Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
Everyone should make it a point to see The Roots live at least one time in their life, whether they are a fan of the hip-hop genre or not.
This is the thought that kept repeating in my mind Saturday night as I watched Black Thought (real name Tariq Trotter) perform a set of hip-hop covers that included EPMD’s “So Whatcha Sayin’” and Main Source’s “Looking at the Front Door.”
The live band backing him had two percussionists, including Questlove on drums; multiple guitar and bass players; a horn section, and a tuba player who danced around the stage carrying that big-ass horn for the entire 90-minute performance.
The Roots are one of hip-hop’s greatest acts, hands down. There are no qualifiers.
It’s not just the fact Black Thought is one of the greatest MCs of all time. It’s not just the fact they’ve given us an entire catalog of evergreen classics that we can relate to no matter what phase of our lives we are in.
It’s about the way The Roots are an actual band, and no matter how many times you see them live, you will never get the same show twice.
I’ve seen them multiple times a year every year since 2002 (save for the quarantine/shutdown years). Their shows are an “in the moment” vibe reminiscent of jam bands like Phish and the Grateful Dead.
If the culture of Dead and Phish shows translated to hip-hop, people would be recording and swapping Roots shows because each one is that unique.
The group doesn’t just play songs from their catalog that they know their audience will appreciate; they play songs from the catalogs of other artists they appreciate, and their appreciation of those songs shines through in their performances, which in turn increases the level of appreciation from the audience in attendance.
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