Originally released January 17, 1995
Geffen Records
2xLP
It's a bit of a funny experience revisiting The Roots' sophomore effort a quarter-century later. What with their decade+ tenure as Jimmy Fallon's musical sidekicks, Questlove having popped up in literally every cultural documentary in memory, and Black Thought growing a robust beard, permanently sporting shades, and generally being every bit as cool as the Antarctic, you can almost lose sight of the fact that back in '95 they were just a scruffy band of Phili kids, preternaturally gifted, and blessed with an innate funkiness that can't be taught anywhere missing cracked pavement. Down the line, Rap's resident house band would stake their legacy on the late-career conceptual masterpieces (undun, ...And Then You Shoot Your Cousin), but Do You Want More?!!??! was the stepping stone from which a leap could be taken. It's where Quest's chops found common ground with Thought's literary ambitions. It's raw and rough around the edges, lacking the honed edge they would later lock into on Illadelph Halflife, but succeeds on the strength of their unfiltered talent, jazzier and more aggressive then they would be until 2006's Game Theory. Really, there's elements of all their albums to be found in these three LPs, because this is where the Roots as we know them today began.