Shakur- Roots (Track Review)


Written by Grayson Jones

Via several reasons, such as low socioeconomic status, wage gaps, and historically vulgar discrimination, the culture of Black people in the United States has been sifted through a filter that covers most- if not all- of it’s purity.. As a citizen of the United States, I can justify Shakur’s perspective on this track. 

Roots is a somber arrangement, expressing Shakur’s loss of self-identity. Most of the aforementioned have been pieced together and shared currently through music like hip-hop, jazz, blues… and almost every genre out there. Of course, you can not accurately address history without its original documentation. Accepting the things you can’t change is the heart dropping cliffhanger that Shakur leaves in this song for you.

The track is simple but powerful. The guitar carries a 4-chord progression, most of the sound is drowning in reverb to symbolize a sense of distance between you and Shakur. I thought this was a great element used to symbolize how black history is still fading as every second passes by without action towards it’s retrieval. A fight against change and time formed the perfect recipe for one of the most sorrowful songs I have reviewed. 

Check it out: 

https://open.spotify.com/track/2hycUMES8heb5nZg0gv1cP?si=-Jw0XX7MRbut6weg9G3R1w


6 comments


  • Aylar

    It’s a beautiful song…


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