Philly is home to lots of great music. Old school natives include Teddy Pendergrass and Patti Labelle, and contemporary artists include Musiq, Jill Scott and The Roots.
The Roots have become the premier Hip-Hop band, boasting, their Grammy Award winning hit single, “You Got Me,” as well as fan classics like, “Proceed,” “What They Do,” and “The Next Movement.” They have dropped nine studio albums to date, including “The Roots Come Alive,” and “When Things Fall Apart.” They’ve also provided the sounds for Jay Z's classic MTV UnPlugged performance, and served as the house-band for Dave Chappelle’s 2005 concert film, “Block Party.”
Most music fans instantly recognize the Drummer, ?uestLove because of his huge afro. However, the lead MC, Tariq Trotter alias Black Thought, isn’t known as much for his look as he is for his flow and rhyme skills.
Tariq Trotter (Black Thought) and ?uestLove (Ahmir Khalib Thompson) have come a long way from the days of battling Boyz to Men in the high school talent shows. They formed “The Square Roots” while attending Philadelphia’s High School for Creative and Performing Arts, later added more members, shortened their name to “The Roots”, and now successfully travel the globe performing.
The Roots are currently on a European tour. “I love being on stage,” says Tariq. “When we’re overseas, it seems like they have a better appreciation for the arts and for our music.” He says he is surprised when audiences overseas know all the words to their songs, and even know the covers they perform. “It’s impressive,” he said.
Black Thought is well respected by his peers in hip-hop as a dope MC, and he credits much of his influence to Big daddy Kane and Kool G Rap. “I know more words to Kane songs than Kane,” he brags. Surprisingly, he also says that Elvis, Chuck Berry and Little Richard were also influential, adding that he appreciates their showmanship. While he says he doesn’t spend much time worrying about what other rappers do, he does note that he feels Common, Mos Def and Pharoah Monch are “consistently on point.”
Being consistent with a true artist, Tariq’s musical preferences varies. “I don’t listen to a lot of Hip-Hop music. I make Hip-Hop, but I listen to Classic Rock, old R&B and Reggae.”
A lot of groups add and lose members over time. Since The Roots’ 1993 debut, they have only lost one member, Malik B (after an alleged battle with drugs). Tariq contends the Roots will never have a revolving door of members. One thing that makes the group unique is the musical director, ?uestLove, who is also the star and public face of the group. Tariq says he doesn’t mind taking the back seat to ?uestlove, noting he prefers his privacy and considers himself an introvert. “Being in the public eye is the part of my job I like the least,” he said. “My job is to write my shit.”
Possible reasons for his introversion may be related to the deaths of both his parents (his father at age one, and his mother at age 16). He studied Visual Arts at Philadelphia’s High School for Creative and Performing Arts, and until his mother’s death he’d primarily expressed himself through drawing and painting. That focus changed shortly after, as he focused primarily on writing. That said, Tariq added that his rhymes oftentimes are not personal reflections. “I keep my shit to myself,” he says, “When you let people into your personal life, they start to place judgment.”
He did share one personal thought on Barack Obama’s 2008 Presidential Election victory, “If he can become President, I guess you can really be whatever you want to be.”
“Rising Up” is the newest single from the Roots’ “Rising Down” CD. The song features Chrisette Michele and Wale. Black Thought says he most loves this song because he is able to really flow, and he also lives the music which has a go-go vibe.
You can reach Black Thought on MySpace at www.myspace.com/blackthought. “Rising Down” is available at all major music retail outlets.
No comments:
Post a Comment