The Roots

Black Thought

Vocals

?uestlove

Drums

Malik B

Vocals

Leonard Hubbard

Bass

Kamal Gray

Keyboards

Rahzel

Beat Box

Dice Raw

Vocals

Formed: 1987
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Genre: Hip Hop, Conscious Hip Hop, Alternative Hip Hop
Years Active: 1987 -
Meaning of the Name: Changed from The Square Roots for legal reasons.
Way of Working: Collaborative
Associated: Erykah Badu, Common

Essential Releases

Illadelph Halflife
(1996)

A record of hard drums and rhymes that feels more "street" than the group's other releases.

Things Fall Apart
(2000)

Masterpiece. A nocturnal and sensual album made at the height of their Soulquarians era.

Game Theory (2006)

A more political venture that tackles social problems with resilient grit.

undun (2011)

A concept album told in reverse about one man's life and death.

Rapper Black Thought and drummer Questlove are the core of the Philadelphia-based Roots, a hip hop band that uses traditional "black" music to enhance their unique interpretation of the genre. As a collective, with various members swapping in and out over the years, they use live instrumentation to bring rap music back to its analogue roots.

This task, however, proved to be far from simple. For a genre based on the unyielding rhythm provided by sampling, the drum patterns used on The Roots first two albums were dismissed by some as too "human", too prone to variation. In a '90s hip hop world dominated by studio production techniques, such as chopping and layering, recording a live band felt redundant to the purists who valued a "perfect" loop.

Yet, The Roots truly excelled when performing in front of a crowd. They recreated those very same celebrated production techniques on demand, embracing the creative spirit of improvisation respected in the genre that is inherited from jazz. The human beatbox machine Rahzel scratched with his own voice as well as any DJ; the band replicated classic beats from other groups, such as the Wu-Tang Clan or A Tribe Called Quest, and blended each one together with ease.

The group also went where sampling feared to tread by reactively "freestyling" long sets at will, changing tempo and tone in response to Black Thought's near unrivalled ability to rhyme off the top of the head. They could answer requests from the audience in real time, musically, in a way that other hip hop artists simply couldn't match.

By 1997, this free-flowing approach crystallised into the Soulquarians, an informal group of musicians including The Roots, Erykah Badu, J. Dilla, and D'Angelo. They gathered at New York's Electric Lady Studios to play experimental jam sessions that rejected the commercial polish of the mainstream. By combining jazz, funk, and soul with hip hop during these sessions, The Roots created their masterpiece: Things Fall Apart (2000).

Tracks such as 'You Got Me' slide between smooth neo-soul, hip hop grooves, and high-speed break beats effortlessly, capturing the same improvisational spirit as their live shows. Additionally, by this point, the band had renounced recording entire songs live in the studio, in favour of sampling and looping their own play, to provide the unshakeable spine that hardcore hip-hop demands.

Becoming more overtly artistic and political as time went on, such as on Undun (2011), an album that chronicles a drug dealer's final day on Earth in reverse, the group continued to experiment and, in doing so, reconnected hip hop with its parent genres in a way that was foundational to the live roots of black music.

Skills

*This is a work in progress. Values are subjective.

Emotional Impact

i Does it connect with the heart? What does it make you feel and how much of it?

70

Mental Impact

i Does it connect with the head? Social issues, interesting observations, clever lyrics, similies etc.

80

Originality

i Are they unique? Did they break new ground, use new techniques or create new genres.

85

Artistry

i Using creativity and imagination to present themselves in a unique way. Example, Wu-Tang Clan as Shaolin and Marvel characters etc.

60

Authenticity

i Do they really mean what they say? Is it autobiographical, personal?

70

Live

i Stage presence, working the crowd, performance. Miming, forgetting lyrics reduce this.

95

Production

i Studio techniques. More important for electronic music including hip hop.

85

Musicianship

i Their ability to play individually and as a group. Technical skills. DJing. Freestyling for hip hop.

90

Rapping

i Technical attributes.

90

Songwriting

i Storytelling. Cohesive themes. Is the song about something? Stan by Eminem is an example of excellent songwriting.

85

Danceability

i Does it make you move? Do you tap your foot, nod your head or move your whole body?

55

Fun

i Is listening to it a good time? Are the lyrics funny? Depressing themes lowers value.

45

Consistency

i Have they put out good music across their careers. Two good albums and 5 band ones will reduce this value. Reduced for Pixies due to their post-reunion albums.

75

Range

i Fast, slow, ballads, party jams. Do they go beyond their own genre?

70

Cool

i Laid-back, icy detachment, unflustered.

70

Charisma

i Factors include appearance, force of personality. Elvis making people faint etc.

70

Commercial & Critical Success

Awards >>>

• Grammy Award WINNER! x3
• Grammy Award Nominee x11

Certifications >>>

• Do You Want More?!!!??!: Gold in the US
• Things Fall Apart: Platinum in the US; Gold in Canada; Silver in the UK
• Phrenology: Gold in the US; Silver in the UK

Charts >>>

• Things Fall Apart: Number 4 in the US; Number 7 in Canada
• The Tipping Point: Number 4 in the US
• Game Theory: Number 9 in the US
• Rising Down: Number 6 in the US
• How I Got Over: Number 6 in the US

Critics >>>

• BBC Music - How I Got Over - The Best Albums of 2010: 3rd
• The Los Angeles Times - How I Got Over - The Best Albums of 2010: 3rd

Similar Acts

• Mos Def
• D'Angelo
• Talib Kweli
• Digable Planets
• Little Brother
• Skyzoo
• Robert Glasper

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