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This Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
USA-based rap crew comprises rappers Black Thought
(aka Tariq Trotter), Malik B. (b. Malik Abdul
Basit), bass player Hub (b. Leonard Nelson Hubbard),
drummer ?uestlove (b. Ahmir-Khalib Thompson).
Specialising in old school freestyling, many comparisons
to Digable Planets or Gang Starr's jazz-flavoured
hip-hop followed the release of 1993's debut mini-album.
However, like Stetsasonic, the Roots are more
of a self-contained musical unit, relying on their
own talents rather than samples or session musicians.
The band was started in 1987
when Trotter and Thompson were students at Philadelphia
High School For The Performing Arts. They learned
and earned on the busking circuit, hooking up
with Hubbard and Basit. They attracted interest
on the underground circuit, but made their breakthrough
after performing a German showcase concert. An
album recorded to sell at shows was released on
Remedy Records, and they were spotted by Geffen
Records who signed the crew for the USA (Talkin'
Loud Records taking responsibility for the UK).
Their major label debut, 1995's Do You Want More?!!!??!,
eschewed samples and featured top jazz guests
plus the Roots' own rap protégés,
the Foreign Objects. The Roots appeared at Lollapalooza
and the Montreux International Jazz Festival the
same year, and added human beatbox Rahzel The
Godfather Of Noyze and Scott Storch (aka Kamal)
to the line-up. illadelph halflife found a greater
rap audience than the previous set, and included
samples taken from their jam sessions. The follow-up,
Things Fall Apart, was another critical success
and broke into the US Top 5 on the back of the
hit single "You Got Me", featuring Erykah
Badu. The much delayed follow-up, Phrenology,
finally appeared in November 2002. Eschewing the
smooth sound of its bestselling predecessor, the
Roots managed to capture the essence of their
hard-hitting, eclectic live sound on one of the
year's most challenging mainstream releases.
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