"Table Of Contents (Parts 1 & 2)" is a cool opener. The first part has a weird, distorted beat which sounds somewhat like a drum and bass song but with a big splash of hip-hop. Black Thought's lyrics feel like a freestyle but it's been said that he kicks this same rhyme at his shows: "Check it out, you're now intuned to the sounds of the R to the, double-O to the, T-S and I stretch limit to this profession - My voice physically fit, tracks I'm bench-pressing - The mic chord is an extension of my intestine - Delicate MC's sliced in my delicatessan..."  This spelling out of the band's name is a theme throughout both parts of this track. Part 2 is smoother and silky. Malik B's lyrics are cool with a nice flow: "Yo yo, it's the R to the, double-O to the, T-S an' yo - When I strike to excite, I just aim, I never miss - Embrace you wit a hug of death, give your ass a slight kiss - Toxic words that spill over pages, for ages - Impacts like M-16's to twelve gauges..." It's a cool and original opener for an album. It sets the album up for surprises and tells the listener that this is not your usual watered down boring commercial hip-hop... This is hip-hop with soul, a purpose... it's something that means something...

"The Next Movement" features The Jazzy Fatnastees and DJ Jazzy Jeff on the cuts. It's a smooth song which would sound lame if any other rapper took the beat. The Roots handle this track with flavor though. The chorus, not incredibly deep, is true.."Word up, we got the HOT-HOT music, The HOT MUSIC- The HOT-HOT music, the HOT music - The HOT-HOT music, the HOT music.-The HOT-HOT music, the HOT music...." This is music for musicians.. Instead of flossing and boasting about jewels.. they boast about how dope their music is.

"Step Into The Relm" is an attempt to be hardcore. They do a good job but these are The Roots, not Mobb Deep. The chorus, chanted in true hardcore hip-hop style, goes like this: "Step into the realm, you're bound to get caught - And from this worldly life, you'll soon ddeepart..." It's a cool song, just short enough not to be annoying.

"The Spark" features D'Angelo on bass keys.. This is another cool song which sounds somewhat like the previous song at first listen..This track has a cooler feel though. It's basically Malik B on this whole joint that has a decent chorus: "Yo, the feet that I walk with - The ears that I hear with, the eyes that I see with - The mouth that I talk with, the terror that I stalk with - Now it's time to spark sh*t..." Cool...you know.. The next track is dope!!!

"Dynamite!" has a very bouncy beat and a very cool jazzy guitar. Jay Dee of Slum Village had something to do with this joint.. I think he produced it but I'm not positive.. This is very catchy but very cool.. "Ev-ry bod-ee, touch this ill-a-fifth dynamite! Touch this ill-a-fifth dynamite!...." It's a dope song. Period.

"Without A Doubt" I think is a Schooly D remake but I'm not sure. Lady B does some back vocals but don't worry hardcore heads... no R&B hook. This is a pretty cool old school hip-hop joint that has a cool beat and tinkering sounding percussion. Lady B handles the hook which is rapped and not sung: "Take heed y'all, get a little P-5-D y'all - Straight from the town of Phil-ly y'all - But we about to give you what you need y'all - Without a doubt..." That songs sets the album up for the best part. The nest four/five tracks are the best on the album in my opinion. They're tight, cool, smart, and original. Dice Raw tore it up on the joint "Clones". This song tells people about the staleness of hip-hop. It's so true that it hurts. Listen to all of the other crap out there.. It's all been done before.  Where The Roots are working in familar territory, their approach is fresh: "...Nuttin new, nuttin new, y'all not sayin nuttin new- Nuttin new, nuttin new, y'all not sayin nuttin new- Nuttin new, nuttin new, tell me what you could do- Yo we drop the funk, and do the sh*t..." Dice Raw does an excellent job on the mic: "Either take me or be taken, you think I'm goin down? PSYCH, the jury, they're still deliberatin- I got half of they kids, tied up in a basement - Nah I'm just playin yo but that's how I'm playin doe- Dig what I'm sayin yo?  D-I-C-E- Shove a mic in your mouth, like Ted DiBiase- When you come sloppy, fuck is y'all tryin to do? -Y'all into, some wack shit, and ain't sayiin nuttin new..." This a cool ass song!

The next track is called "Double Trouble" and it features Mos Def is blowing up these days... This is a dope song with a very cool old school feel to it. Mos Def and Black Thought rhyme well together since their hip-hop purist vibes intertwine and construct a cool song. They go back and forth every couple of lines making the lyrical delivery flow with a street style grace. Even on the chorus, they help each other out: Mos Def says, "Yo Tariq (whassup) how your micraphone sound?" Black Thought replied, "It sound tight" and Mos Def continues: "Well aight, show em what it's about" Then both of them intertwined rap: "We got to blow up the spot, because they must have forget- We double (trouble) bubble (bubble) bubble (bubblin hot)..." What is very original is that at the end of the song, the beat changes and Mos Def goes into a an old school feel: "Say here's a little story that must be told - About two young brothers who got so much soul- They takin total control, of the body and brain- Flyin high in the sky, on a lyrical plane..." along with some "Zen- zen zen-zen-zen..."  This is a dope song with two excellent down to earth emcees who basically love hip-hop.

"Act Too (Love Of My Life)" features Common. This song is amazing! The mellow beat along instruments create an amazing song. There's even a violia in the song. The chorus has whispers too: "Ye-yeh-yo, yo, and it sounds so nice - Hip-Hop, you the love of my life- We bout to take you to the top love, hip-hop (hip-hop) -To the top (to the top) hip-hop (hip-hop) -Check it out, it's like, yeah, and it's sounds alright -Hip-Hop, you the love of my life.." They claim that it is not a seqeul to Common's "I Used To Love H.E.R." It's more like them pledging their love for hip-hop music and the song should make hip-hop proud. Black Thought does an excellent job on the lyrics and has a cool delivery: "I remember I'se a little snot-nosed, Rockin Gazelle, goggles and Izod clothes, Learnin the ropes of ghetto survival, Peepin out the situation I had to slide through, Had to watch my back my front plus my sides too, When it came to gettin mine I ain't tryin, to argue, Sometimes I wouldn'ta made it if it wasn't for you, Hip-Hop, you the love of my life and that's true..."  Common has a cool flow but gets a little controversal where The Roots leave a little note in the song's byline which says that the lyrics of Common do not necessarily represent the views of the Roots or MCA... hmm? Common's lyrics are honest when he raps: "...live and direct when we perform, It's just coffee shop chicks and white dudes, Over H.E.R. I got into it with that n*gga Ice Cube..." This is a dope song!!! The next track is the very upbeat

"100% Dundee" which I'm not sure what it means but the energy is hot. Malik B and Black Thought do a great job of flowing and the chorus has both of them rapping: "..Yo yo, Black Thought, I represent the Fifth Dynasty
Lyrical click, 100% Dundee..."  and "Malik B, I represent the P-5-D - Guerilla click, 100% Dundee.." It's another cool jam...

"Diedre Vs. Dice" is a very short freestyle interlude where Deidre plays viola and Dice rhymes. It's very cool but way, way too short.. under a minute. Dice rips it with rhymes like: "Yo niggaz is hopeless, you really need to focus - On who's the fuckin dopelist or wind up hopeless- Lookin for some soup, tryin to recoup- some fuckin loot, only thing you get is the boot..." They should have made it longer because it's very, very cool sounding and also on a lyrical level.

"Adrenaline!" is another very upbeat song with a cool pounding beat. Dice Raw and Beanie Seagal are on this dope track too. The chorus is very repetitious but fits with the energy: "Once again, 'gain - Once again, 'gain -Once again, 'gain, 'gain - Ladies and Gentlemen- Once again, 'gain- Once again, 'gain - Once again, 'gain, 'gain -Yo, adrenaline<..." Dice Raw comes with some ill rhymes once again. I can't wait until his solo joint comes out. (That's why he's not on tour with the band.. he's working on his solo album) His rhymes are ill: "Yo, I'm in the eye of the storm where the pressure's on - And MC's are dressed funny like a leprichaun- I chop rappers like chicken suizceiun...." Cool.. you know it..

"3rd Acts: ? Vs. Scratch 2... Electric Boogaloo" is somewhat of an interlude which is very cool. It has a backwards beat and plenty of scratching. Short and sweet.. this is very cool.

"You Got Me" featuring Erykah Badu is the very popular first single from the album. You probably heard it. The music is very mellow but cool. The beat along with the organs make it feel right. Even though the hook is R&B, Erykah's voice sounds very cool and the lyrics have a hip-hop feel: "If you were worried 'bout where, I been or who I saw or - what club I went to with my homies - baby don't worry you know that you got me..." It's their love joint but the sentiments are too good to be true. I wish relationships can be like this but even they know "Sometimes relationships get ill..." Ooh, that's too true.. Eve is the female emcee. You may know her from Ruff Ryder's remix of "Ruff Ryders Anthem" or that Blackstreet joint called "Boyfriend/Girlfriend". She does a good job on this song but I  think the lyrics were written for her. I'm not sure. They sound very different from any of the lyrics she spits on the other joints she has been on. Still, this is a very cool, tight song which has a cool ending since the drum beat gets all crazy and fast toward the end while maintaining it's mellow and mysterious atmosphere.

"Don't See Us" is another hip-hop joint. It's cool but somewhat like filler. There's nothing really bad about it but it does not stand out like some of the previous joints: "You Don't See Us, but we see you - You stuck on sleep, get on your P's and Q's -Cuz you will get crept, wit no discrept -You know the rep, we keep the flows in cheecck..." Dice Raw steals this joint in my opinion... this song is above average because of him.

"The Return Of Innocence Lost" is the spoken word featuring Ursula Rucker with some very errie keyboard and organ sounds. It's alright but too long and somewhat boring compared to the joints on the album. Still, it does have that smokey jazz club - freedom of African American expression- feel. Rucker has a soothing voice but her words are very disturbing: "You ain't nothing but white trash, b*tch! With each hit, each kick, each...broken rib - Crack, Crack! -Bones are crying -Mommy's crying and bleeding - And pleading- And then... Daddy wants to f*ck -D*ck hard, swelled with power rush - And as if all that wasn't enough- Mommy's seven months heavy with birth -As...Daddy grunts and cursed drunk nothings in her bloodied ear..." Aggh, man.. Is this just for shock value? It shows the reality of a bad family life but it does not fit on the album. It should not be there.  Even though every Roots album ends with her spoken word joint.. This does not impress me.

Hidden after that track is another track which some people call"Act Fore... The End?". It's a cool song but not as cool as the others. The beat is just alright and the sentiments are not anything amazing either. Black Thought does the chorus: "Aiyyo I'm out there, aiyyo I'm still out there - Worldwide yo I'm still out there, Roots Crew forever out there -Aiyyo I'm out there, SP to the, out there - Aiyyo I'm out there, what, I'm still out there- Check it out yo (worldwide) I'm still out there check it out- C'mon, yo I'm out there, aiyyo I'm still out there..." It's better to end the album with this than that spoken word song.. that's for sure.. The song is not bad it's just not as cool as the others. It does not slam..

Overall, "Things Fall Apart" is a quality product. It's theme is realistic while the songs are strong. Though some may sound the same the first couple of listens and many songs may be too mellow for some people.The Roots are a major part of true hip-hop. The beats  are all decent. The live drums add a very cool flavor. The complicated drum beats are very cool too. The melodies of the keyboards along with the jazzy guitars add to their signiture sound. ?Love's & The Roots' production is decent. Although they could always use more scratching, the songs are basically pretty full and well produced. The live instumentation truly makes a difference. Lyrically, The Roots maintain their battle rhymes in themes. Only songs like "You Got Me" have a theme of love. The rest like  "Ain't Sayin' Nothin' New" and "Step Into The Relm" are typical battle rhymes. The rhymes and delivery flow are very cool but they aren't extremely deep... well, they are much deeper than anything by Puff or Ma$e, that's for damn sure! The Roots battle rhymes are somewhat like those of Hieroglyphics..  They love hip-hop and they want to keep it pure and this means... battle rhymes. The Roots are very creative. Their opener "Table Of Contents (Part 1)" uses the very wierd beat which many hip-hop groups would never use. The Roots make it work. Only the Roots could get away with the spoken word of "The Return Of Innocence Lost" and the viola used in "Deidre Vs. Dice". Other songs like "The Spark" and "The Next Movement" are somewhat typical though. They are good songs but nothing extremely creative. Their style and approach to music is where their creativity lies.  One song they claim to use airplane vodka bottles to make sounds. The album flows nice though some of the songs are a little too long. The songs flow together one after the other which makes them sound similar the first couple of listens. The spoken word joint does break it up though. Hardcore? hmm.. Once again, the Roots are hardcore in their approach to music and their freedom of expression.  They make a statement with "Things Fall Apart" but their battle songs lose sight of their serious view of reality. Certain songs like "Act Too" and "The Return Of Innocence Lost" bring the listener back to reality... quick. There aren some curses but nothinge extremely offensive. The fact that they placed that disclaimer about Commons lyrics in the byline of "Act Too" shows that they step aside from expression. They don't tote guns, sell drugs, beat women, or kill people. They are musicians... hip-hop musicians. They are a musician's band. This group is for peopl who love hip-hop music, pure hip-hop music that is not watered down. Though things fall apart, The Roots keep it together...

Beats: 9/10.
Lyrics: 9/10.
Production: 9/10.
Creativity/Originality: 9/10.
Album Flow: 9/10.
Hardcore Rating: 8.5/10.
[ Overall Rating: 9/10 ]