Released in the United States on Dec. 6, 2011, ‘‘Undun,” the eleventh studio album from hip-hop band The Roots, debuted at number 17 on the U.S. Billboard Top 200 chart. ‘‘Undun” existentially addresses the roles and lives of individuals born into a dangerous and exploitative urban environment. The album specifically tells the story of fictional character Redford Stevens in reverse-chronological order beginning with the young man’s premature death and moving through the experiences that brought him to this fate. The character’s name is a reference to a song by Sufjan Stevens, fellow musician and producer of ‘‘Undun.” Though the band’s rock, hip-hop vibe is still present, heavy soul and progressive jazz elements exist throughout the album, bringing beauty to difficult subject matter. Like previous releases, The Roots bring the music, while the lyrical side relies mostly on feature artists, minus the contributions from the band’s legendary Black Thought.  Mississippi’s own Big K.R.I.T. features on a powerful track, “Make My” which deals with a young man attempting to justify his existence before passing on. “Tip the Scale” is probably my favorite track. Coming later in the album, this song deals with, as the title concedes, living life in a way that benefits you, by any means necessary, if you will. The alternating snare, bass beat combined with a terrifyingly somber keyboard soundscape is absolutely destroyed with wordplay by the featuring Dice Raw. “Look, let he without sin live without sin. Until then, I’ll be doing dirty jobs like swamp men. Counting the faces of those that might have been.” Need I say more?