It’s starting to happen much more frequently these hi-tech days — why should a band simply release a ho-hum old album when they can augment it with an elaborate complementary App, as well?

Ergo, The Roots are issuing an actual “undun” App today as a companion piece to their upcoming Def Jam set of the same name, which streets Dec. 6. And it employs photos, lyrics, a series of interviews and even video vignettes to provide a totally immersive experience for the listener. Why not? It’s an idea whose time has most assuredly come.

And “undun” is a disc that lends itself well to the format.

It’s a stark concept album — led by the flagship single “Make My” featuring Big K.R.I.T., out Nov. 1 on iTunes — that tells the tragic tale of Redford Stephens (1974-99), an inner-city youth struggling to define himself against an urban backdrop, and losing his life in the process. And it employs a “Sunset Boulevard”-shrewd conceit, with the disoriented dead protagonist looking back on his existence and trying to make sense of it.

Find out more of what The Roots have in store for you at http://theroots.com/.