The Roots Picnic, held yearly in Philadelphia since 2008, is a special kind of music festival. The lineup this year covered a wide spectrum of hip-hop and R&B, plus country, go-go, and more, with the Roots’ own omnivorous musicality as the guiding force. Daily crowds of 30,000 made the pilgrimage …
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The Roots have announced the lineup for their 2024 Roots Picnic. Philly fans will have their chance to see André 3000 bring his flute project New Blue Sun to the stage for a live performance. But it’s Lil Wayne who is tapped to headline the June festival. He’ll be backed …
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Sophie Ellis-Bextor brought the party to The Tonight Show with a lively rendition of her hit “Murder on the Dancefloor.” The confetti-filled performance marked Ellis-Bextor’s U.S. TV debut, decades after the song’s release in 2001. The singer was accompanied by house band the Roots, with the excited audience dancing along. …
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If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission. Justin Timberlake stopped by The Tonight Show to promote his forthcoming album, Everything I Thought It Was, and took the opportunity to announce that he will be hitting …
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The Roots and Live Nation Urban announced Monday the Roots Picnic: Hip-Hop is the Love of My Life festival, which will take place June 29 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. The Roots will headline with additional performances by Queen Latifah, Common, and others. It’s the Philly festival’s inaugural …
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T ariq Trotter, a.k.a. Black Thought, has given the world endless insight into his mind in the 35-plus years since he founded the Roots with his high school classmate Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson. But even after all those richly detailed lyrical flights and legendary live shows, he began to suspect he …
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On an early Saturday evening in Philadelphia, in a pastoral stretch of park known as the Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Questlove is making time stand still. Onstage with him are Ronald Isley, wearing a patent-leather suit and looking ageless enough at 82 to make you think of Dorian …
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Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter announced that he’s releasing a new memoir. The Upcycled Self is set to arrive Nov. 14, Variety reports. The Roots co-founder’s story “begins with a tragedy: As a child, Trotter burned down his family’s home,” according to an announcement describing the book, and “doesn’t just narrate …
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The Jonas Brothers took to the Tonight Show stairwell on Tuesday to perform an acoustic version of their new single “Waffle House” with The Roots. The “Musical Stairs” segment featured Mark Kelley on cello, “Captain” Kirk Douglas and Kevin Jonas on guitar, as Nick and Joe Jonas leading vocals. The …
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The widow of founding Roots bassist Leonard Hubbard and his estate have filed a lawsuit against band co-founders Questlove and Black Thought, among others, alleging they violated RICO laws and claiming they defrauded Hubbard out of millions. The complaint, obtained by Rolling Stone, alleges that Questlove (whose real name is …
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