As Roots drummer and spokesman Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson knows, hip-hop careers tend not to last very long. That is certainly not the case, though for his band, as the Philly crew has just released its tenth album, 'Rising Down,' which features guest artists ranging from Common and Mos Def to Fall Out Boy frontman Patrick Stump. As to how the Roots have become the exception to the rule in hip-hop, one needs only look to the superb new record, which digs deep into the politics and social consciousness of America in 2008. Thompson went just as deep in talking to Spinner about his annual tour with Jay-Z, the Roots' acclaimed live performances and the significance of the release date of April 29.

Was it an intentional move to release this album on the anniversary of the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles?

We've always acknowledged that day 'cause we all know where we were in '92. I remember April 29 like I remember April 4, April 1 -- the 1st being Marvin Gaye and the 4th being Martin Luther King. The reason why the L.A. riots are so significant, probably I would say that the closing chapter of the Civil Rights era was officially capped in 1991 with the L.A. riots. You could see it as political, as looting, or whatever, but that was the last time any reaction has come from the citizens of the United States of that level. And I don't know if that['s due to] indifference or just knowing that it doesn't matter what you do or say. I think it had a lot more to do with that. What's the sense of being political and trying to change the landscape when your president stole his election?

What were you looking for in collaborators on the album? You worked with a diverse group of people.

We kind of joked with the 'Things Fall Apart' record [that] we played the role of Moses. We told our A&R the reason, basically, people have a hard time conceptualizing the Roots is because there's really nobody to compare it to. So we have to kind of go up there and put it in perspective. So that's why in '96, '97 we pretty much insisted the labels sign people that were like us: Common, Mos [Def], [Talib] Kweli, Pharoahe Monch. That way we weren't the only left-of-center group out there making music and we weren't on the playing field alone. In this case it's the same thing, whereas it probably seems a little bit more urgent simply because, not to be pessimistic, but you never know if you'll get this opportunity again. The way the industry's built now, labels are falling apart, so you just never know when it's your turn or not your turn. So that said we just wanted to grab everybody; the established guard of Common, Kweli, Mos and Styles P, and then we had to grab the new guard, which is, like, Wale, Truck North and Porn, and then the guard that you wouldn't expect us to be associated with, like Saigon, Chrisette Michelle and Patrick Stump. We just had to go to everybody, and I think that was very important.

You mentioned the state of the industry, and a lot of people agree the only acts that have a future are the ones that can play live, like the Roots. Have you found that base is always there, and does that separates you from the pack?

That's true, but even we got a little rude awakening late last year. The reason why we've been able to prosper so much on the touring side is also because we were the only people in our genre really out there like that. We were able to do 200-plus shows a year because no one else is doing those shows. Now that the industry's falling apart ...did you ever see that episode of 'South Park' where they had the film festival come to South Park? Like it used to be empty, and three seconds later it's oversaturated. We kind of got sideswiped that way, whereas a typical season of touring between September and December for colleges would've been an easy hands-down 60 colleges, last year was a very head-scratching 24 shows. And that's only because there are a lot of people who are in there, so where the Drexel fall show would've naturally been ours after eight years of doing it, now it's like, "Well, Gym Class Heroes are touring, and Kweli is touring and so is Lupe Fiasco." So it's really going to be a dog-eat-dog environment within the next four to five years and that's something we can't even take for granted anymore, just assuming that playing field is ours.

Do you take any pride in knowing you may have laid down the blueprint for these other acts?

I take pride in it, but I think the downfall of every artist is the artist that does that pat-on-the-back s---, like, "We finally made it." And that's the second where it all ends. So I don't even think about it and I don't think about it as, "Ooh, I gave you your career." If anything, I probably did it in vain. I'm not saying that everything is self-serving, but again, I need Common just so my stuff makes more sense. It's like a conceptualization thing. Any success is based on being conceptualized and compared to someone else. People say, "Oh, you're a great drummer," but you have to compare people to other people in order to make that statement.

Which drummers would you be honored to be compared to?

That's the thing, right now the average black drummer is doing something on a level called gospel drumming. There's a Web site called Gospel Chops and that's not the level of drumming I'm doing, but the reason why Gospel Chops exists is because 99.44 percent of the time the average musician sort of socializes in a church and nowhere else. That becomes a problem if that is your only source of setting, because most black Americans don't have the whole experience of the garage band or the battle of the bands and playing at school dances, or even playing inside your house. I was lucky that I had neighbors that understood, so I played inside my basement.

Going back to your beginnings, what was the first record you remember making a big impact on you?

I'd probably say Bill Withers was the first idol. He was the first person I sort of focused on, [at] about 3. My father [Lee Andrews] was an oldies doo-wop singer in the '50s. He's on Chess Records, so that was pretty much the vibe that I grew I up in.

Later on this year, you're doing All Points West and Jazz Fest. What have been some of the most memorable performances you've seen?

I had fun at Bonnaroo last year, but then, I was a part of it. I was sort of being tongue-in-cheek when I told the organizer I wanted to play 48 hours straight, so he actually made sure that it happened. I got to do the Roots stuff; then one in the morning, John Paul Jones and Ben Harper; then four in the morning played with the Philadelphia Experiment. I don't even see it as me playing with them. I see it more as me having the best seat in the house.

What was the last concert you've attended that you've enjoyed?

It's hard for me to say, because I think the fanboy in me, the geek in me, has sort of died down. So even when I go see concerts, I'm seeing it from the perspective of sort of like a critic. No, I take that back. I saw Stevie Wonder last year and I absolutely enjoyed it as a fan. Usually when I go to shows it's like I'll go back to the soundboard and argue with the sound guy. That happened at the Police. The Police had the most inoffensive rock sound I've ever heard at a concert. You could hear your heart beat, that's how quiet it was. And to the point where song number seven, I went back to the sound booth, like, "Yo, man, tell them to turn that s--- up. You can't even hear it." That's usually how I watch shows; I watch it as a critic, not as a fan. But Stevie Wonder, his discography and his song selection was so diverse and out there you didn't have time to think about any logistics like that light board, that type of thing.

Could you have imagined when the Roots started that you would release your tenth record one day?

Absolutely not. In 1992, you didn't think you were going to get to 1999. The average rap career lasts for six years, so 1999 is supposed to be the future. You're thinking like spaceships and cars, let alone getting to 1999 and actually thinking that you're going to release a record in 2008, 2009. At this point it's like a slow land mine walk; you don't want to step on anything that will stop your progress.