The Roots Biography

The Roots came together in the late 1980’s, when Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter created the soul-infused hip-hop band. They released their first album, Organix, independently in 1993, and its success garnered them a deal with the record label DGC. With DGC, the Roots released Do You Want More?!!!??! in 1995, and following performances at Lollapalooza and the Montreux Jazz Festival that same year, the band found themselves with a strong following.

Additional albums followed, including: Illadelph Halflife (1996), Things Fall Apart (1999), Phrenology (2002), The Tipping Point (2004), Game Theory (2006), Rising Down (2008), How I Got Over (2010), and Undun (2011.) The albums spawned the singles “Cones,” “What They Do,” “Double Trouble,” “Act Two,” “You Got Me,” “Don’t Say Nuthin’,” "Don't Feel Right", "In the Music", "Here I Come,” and "Rising Up.” Over the years, the Roots have established themselves as one of the best live performance band in the industry, and in 2003 Rolling Stone named them one of the “twenty greatest live acts in the world.” The Roots have brought their music to innumerous festivals and live appearances, and the band hosts two popular annual events: a pre-Grammy jam session, and an all-day music festival in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

In addition to their live performances, the Roots have been featured in dozens of films and television shows, including: Dave Chappelle’s Block Party, Brooklyn Babylon, Bamboozled, Chasing Liberty, Brown Sugar, and the Colbert Report. Their music has been featured in films and television shows such as Men in Black, Superbad, Hancock, Collateral, I Think I Love My Wife, Without a Trace, Entourage, and Cold Case.

For their achievements in music, the Roots have earned an astonishing twelve Grammy nominations, with four wins, for: Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group (for “You Got Me,” 1999); Best Group or Duo R&B Vocal Performance (for Shine, 2011); Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance (for “Hang on in There,” 2011); and Best R&B Album (for Wake Up!, 2011.)

The current lineup of the Roots consists of Black Thought, Questlove, Kamal Gray, F. Knuckles, Captain Kirk Douglas, Damon Bryson, James Poyser, and Mark Kelley. The band currently serves as the house band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and recently released their most current album, & Then You Shoot Your Cousin (2013.)