Things Fall Apart
The Roots — Things Fall Apart
2014 · Hip Hop · Conscious · 69 min? · Iconic
Last refreshed Aug 16, 2026
Cachet Index90
Prestige Index35
Recommended slot: Peak Friday/Saturday Night
Source Data
Discogs(source)
- label
- Music On Vinyl
- notes
- On track B59 "Jay Dee" is credited as "Jay Dee Of The Ummah". Phonographic Copyright of the Original release is by [l=MCA Records Inc.]. For this release it is by [l=Universal Music B.V.] Track D71 (Act Fore... The End?) is only credited on Side D Label. Contains printed inner-sheet with photos, credits and shoutouts. 180 Gram audiophile pressing. From inlay: A54 (Act Won (Things Fall Apart)) contains excerpts of dialogue from "Mo Better Blues". B60 (Without A Doubt) contains elements from "Saturday Night" by [a=J.B. Weaver, Jr.] [a=The Grand Wizzards] are: [a=Richard Nichols]: Executive Chef/[a=Ahmir Thompson]: Restaurant Owner/[a=Tariq Trotter]: Restaurant Owner/[a=Kelo]: Sous Chef/[a=Chaos (2)]: Line Cook/[a=Kamal Gray]: Prep Cook/[a=Scott Storch]: Dessert Chef/[a=James Poyser]: South Park Chef/[a=HUB (2)]: Maî-tre D/[a=Dice Raw]: The Food Critic/[a=Wigs]: Princess. MOVLP787
- images
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- labels
- Music On Vinyl, MCA Records, Okayplayer Records
- styles
- Conscious
- videos
- The Roots - The Next Movement, The Roots - You Got Me ft. Erykah Badu, The Roots – Things Fall Apart Full Album 1999
- country
- Europe
- credits
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- masterId
- 39713
- released
- 2014-01-27
- companies
- Music On Vinyl B.V. (Distributed By), Music On Vinyl B.V. (Manufactured By), MCA Records, Inc. (Phonographic Copyright (p)), Universal Music B.V. (Phonographic Copyright (p)), Universal Music B.V. (Copyright (c)), Record Industry (Pressed By), Sterling Sound (Recorded At), Battery Studios, New York (Recorded At), Sigma Sound Studios (Recorded At), Sony Music Studios, New York City (Recorded At), ?uestlove's Soup Kitchen (Recorded At), The Hit Factory (Recorded At), Jay Dee's Village Of Promiscuous Homosapiens In Search Of Thickness (Recorded At), Studio A, Dearborn Heights, MI (Recorded At), The House Of Chaos (2) (Recorded At), The Cutting Room (Recorded At), Scott's House O' Broken Hearts (Recorded At), Sterling Sound (Mixed At), Sony Music Studios, New York City (Mixed At), Battery Studios, New York (Mixed At), The Hit Factory (Mixed At), Sterling Sound (Mastered At)
- tracklist
- A54. Act Won (Things Fall Apart), A56. The Next Movement, A57. Step Into The Realm, A58. The Spark, B59. Dynamite!, B60. Without A Doubt, B61. Ain't Saying Nothin' New, B62. Double Trouble, C63. Act Too (The Love Of My Life), C64. 100% Dundee, C65. Diedre Vs. Dice, C66. Adrenaline!, C67. 3rd Acts: ? Vs. Scratch 2...Electric Boogaloo, D68. You Got Me, D69. Don't See Us, D70. The Return To Innocence Lost, D71. Act Fore... The End?
- numForSale
- 14
- dataQuality
- Needs Vote
- identifiers
- Barcode: 0600753423257, Matrix / Runout: 95760-1A MOVLP787, Matrix / Runout: 95760-1B MOVLP787, Matrix / Runout: 95760-1C MOVLP787, Matrix / Runout: 95760-1D MOVLP787, Rights Society: BIEM/SDRM, Barcode: 600753423257
- catalogNumber
- MOVLP787
- formatDescriptions
- LP, Album, Reissue
Spotify(source)
- upc
- 00075021014756
- images
- https://i.scdn.co/image/ab67616d0000b273bac8015c7e47644fb86e27e2, https://i.scdn.co/image/ab67616d00001e02bac8015c7e47644fb86e27e2, https://i.scdn.co/image/ab67616d00004851bac8015c7e47644fb86e27e2
- artists
- The Roots
- albumType
- album
- spotifyId
- 0qbl8aNaCUOvX8HGsZYLfh
- tracklist
- 1. Act Won (Things Fall Apart) (0:54), 2. Table Of Contents (Pts 1 & 2) (3:37), 3. The Next Movement (4:10), 4. Step Into The Relm (2:49), 5. The Spark (3:53), 6. Dynamite! (4:46), 7. Without A Doubt (4:15), 8. Ain't Sayin' Nothin' New (4:34), 9. Double Trouble (5:50), 10. Act Too (The Love Of My Life) (4:55), 11. 100% Dundee (3:53), 12. Diedre Vs. Dice (0:47), 13. Adrenaline! (4:28), 14. 3rd Acts: ? Vs. Scratch 2 ... Electric Boogaloo (0:51), 15. You Got Me (4:19), 16. Don't See Us (4:30), 17. The Return To Innocence Lost (5:40), 18. Act Fore...The End? (4:45)
- copyrights
- © 2004 DGC Records, ℗ 2004 DGC Records
- releaseDate
- 1999-02-23
- totalTracks
- 18
- releaseDatePrecision
- day
Last.fm(source)
- mbid
- 1a3422a3-bedc-3c7a-a984-b0fd51c0e5ec
- imageUrl
- https://lastfm-img.freetls.fastly.net/i/u/300x300/f7d9e3a699f342289b388fccad51ddf7.png
- tracklist
- 1. Act Won (Things Fall Apart) (0:54), 2. Table of Contents (Parts 1 & 2) (3:37), 3. The Next Movement (4:10), 4. Step Into the Realm, 5. The Spark, 6. Dynamite! (4:46), 7. Without a Doubt (4:14), 8. Ain't Sayin' Nothin' New (4:34), 9. Double Trouble (5:50), 10. Act Too (The Love Of My Life) (4:54), 11. 100% Dundee, 12. Diedre vs. Dice, 13. Adrenaline! (4:27), 14. 3rd Acts: ? vs. Scratch 2...Electric Boogaloo (0:51), 15. You Got Me (4:19), 16. Don't See Us, 17. The Return to Innocence Lost (11:55), 18. Act Fore… The End? (0:05)
- bioContent
- Things Fall Apart is the fourth studio album by American hip hop band the Roots, released on February 23, 1999, by MCA Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at Electric Lady during 1997 to 1998, coinciding with recording for other projects of the Soulquarians collective. According to Spin magazine, the album became a landmark moment for the Roots and the collective, as it "swelled the Roots clique into a movement-style posse". The album has been considered by music writers as the Roots' breakthrough album, earning praise from major publications and critics, while becoming the group's first record to sell over 500,000 copies. 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 also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album of the same year, losing to Eminem for The Slim Shady LP. Rolling Stone called it a "top-flight record", while AllMusic cited it as "one of the cornerstone albums of alternative rap." The album takes its title from Chinua Achebe's novel of the same name, which in turn took the phrase from William Butler Yeats' poem "The Second Coming". On April 5, 1999, Things Fall Apart was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of 500,000 units and on April 22, 2013, 14 years after its release, the album was certified Platinum by RIAA for shipments of 1,000,000 units. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
- bioSummary
- Things Fall Apart is the fourth studio album by American hip hop band the Roots, released on February 23, 1999, by MCA Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at Electric Lady during 1997 to 1998, coinciding with recording for other projects of the Soulquarians collective. According to Spin magazine, the album became a landmark moment for the Roots and the collective, as it "swelled the Roots clique into a movement-style posse". The album has been considered by music writers as the Roots' breakthrough album, earning praise from major publications and critics, while becoming the group's first record to Read more on Last.fm.
- bioPublished
- 07 Jul 2025, 12:00
MusicBrainz(source)
- mbid
- 8f341430-85b9-3a66-875f-ed1202868393
- score
- 100
- primaryType
- Album
- firstReleaseDate
- 1999-02-22