The Roots’ first concept album undun is out today! The LP is an existential re-telling of the short life of one Redford Stephens, the main protagonist who was heavily influenced by Sufjan Stevens’ song “Redford.” You can read the band’s explanation of the tale and view the full short film (which was directed, shot, and edited by Clifton Bell) that coincides with the album below. undun is also still streaming in its entirety HERE, and its app for both iPhone and iPad is available HERE.
undun is the story of this kid who becomes criminal, but he wasn’t born criminal. He’s not the nouveau exotic primitive bug-eyed gunrunner… he’s actually thoughtful and is neither victim nor hero. Just some kid who begins to order his world in a way that makes the most sense to him at a given moment… At the end of the day… isn’t that what we all do?