Illadephonic Sounds

This year's Things Fall Apart might very well have been titled Things Come Together, as The Roots found their world taking shape in its aftermath. Forgoing earlier credos to avoid samples and previously recorded material, the album proved that the Philadelphia hip-hop band (band, as in live instruments) could expand its horizons without selling out to the profits that motivate many of its contemporaries. Deftly avoiding the "guns, loot, 'n' hoes" bravado and cheap production that stifle the hip-hop world, the Roots infuse their music with jazz roots and old-school rhyming skills.

Things Fall Apart marked the band's arrival to the mainstream after toiling for years on a steady tour schedule that only garnered underground support. Even as the hard work finally starts to pay off, fans only need to cue up "Act Too (The Love of My Life)" to realize that financial success was never the goal: "Sometimes I wouldn'ta made it if it wasn't for you/ Hip hop you the love of my life and that's true/ When I was handlin' the shit I had to do/ It was all for you."

Even those who fault the band's albums generally concede that the Roots put on stellar live shows. Steering clear of the canned "C'mon put your hand up in the air" routines, lyrical genius Black Thought and informal bandleader ?uestlove orchestrate an act that comes across above anything else as real. There's no posturing; it's all right here and now and for this crowd, tonight. Band members take turns soloing rhymes and instruments. Inevitably, human beatbox Rahzel wows the crowd with unbelievable scratch tricks few could match, even on a real turntable. (Rahzel won't make this show; he's on tour in support of his solo release Make the Music 2000.)

The band just dropped The Roots Come Alive, its first live album. Reviews are positive, but a few people are saying it doesn't totally capture the live Roots experience. You can guess what does. 75 Degrees opens Friday at 9 p.m. at the Maritime Hall, 450 Harrison (at First Street), S.F. Tickets are $20-22; call 974-0634.