Roots of Evil

Kool G Rap

1998

In Roots of Evil, Kool G Rap spins futuristic tales of criminology. He uses and subverts tropes of crime movies, in this album of cinematic crime-centric songs.

Hitman’s Diary is a confessional told from the perspective of a mafia hitman literally recounting the events of the day as if it were a diary. Other songs portray a rainy night in which he goes toe-to-toe with four assailants, goes for revenge after being set up, reinterpretations of historical mobsters, and a nine-minute, three-act epic song.