The Roots dropped an album cover, release date, and tracklist for their forthcoming record, How I Got Over, just two days ago, but one of the LP’s indie-guesting tracks has already hit the Web. Dubbed “Dear God 2.0,” Roots MC Black Thought rhymes over a moderately reworked version of Monsters of Folk’s “Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.),” which features My Morning Jacket’s Jim James singing choruses about the mysteries of spiritual faith.
Though there’s no question that James — who originally penned the instant classic melody for his side project with Conor Oberst and M. Ward — and the Roots are a perfect, soulful match here, I was hoping for a more drastically different take on the tune. Either way, the Joanna Newsom-featuring track, “Right On,” and rumored Dirty Projectors cameos should throw a few welcome curveballs our way shortly.
Check out “Dear God 2.0” below, as well as the full HIGO tracklist:
How I Got Over
01 Walk Alone – (w/ Truck North, P.O.R.N., Dice Raw, Mercedes Martinez)
02 Dear God 2.0 – (w/ Jim James, Monsters of Folk)
03 Radio Daze – (w/ Blu, P.O.R.N., Dice Raw, Mercedes Martinez)
04 Now Or Never – (w/ Phonte Coleman, Dice Raw)
05 How I Got Over – (w/ Dice Raw)
06 The Day – (w/ Blu, Phonte Coleman, Patty Crash)
07 Right On – (w/ Joanna Newsom, Sugar Tongue Slim)
08 Doin’ It Again – (w/ John Legend)
09 The Fire – (w/ John Legend, Rick Friedrich)