|
The Roots
The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'', having served in the same role on ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' from 2009 to 2014. The Roots are known for a jazzy and eclectic approach to hip hop featuring live musical instruments and the group's work has consistently been met with critical acclaim. ThoughtCo ranked the band #7 on its list of the 25 Best Hip-Hop Groups of All-Time, calling them "Hip-hop's first legitimate band." In addition to the band's music, several members of the Roots are involved in side projects, including record production, acting, and regularly serving as guests on other musicians' albums and live shows. Band history 1987–1993: Early years The Roots originated in Philadelphia with Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since 1854, the city has been coextensive with Philadelphia County, the most populous county in Pennsylvania and the urban core of the Delaware Valley, the nation's seventh-largest and one of world's largest metropolitan regions, with 6.245 million residents . The city's population at the 2020 census was 1,603,797, and over 56 million people live within of Philadelphia. Philadelphia was founded in 1682 by William Penn, an English Quaker. The city served as capital of the Pennsylvania Colony during the British colonial era and went on to play a historic and vital role as the central meeting place for the nation's founding fathers whose plans and actions in Philadelphia ultimately inspired the American Revolution and the nation's inde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soulquarians
The Soulquarians were a rotating collective of experimental Black music artists active during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Members of the collective included singer and multi-instrumentalist D'Angelo, drummer and producer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, producer J Dilla, singer-songwriter Erykah Badu, trumpeter Roy Hargrove, keyboardist James Poyser, singer Bilal, bassist Pino Palladino, rapper-producers Q-Tip and Mos Def, and rappers Talib Kweli and Common. Prior to its formation, Q-Tip, Common, Mos Def, and Talib Kweli were members of the Native Tongues collective. Stylistically, the collective's music has been variously described as neo soul, alternative hip hop, progressive soul, avant-garde, soul, conscious rap, and jazz fusion. Their members often collaborated on each other's recordings, holding extensive and innovative sessions at Electric Lady Studios in New York, which produced several well-received albums. Questlove of the hip hop band the Roots acted as the "musical po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martin Luther McCoy
Martin Luther McCoy (born August 1, 1973) is an American musician and actor. Early life McCoy is a San Francisco native from the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood. Career Martin collaborated extensively with musicians like The Roots and Cody ChesnuTT and appears as one of the six lead characters in the 2007 Beatles musical ''Across the Universe'' in the role of "Jo-Jo", who reflects Jimi Hendrix. In the film, McCoy performs the song "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", and " Don't Let Me Down" and also provides guitar and vocals on others. McCoy goes by the stage name of "Martin Luther" in his music career. For his acting work he is credited under his full name. Martin Luther developed his mix of musical genres as a child where he was raised on choir hymns through his religious parents. At the same time, he learned how to play piano and was exposed to the sounds of Parliament Funkadelic. These eclectic tastes redirected Martin Luther's interests as he experimented with the sound ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ben Kenney
Benjamin Lee Kenney Sr. (born March 12, 1977) is an American musician from Brielle, New Jersey. He is the current bass guitarist for the band Incubus (since 2003) and had previously played in the Roots as a guitarist. He also records as a solo artist, usually recording every instrument and singing all vocals on his records. Career Kenney played guitar for the hip-hop group the Roots before he joined Incubus in 2003 after the departure of the bass guitarist and founding member Alex Katunich (aka Dirk Lance). He had previously played with Incubus members Mike Einziger and Jose Pasillas in Time Lapse Consortium. Kenney plays at least six different instruments and sometimes plays drum duets with Incubus' drummer Jose Pasillas live on-stage. He has also done studio work for artists including Justin Timberlake, Faith Evans, Erykah Badu and Blackalicious, and producers Timbaland and DJ Jazzy Jeff. ''26'', ''Maduro'', ''Distance and Comfort'' and "Burn the Tapes" were all released ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hub (bassist)
Leonard Nelson Hubbard (1958/1959 – December 16, 2021), also known simply as Hub, was an American musician who was best known for being the bass guitarist for The Roots, a Philadelphia band, from 1992 to 2007. He played on all of their records until his departure from the group, including 1999's ''Things Fall Apart'' and 2004's ''The Tipping Point''. He was known for always having a chew stick in his mouth, both on and off the stage. Hubbard studied at Settlement Music School during his youth in Philadelphia, then went on to study classical upright bass at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Hub played his last show with The Roots on June 7, 2008, at the first annual Roots Picnic. Hub lived in West Philadelphia. He was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2007, and died from the disease at Lankenau Medical Center in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, on December 16, 2021, at the age of 62. He was interred at Laurel Hill Cemetery Laurel Hill Cemetery is a h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dice Raw
Karl Jenkins, better known as Dice Raw, is an American hip hop artist, from Philadelphia. He is associated with The Roots, and the now defunct musical group Nouveau Riche. He hooked up with the band while still in high school after Kelo, a member of the group's production team, spotted him in a local talent show. The group quickly took the young rapper under their collective wings and decided to bring his talent along slowly. He made his debut in "The Lesson, Pt. 1." Soon after, he made a name for himself with cameos on "Episodes" and "Adrenaline", where his hard-hitting style complemented the heady rhymes of Roots leader Black Thought. Dice Raw has made several guest appearances on several mixtapes. He made an appearance in fellow band member and beatboxer Scratch's first solo album ''Embodiment of Instrumentation''. In 2000, Dice Raw released his solo debut album, ''Reclaiming the Dead'' on MCA Records. Jenkins recorded vocals for the entrance theme of WWE wrestler Kung Fu Na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Owen Biddle (musician)
Owen Biddle (born October 1, 1977) is an American bass guitarist, record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ... and songwriter, known for his work with Hip hop music, hip hop group The Roots On August 25, 2011, he announced he was leaving The Roots to focus on his band, Mister Barrington. In 2020, he became a member of the band Squeeze (band), Squeeze. Prior to joining the group, Biddle was credited with production and writing on The Roots' Grammy-nominated album, ''Game Theory (album), Game Theory''. Other work includes multiple Grammy-winning recordings with John Legend in 2011, Booker T. Jones in 2012; also, with Al Green, Beanie Sigel, Baaba Maal, Jazmine Sullivan, Taylor Dayne, Enemy Earth, Jazzyfatnastees. He is also a member of The Trolleyvox and was a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malik B
Malik Abdul-Basit Smart (November 14, 1972 – July 29, 2020), better known by his stage name Malik B., was an American rapper and singer who was a founding member of the Roots.Davis, Kimberly (2003)The Roots Redefine Hip-Hop's Past, ''Ebony'', June 2003, p. 162Shapiro, Peter (2005) ''The Rough Guide to Hip-Hop'', Rough Guides, , p. 323 He appeared on the first four albums released by the Roots, before departing the group. He returned as a featured artist for some later albums. He released one EP, entitled ''Psychological'', on MC Haak Blast's publishing company Future Blast Publishing. He also released two studio albums, ''Street Assault'' (2005) and ''Unpredictable'' (2015) with Mr. Green. Career On the Roots' seventh studio album, ''Game Theory'', released in August 2006, Malik B returned to the group,Golianopoulos, Thomas (2006)The Roots ''Game Theory'', ''Vibe'', September 2006, p. 211-2 appearing on three tracks, including the title "Game Theory" (track 3; listed as 116 on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joshua Abrams (musician)
Joshua Abrams is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist. Career While living in Philadelphia in the late 1980s, Abrams was a member of Square Roots, a street music group that developed into The Roots. He moved to Chicago and played as a bassist with Tortoise, Town and Country, Hamid Drake, and Matana Roberts. Abrams was the house bass player at Fred Anderson's Velvet Lounge and for several years he played a weekly club date with Tortoise's John Herndon and Jeff Parker. He was a member of Mike Reed's Loose Assembly and Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble. In 2003, he played bass on Godspeed You! Black Emperor's album ''Yanqui U.X.O.''. He has worked as a studio musician on recordings made in Chicago, such as Jandek's ''Chicago Wednesday;'' Will Oldham, Bonnie "Prince" Billy's ''Beware (Bonnie Prince Billy album), Beware'' and albums from Chicago musicians such as Joan of Arc (band), Joan of Arc, David Grubbs, and Sam Prekop. In the early 00's, Delmark Records, Delm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dave Guy
Dave Guy is an American trumpet player and member of The Dap-Kings. Over his more than two decade career, he has been part of the groups Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Menahan Street Band, The Budos Band, and Lee Fields & The Expressions, among others. Since 2014, he has played with The Roots on ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon''. A prolific touring and session musician, he often works with producer Mark Ronson and can be heard playing on tracks including "Valerie" and "Uptown Funk." Guy has also played with Antibalas, The Sugarman 3, El Michels Affair, and Charles Tolliver's Big Band, and toured as part of Amy Winehouse's band. As part of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, he was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album in 2014. Guy was born and raised in Manhattan. He attended LaGuardia High School and studied music performance at the Manhattan School of Music and The New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ian Hendrickson-Smith
Ian Hendrickson-Smith is an American jazz saxophonist. He is best known for being a former member of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings from 2004 to 2010 and playing with The Roots on ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon''. Early life Hendrickson-Smith was born in New Orleans and graduated from State College Area High School in 1992. He later studied jazz performance at the Manhattan School of Music and is equally adept on all saxophones. Musical career Hendrickson-Smith began his professional music career in 1996. He has worked and recorded with Lady Gaga, Bob Dylan, U2, Amy Winehouse, and Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ... throughout his career. From 2004 to 2010, Hendrickson-Smith was a member of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. Hendrickson-Smith is curr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Poyser
James Jason Poyser is an American songwriter, record producer, musician and current member of the hip hop band The Roots. Poyser has written and produced songs for various legendary and award-winning artists such as Erykah Badu, Mariah Carey, John Legend, Rihanna, Lauryn Hill, Common (rapper), Common, Anthony Hamilton (musician), Anthony Hamilton, D'Angelo, The Roots, Jill Scott (singer), Jill Scott, and Big Sean. During his career, Poyser has toured and played live with distinctive artists such DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Cece Peniston, Jay-Z, Usher (musician), Usher, Queen Latifah, Elvis Costello, Aretha Franklin, and Hezekiah Walker. An active session musician, he has contributed to the works of Adele, Norah Jones, Eric Clapton, Al Green, Nas, Ziggy Marley, Citizen Cope, Yebba, Snoh Aalegra, and Femi Kuti among many others. His work in film and television include composing theme songs for shows such as ''Wyatt Cenac's Problem Areas'', ''Hawthorne (TV series), Hawthorn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
