"When The People Cheer" - The Roots [SoundCloud Audio Stream]

The Roots are getting ready to release And Then You Shoot Your Cousin, their first full length album in three years, by releasing the album's first single, "When The People Cheer."

The song opens with a piano playing a gentle, heartbreaking lullaby. Black Thought raps from the perspective of a poor, drug using, "sex-addicted introvert" in a Kid Cudi-esque sing/rapping style. The chorus has a group of girls singing, "Everybody acts like God is all that / But I got the feeling he 'aint never coming back." Black Thought explained the heavy subject matter in an interview with XXL, stating:

"It’s conceptual; it’s another concept album in the spirit of Undun, but it’s not just about just one kind of character, we create quite a few different characters in this record. It’s satire, but in that satire it’s an analysis of some of the stereotypes perpetuated in not only the hip-hop community, but in the community.”

And Then You Shoot Your Cousin will be available on May 13th through Def Jam Recordings.

For more music and news, check out The Roots' Zumic artist page.

Source: Def Jam Recordings SoundCloud