The Roots

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The Roots

The Roots is a Grammy award-winning American

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
hip hop

Hip hop music

Hip hop music is a music genre typically consisting of a rhythmic vocal style called rapping which is accompanied with backing beats. Hip hop music is part of hip hop culture, which began in the Bronx, in New York City in the 1970s, predominantly among African Americans and Latino Americans....
band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population city in the United States. It is the fifth-largest metropolitan area and fourth-largest urban area by population in the United States, the nation's fourth-largest consumer media market as ranked by the Nielsen Media Research, and the 49th-most...
. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals. Their debut album was released in 1993 and they have collaborated with a wide range of artists from different genres, including Roy Ayers

Roy Ayers

Roy Ayers is a funk, soul music and jazz composer and vibraphone player. Ayers began his career as a jazz player, releasing several albums with Arista Records before his tenure at Polydor Records, during which he progressed a new R&B style, slowly molding the new Disco genre....
and Cody Chesnutt

Cody ChesnuTT

Cody ChesnuTT is a musician....
. The Roots have generated a great deal of critical acclaim and influenced numerous rap and R&B acts.

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Encyclopedia

The Roots is a Grammy award-winning American

United States

Hip hop music

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Roy Ayers

Cody ChesnuTT

Cody ChesnuTT is a musician....
. The Roots have generated a great deal of critical acclaim and influenced numerous rap and R&B acts. On March 3, 2009, The Roots began a tenure as the house band

House band

A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which are the regular performers at a nightclub, especially jazz and R&B clubs....
on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is an United States late night television talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon on NBC. It is the third incarnation of the Late Night franchise originated by David Letterman....
.

Members

The Roots' original lineup included Tariq "Black Thought

Black Thought

Tariq Trotter, better known as Black Thought, is an United States hip-hop artist who is the lead MC of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based hip-hop music group The Roots and occasional actor....
" Trotter (MC

Rapping

Rapping is the rhythmic spoken delivery of rhymes, wordplay, and poetry. Rapping is a primary ingredient in Hip Hop music, but the phenomenon predates Hip Hop culture by centuries....
) and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson (drums

Drum kit

A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as cowbell s, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single drummer....
), who were classmates at the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts

Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts

The Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts is a magnet school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Students major in one of six areas: Creative Writing, Instrumental Music, Visual Arts, Theater, Dance, and Vocal Music....
. As they began to play at school and on the streets, they added bassist Josh "The Rubberband" Abrams, who went on to form the jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
group The Josh Abrams Quartet. They later added another MC Malik Abdul Basit-Smart

Malik B.

Hub (bassist)

Leonard "Hub" Hubbard is a former band member of The Roots and played bass for the Philadelphia outfit from 1992 to 2007. He has played on all of their records, including 1999's Things Fall Apart and 2004's The Tipping Point ....
("Hub"), and keyboardist Scott Storch

Scott Storch

Scott Storch is a Canada record producer. He has found success in many genres of music, particularly hip hop music, pop music, and Rhythm and blues....
. MC Kenyatta "Kid Crumbs" Warren, was a part of the group for their first album, Organix, but did not appear on any later albums. Another MC, Dice Raw

Dice Raw

Dice Raw is a Hip hop music artist associated with The Roots, and one of the founding members of musical group Nouveau Riche.In 2000, Dice Raw left the group to record his solo debut album, Reclaiming the Dead on MCA Records....
, made cameos in later albums. The Roots filled Storch's position with keyboardist, Kamal Gray

Kamal Gray

James "Kamal" Gray is the keyboardist with United States hip hop music group The Roots. He is from Philadelphia and has relatives in North Carolina....
, who continues to be a member.

Rahzel

Rahzel

Rahzel or Rahzel M. Brown, also known as the "Godfather of Noise," is an American musician and virtuoso beatboxer, formerly a member of The Roots....
was a member of the group from 1995 - 1999. Alongside Rahzel was vocal turntablist Scratch

Scratch (musician)

Scratch is an United States hip hop artist. He is a Hip hop music rapping who specializes in beatboxing or vocal percussion. He is probably best known as a member of Grammy Award-winning band The Roots....
, who DJ'd for them during live concerts. However, he abruptly left in 2003. Malik B. left the group in 1999 due to drug problems but continued to record, making occasional cameos on future albums. Guitarist Ben Kenney

Ben Kenney

Ben Kenney, , is a musician from the United States, and the bass guitar for the band Incubus .Ben Kenney played guitar for the hip-hop group The Roots before he joined Incubus in 2003 after the departure of bassist and founding member Alex Katunich aka Dirk Lance....
,\ had a short stint with the group and contributed to their Phrenology album, but left to join Incubus

Incubus (band)

Incubus is a Grammy-nominated alternative rock band based out of Calabasas, California, California. Formed by vocalist Brandon Boyd, lead guitarist Mike Einziger, and drummer Jose Pasillas while in high school in 1991, the band grew to include bassist Alex Katunich , and Gavin Koppell , both of whom were eventually replaced by bas...
as their bassist. A percussionist, F Knuckles, was added in 2002 and guitarist, Kirk Douglas (a.k.a. "Captain Kirk"), replaced Kenney. Martin Luther

Martin Luther McCoy

Martin Luther McCoy is an United States musician and actor. He collaborated extensively with musicians like The Roots and Cody ChesnuTT and appears as one of the six lead characters in the 2007 in film Beatles Musical film Across the Universe in the role of "JoJo", who reflects Jimi Hendrix....
, a vocalist, toured with The Roots in 2003 and 2004 and contributed to the Tipping Point album. The group announced in August 2007, to the dismay of fans, that longtime bassist, Leonard Hubbard, was leaving the group. "One of our partners is leaving us tonight, ladies and gentlemen, Leonard Hubbard" (Black Thought @ moe.down 8/31/07).

The current members of The Roots are Black Thought (MC), Questlove (drums), Kamal (keyboard), F Knuckles (percussion), and Captain Kirk (guitar). Recently, they have toured with sousaphonist Damon "Tuba Gooding Jr." Bryson and Game Theory producer and current bassist Owen Biddle.

All members have worked with PETA

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an animal rights organization. Based in Norfolk, Virginia, Virginia, and with two million members and supporters, PETA says it is the largest animal rights group in the world....
to promote compassion for animals and the vegetarian lifestyle.

Discography

After being discovered playing on Philly's famed South Street (Philadelphia)

South Street (Philadelphia)

South Street is an east-west street in the Center City, Philadelphia neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The stretch of South Street between Front Street and Seventh Street is known for its somewhat "Bohemianism" atmosphere and its urban mix of shops, bars, and eateries of many different styles....
, they were offered a chance to perform in Europe. They quickly recorded Organix

Organix

Organix is the debut album by The Roots. It was originally sold at Roots shows in Europe. The album earned enough industry buzz to earn the Roots offers from major record labels, and they signed with DGC records, which at the time was better known for its grunge music releases....
so that they would have something to promote. They also produced their debut music video for "Pass The Popcorn". Kid Crumbs quit during the recording of Organix. The others finished the album without him and then left to perform in Europe. They rented out a flat in London and performed in Europe for approximately one year. Organix went on to sell about 150,000 copies. Following the release of Organix, several major record labels offered deals and the band signed with DGC Records

DGC Records

DGC Records was a subsidiary label of Geffen Records. Launched in 1990 in music, DGC was created as a response to the success Geffen Records had had with the harder rock acts on its roster....
, which at the time was better known for its grunge music releases. With their new record deal, the quintet headed back to the states.

Ignored by the hip-hop fanbase, The Roots' first album for DGC, Do You Want More?!!!??!
Do You Want More?!!!??!

Do You Want More?!!!??! is the second studio album from Hip hop music band The Roots. The album was their first on a major label, released two years after their oft-forgotten independent debut Organix....
, was nonetheless a moderate hit among alternative music fans, due in part to the group's appearance at Lollapalooza

Lollapalooza

Lollapalooza is an American music festival featuring alternative rock, hip hop music, and punk rock bands, dance and comedy performances, and craft booths....
. Also lauded for its jazziness, the album was equal parts jazz improv/instrumentation and beat box. It featured the songs "Distortion to Static" and "Proceed".

The 1996 release Illadelph Halflife
Illadelph Halflife

Illadelph Halflife, released in 1996, is the third full length album from The Roots. In 1998, the album was selected as one of The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums....
was the group's first album to crack the Top 40 on the Billboard 200

Billboard 200

The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling Albums and extended play in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine....
chart, spurred in part by MTV

MTV

MTV is an United States cable television network based in Media of New York City. Launched on August 1, 1981, the original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJ ....
's airplay of the video for "What They Do" (a parody of rap video clichés) and "Clones," which was their first single to reach the top five on the rap charts. "What They Do" was also the group's first single to chart on the Top 40 of Billboard's

Billboard Hot 100

Things Fall Apart (album)

Things Fall Apart is a studio album by the hip hop group The Roots, released February 23, 1999, on Geffen Records. The album is considered to be The Roots's breakthrough album, earning praise from major publications and critics, while becoming the group's first record to sell over 500,000 copies....
in 1999 (named after Things Fall Apart
Things Fall Apart

Things Fall Apart is a 1958 in literature English-language novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. It is a staple book in schools throughout Africa and widely read and studied in English-speaking countries around the world....
, a novel

Novel

File:2009 stapelweise Neuerscheinungen im Buchladen.JPGA novel is today a long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern Romance and in the tradition of the novella....
by Chinua Achebe

Chinua Achebe

Chinua Achebe , born Albert Chin?al?m?g? Achebe on 16 November 1930, is a Nigerian novelist, poet, professor and critic. He is best known for his first novel, Things Fall Apart , which is the most widely read book in modern African literature.....
. This was their breakthrough album, peaking at #4 on the Billboard 200

Billboard 200

The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling Albums and extended play in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine....
charts and earning a gold record, signifying U.S. sales of at least 500,000 units. The track "You Got Me

You Got Me

"You Got Me" is a song by the hip hop music band The Roots, featuring vocals by Erykah Badu and Eve , then known as Eve of Destruction, who raps the second verse....
," duet with R&B

Rhythm and blues

Rhythm and blues is the name given to a wide-ranging genre of popular music first created by African Americans in the late 1940s and early 1950s....
singer Erykah Badu

Erykah Badu

Erica Abi Wright better known by her stage name Erykah Badu, is a multiple Grammy-winner American Soul music singer and songwriter, whose work encompasses elements of rhythm and blues, hip hop music and jazz....
and Eve

Eve (rapper)

Eve Jihan Jeffers , better known as Eve, is a grammy winning rapper, singer, actress, and musician. She has sold millions of albums during her musical career....
peaked at #39 on the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard Single popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on airplay and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the airplay tracking-week runs from Wednesday to Tuesday....
charts and earned them a Grammy award for Best Performance By A Duo Or Group. The album was nominated for the Best Rap Album award. Black Thought intended the track for the "unconscious" population.

Steve Huey of the website allmusic perceived "a strong affinity for the neo-soul movement" in the album. First-time cameos on TFA for Philly natives Beanie Sigel

Beanie Sigel

Dwight Grant , also known as Beanie Sigel, is an United States rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, signed to Damon Dash and Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records in 1998....
and Eve

Eve (rapper)

Eve Jihan Jeffers , better known as Eve, is a grammy winning rapper, singer, actress, and musician. She has sold millions of albums during her musical career....
helped to earn them major record deals later (with Roc-A-Fella and Ruff Ryders

Ruff Ryders

Ruff Ryders Entertainment is a New York-based record label and management company, specializing in hip hop music. It was founded in 1988 by Chivon Dean and her brothers Dee and Waah, uncles of producer Swizz Beatz....
, respectively). After this album, Dice Raw

Dice Raw

Dice Raw is a Hip hop music artist associated with The Roots, and one of the founding members of musical group Nouveau Riche.In 2000, Dice Raw left the group to record his solo debut album, Reclaiming the Dead on MCA Records....
left the collective to record his solo debut album Reclaiming the Dead. In the summer, the band performed at the Woodstock '99 concert in New York state.

Several members, including long time member Malik B., left the group. In December 2001, the Roots backed Jay-Z

Jay-Z

Shawn Corey Carter , better known as his stage name, Jay-Z, is an American hip hop artist and businessman. He is the former Chief executive officer of Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records....
for his MTV Unplugged
Jay-Z: Unplugged

Jay-Z: Unplugged is rapper Jay-Z's 2001 music album that contains some of his past songs with live instruments performed by Jay-Z himself with the hip-hop band The Roots....
concert. With heightened popularity came mounting pressure. The Roots released Phrenology
Phrenology (album)

Phrenology is the fifth album from The Roots. Immediately following the breakthrough success of Things Fall Apart , its release was highly anticipated and highly delayed, as recording took two years....
(named after the pseudoscience

Pseudoscience

Pseudoscience is any knowledge, methodology, belief, or practice that is claimed to be scientific, or that is made to appear to be scientific, but which does not adhere to the scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, or otherwise lacks scientific status....
of Phrenology

Phrenology

Phrenology is a defunct field of study, once considered a science, in which the personality traits of a person were determined by "reading" bumps and fissures in the skull....
) in 2002. Despite not charting as high as Things Fall Apart, reaching a peak of #28 on the charts, Phrenology was commercially successful, eventually going gold, and earning a Grammy nomination for Best Album. At the time, however, there came rumors that the Roots were losing interest in their signing with MCA.

During this time the band also backed Jay-Z for his 2003 farewell concert in Madison Square Garden, and appeared in the accompanying "Fade to Black" DVD.

After Phrenology, Ben Kenney and Scratch both left the group. Their major label deal with Geffen

Geffen Records

Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group....
began to sour as pressure mounted on the group to sell more records. This culminated with the release of 2004's The Tipping Point
The Tipping Point (album)

The Tipping Point is the sixth album from The Roots. It peaked at #4 on the Billboard 200, at #2 on the R&B chart and at #71 in the UK. It is arguably the most commercial of all Roots albums with radio-friendly tracks such as "Don't Say Nuthin'"....
, which took its name from a 2000 book The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell is a British-born Canadian journalist, author, and pop sociologist, based in New York City. He has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996....
. The album earned two more Grammy nominations: one for Best Urban/Alternative Performance for the track "Star" and another for Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group for the track "Don't Say Nuthin'."

It debuted at #4 on the Billboard album chart, selling over 100,000 copies in its first week of release, just shy of going gold. Subsequently, the group left the label after the album's release. Contractual obligations resulted in the release of Home Grown! The Beginner's Guide To Understanding The Roots, Volumes 1 & 2 in 2005, a two-disc compilation album.

Game Theory
Game Theory (album)

Game Theory is the seventh studio album by Philadelphia, PA-based Hip hop music group The Roots, their first on Def Jam Records, which like the group's previous label, Geffen Records, is part of the Universal Music Group....
was released August 29, 2006, on Def Jam records. Questlove describes the album as being very dark and reflective of the political state in America. The first single from the album, "Don't Feel Right", appeared on the internet in May 2006, and is available for free download on several web sites. Various guest appearances had been rumored, but Scratch Magazine

Scratch (magazine)

Scratch was a magazine about the art of creating hip-hop. It featured articles regarding producers, musicians and DJs that make beats for rap records, and details the secret methods, stories, partnerships, philosophies and equipment behind the music....
confirmed only two: Peedi Peedi

Peedi Peedi

Pedro Zayas, known as Peedi Crakk and also Peedi Peedi, is an American rapper. He is a member of State Property and is currently signed to Amalgam Digital....
and Malik B.

Malik B.

Malik Abdul Basit-Smart is a Hip hop music artist associated with The Roots from their founding to their 2000-2001 tour. He has released one EP, entitled Psychological....
The album's first video, titled "The Don't Feel Right Trilogy", premiered on August 21, 2006, and features three songs, "In the Music", "Here I Come" and "Don't Feel Right". It earned an 83 on Metacritic and 2 Grammy Nominations. The late J Dilla

J Dilla

James Dewitt Yancey , also known as J Dilla, Jay Dee, or "your favorite producer's favorite producer", was an American record producer who emerged from the mid-1990s underground hip hop scene in Detroit, Michigan....
is honoured on different occasions throughout the album. The first track is credited to be "Supervised by J Dilla". Track thirteen, "Can't Stop This", is totally devoted to his persona, the first part being an edited version of a track ("Time : The Donut of the Heart") of his "Donuts" album, released three days before his death. This version comprises vocals by Black Thought. This album also includes several artists reminiscing about J Dilla in the form of answering machine messages.

The Roots' eighth studio album (10th overall), Rising Down
Rising Down

Rising Down is the eighth studio album by Philadelphia-based Hip-hop music band The Roots, released on Def Jam on April 29 2008. It is the band's second album with the label, following 2006's Game Theory ....
, was released on April 29, 2008, the 16-year anniversary of the Rodney King

Rodney King

Rodney Glen King is an African-American man who, on March 3, 1991, was the victim in an excessive force case committed by Los Angeles Police Department....
riots of 1992.

In the weeks before the album's release, the original first single "Birthday Girl", a radio-friendly collaboration with Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump

Patrick Stump

Patrick Martin Stumph was born on April 27, 1984, in Glenview, Illinois. He is an American musician, composer, record producer and music critic....
was removed from the album reportedly because it didn't fit in with the album's tone. It remained as a digital download available from iTunes

ITunes

iTunes is a Proprietary software digital media media player application, used for playing and organizing digital music and video files. The program is also an interface to manage the contents on Apple's popular iPod digital media players as well as the iPhone....
as a bonus track, as well as on international releases.

Picking up where Game Theory left off, the album maintains a dark political tone, with Black Thought

Black Thought

Chrisette Michele

Chrisette Michele Payne , known professionally as Chrisette Michele, is a Grammy Award-winning United States R&B singer on the Def Jam Recordings record label....
, Common, Mos Def

Mos Def

Dante Terrell Smith , is an American MC and actor known by the stage name Mos Def. Mos Def started his hip hop music career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul....
, Saigon

Saigon (rapper)

Brian Daniel Carenard, better known by his stage name Saigon, is an United States rapper.Saigon is currently signed to Just Blaze's Fort Knocks Entertainment record label and is awaiting the release of his label debut entitled The Greatest Story Never Told....
, Styles P

Styles P

David Holiday Styles , better known as Styles P, is an Grammy Award-winning American rapper and member of Hip hop music group The L.O.X....
, Talib Kweli

Talib Kweli

Talib Kweli Greene , better known as Talib Kweli, is an United States MC from Brooklyn, New York. He is one of the best-known and critically, if not commercially, successful rappers in alternative hip hop....
, and Wale

Wale (rapper)

Wale Folarin, better known simply as Wale , is a hip hop artist from Washington, D.C....
; it also features Philly favorites Dice Raw

Dice Raw

DJ Jazzy Jeff

Jeffrey Townes , also known as DJ Jazzy Jeff or simply "Jazz," is an American hip hop music and R&B record producer and turntablism. He is best known for his early career with Will Smith as DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince....
, Peedi Crakk, P.O.R.N., and Truck North, as well as former member Malik B.

Malik B.

Synthesizer

A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing a variety of sounds by generating and combining signals of different frequency....
-heavy feel into their sound. Rising Down was released to critical acclaim, garnering an overall score of 80 on Metacritic

Metacritic

Metacritic is a website that collates reviews of music albums, console game, film, television program, DVDs, and books. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged....
. The album's first single was "Rising Up" featuring Chrisette Michele

Chrisette Michele

Chrisette Michele Payne , known professionally as Chrisette Michele, is a Grammy Award-winning United States R&B singer on the Def Jam Recordings record label....
and D.C. rapper Wale

Wale (rapper)

Wale Folarin, better known simply as Wale , is a hip hop artist from Washington, D.C....
.

Questlove confirmed on his Twitter

Twitter

Twitter is a social networking and micro-blogging service. It enables its users to send and read other users' updates , which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length....
account that The Roots are working on their ninth studio album (11th overall), entitled How I Got Over.

Touring and other work

The band tours extensively, and their live sets are frequently hailed as the best in the genre. Recently, the band played a concert in NYC's Radio City Music Hall with Common

Common (rapper)

Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. , better known by his stage name Common , is an United States rapper and actor.Common debuted in 1992 with the album Can I Borrow a Dollar? and maintained a significant underground following into the late 90s, after which he gained notable mainstream success through his work with the Soulquarians....
, Nas

Nas

Nasir Jones, , , better known by his stage name Nas, , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapping and actor. The son of jazz musician Olu Dara, he was born and raised in the Queensbridge, Queens housing projects in New York City....
, Talib Kweli

Talib Kweli

Big Daddy Kane

Antonio Hardy , better known by his stage name, Big Daddy Kane, is an African-American rapper. He started his career in 1986 as a member of the rap group, the Juice Crew....
. They also backed Jay-Z

Jay-Z

Shawn Corey Carter , better known as his stage name, Jay-Z, is an American hip hop artist and businessman. He is the former Chief executive officer of Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records....
a third time, for his Reasonable Doubt Concert, a celebration of the 10-year anniversary of the release of his first album.

The Roots have been featured in four movies: Dave Chappelle's Block Party
Dave Chappelle's Block Party

Dave Chappelle's Block Party is a documentary film hosted and written by comedian Dave Chappelle, and directed by Michel Gondry. Its format is inspired by the documentary Wattstax....
; both performing album songs and playing as a backing band for other artists, Spike Lee

Spike Lee

Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an Emmy Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated United States film director, Film producer, screenwriter, and actor, noted for his films dealing with controversial Society and Politics issues....
's Bamboozled
Bamboozled

Bamboozled is a 2000 satire film written and directed by Spike Lee about a modern televised minstrel show featuring black actors donning blackface makeup and the violent fall-out from the show's success....
, and Marc Levin

Marc Levin

Marc Levin is a Jewish American filmmaker who is perhaps best known for his film Slam which won both the Sundance Film Festival's Dramatic Feature Grand Jury Prize and the Cannes Film Festival's Golden Camera award....
's Brooklyn Babylon, in which Black Thought

Black Thought

Rahzel

Rahzel or Rahzel M. Brown, also known as the "Godfather of Noise," is an American musician and virtuoso beatboxer, formerly a member of The Roots....
narrates, and Chasing Liberty
Chasing Liberty

Chasing Liberty is a 2004 in film romantic comedy about the President of the United States's daughter. It was directed by Andy Cadiff and starred Mandy Moore and Matthew Goode....
; starring Mandy Moore. Black Thought and Questlove were both featured in the movie "Brown Sugar," Black Thought also made an appearance in the film "Love Rome" as Tariq Trotter, and Questlove currently appears in the 2008 documentary movie about TBC Brass Band called , which lists The Roots as one of the executive producers of the movie.

The band guest performed on August 25 and August 26 with the Dave Matthews Band

Dave Matthews Band

Dave Matthews Band is an United States rock music band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia, Virginia in 1991. Founding members include singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bass guitar Stefan Lessard, violinist Boyd Tinsley, and drum kit Carter Beauford....
during their 2007 summer tour. Members of The Roots

The Roots

The Roots is a Grammy award-winning United States hip hop music band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals....
played in various forms as well as a whole band on DMB

DMB

DMB is an acronym that may stand for:*Digital Multimedia Broadcasting*DaMarcus Beasley*Dave Matthews Band*Del McCoury Band*Delaware Memorial Bridge...
's back to back concerts at Alpine Valley Music Theatre

Alpine Valley Music Theatre

The Alpine Valley Music Theatre is a 50,000 capacity amphitheatre in East Troy, Wisconsin. The seasonal venue was built in 1977, and it features a characteristic wooden roof covering the 9,500-seat pavilion , and a sprawling lawn....
in East Troy, Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is one of the fifty U.S. state in the United States of America, located in the north central part of the United States. It borders two of the five Great Lakes and four U.S....
.

The group hosts a highly-anticipated every year the night before the Grammys. The Roots Jam Session, produced by Okayplayer

Okayplayer

Okayplayer.com is an online Hip hop music and alternative music website and community. The group was co-founded by The Roots' drummer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson as a loose musical collective in 1987, and evolved into an online community in 1999....
, Goodtime Girl Entertainment and , has been attended by everyone from Jay Z, Beyonce and Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise

Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known by his Stage name Tom Cruise, is an United States actor and film producer. Forbes magazine ranked him as the world's most powerful celebrity in 2006....
to Don Cheadle

Don Cheadle

Donald Frank "Don" Cheadle is an United States actor, film producer, philanthropist, and author. Cheadle rose to prominence after playing supporting roles in films such as Out of Sight, Traffic , and the Ocean's Eleven series of films....
, Jeremy Piven

Jeremy Piven

Jeremy Samuel Piven is a three-time Emmy Award- and Golden Globe Award-winning American actor. He is best known for his role as Ari Gold on the critically acclaimed HBO television series Entourage ....
and Prince

Prince (musician)

Prince Rogers Nelson is an United States musician. He performs under the Mononymous person name of Prince, but has also been known by various other names, among them an Love Symbol ...
with impromptu performances from Snoop Dogg

Snoop Dogg

Cordozar Calvin Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg , is a Grammy Award-nominated American rapper, record producer, and actor....
and Corrine Bailey Rae to Queen Latifah

Queen Latifah

Dana Elaine Owens , better known by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American Rapping, Singing, CoverGirl and actress. Latifah's work in music, film and television has earned her a Golden Globe Award award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, a Grammy Award, six additional Grammy nominations, an Emmy Award nominat...
, Matisyahu

Matisyahu

Matthew Paul Miller , better known by his stage name Matisyahu is an United States reggae musician.Known for blending Orthodox Judaism themes with Reggae, Rock music and Hip hop music sounds, Matisyahu is most recognizable for his single "King Without a Crown", which was a surprise Top 40 hit, and for being an Orthodox Jew....
and Dave Chappelle

Dave Chappelle

David Khari Webber Chappelle , better known as Dave Chappelle, is an American comedian, screenwriter, television producer/film producer, and actor....
.

Billed as The Roots, Questlove, Kirk and Owen made an appearance on The Colbert Report

The Colbert Report

The Colbert Report is a Peabody Award- and Emmy Award-winning American news satire television program that airs from 11:30 p.m. to 12:00 midnight Eastern Time Zone each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central in the United States and on both The Comedy Network and CTV Television Network in Canada....
on April 15, 2008 when Stephen Colbert

Stephen Colbert

Stephen Tyrone Colbert is an United States comedian, Satire, actor and writer, known for his ironic style , and for his deadpan comedic delivery....
spent a week in Philadelphia prior to the 2008 Pennsylvania Democratic primary. During the appearance, they performed the intro song to the show, and closed the episode with a rendition of the Star Spangled Banner.

The song 'Here I Come' was featured in the movies Superbad and Hancock

Hancock

Hancock may refer to:...
.

The song 'The Seed' featuring Cody ChesnuTT

Cody ChesnuTT

Cody ChesnuTT is a musician....
was featured within the intro of the movie Collateral

Collateral

Collateral may refer to:* Collateral in finance means a security or guarantee pledged for the repayment of a loan if one cannot procure enough funds to repay....
.

The song 'Don't Say Nuthin' was featured in the first season episode, "Busey And The Beach" of HBO's Entourage

Entourage (TV series)

Entourage is an HBO original series created by Doug Ellin that chronicles the rise of Vincent Chase ? a young A-list movie star ? and his childhood friends from Queens, New York City as they navigate the unfamiliar terrain of Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, California....
.

They have also performed on the popular kids show Yo Gabba Gabba, singing "Lovely, Love My Family" in 2008.

Awards

Grammy Awards

1999: Won for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "You Got Me" (featuring Erykah Badu and Eve)
2002: Nominated for Best Rap Album for Phrenology
2004: Nominated for Best Urban/Alternative Performance for "Star"
2004: Nominated for Best Rap Performance By a Duo/Group for "Don't Say Nuthin'"
2007: Nominated for Best Rap Album for Game Theory
2007: Nominated for Best Rap Performance By a Duo/Group for "Don't Feel Right"

MTV Video Music Awards

2003: Nominated for MTV2 award for "The Seed 2.0"

mtvU Woodie Awards

2004: Nominated for Road Woodie and Welcome Back Woodie

BET Awards

2005: Nominated for Best Group

NAACP Image Awards

2005: Nominated for Outstanding Duo or Group
2007: Won for Outstanding Duo or Group

Named one of the "twenty greatest live acts in the world" by Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J....
, 2003
Won a "Heroes Award" from the Philadelphia chapter of the Recording Academy, 2004
First Hip-Hop group to perform at Lincoln Center in January, 2002
Won for Max Stevenson International Hip-Hop Award for 'Game Theory' album, 2007

The Roots

Members

Discography

Touring and other work

Awards

Discography

External links