![]() ![]() The book debuts at a weird moment for chroniclers of hip hop. Questlove’s new memoir, Mo’ Meta Blues, arrives as the Roots prep a 14th LP and collaborative album with Elvis Costello. But under Fallon’s bright stage lights, the Roots thrived. Like Jay-Z at Def Jam, critics stood back, initially dubious. ![]() Quick segments like “Freestylin’ with the Roots”-any genre fair game-and a nightly walk-on song for each guest displayed the band’s vast musical knowledge. In 2009, Jimmy Fallon asked the Roots to be his late-night band. ![]() It examined subjects like the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and Philly’s rising homicide rate. In 2006, the Philadelphia hip-hop band released its art record: Game Theory. After all, the Roots stood out as a hip-hop group-as in odd-man out. He and the Roots claimed born-and-bred East Coast roots, and the band backed Jay-Z during an MTV Unplugged album.īut where the Roots saw similarities, Jay-Z couldn’t help but notice differences. The band wanted to move to Def Jam for a few reasons, including one very excellent one: Jay-Z was president. The Roots had cut ties with its label Interscope. “Man, I don’t want to look like the guy who killed the Roots,” Jay-Z once said to Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, the group’s drummer and de facto spokesman. ![]()
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