestlove before late night did. For you.