Philadelphia rapper and The Roots frontman Black Thought, whose real name is Tariq Trotter, prepares to captivate readers with his upcoming memoir titled The Upcycled Self. Set to be released on November 14 by One World, the memoir aims to provide a courageous model of living an examined life. Black Thought delves into his journey […]
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The Roots co-founder Black Thought (real name Tariq Trotter) has made his name in music thanks to his top-tier lyricism and prolific storytelling. The “Glorious Game” rapper’s latest announcement is a culmination of his extraordinary talents. Taking to social media, the entertainer revealed that he’s penned his life story, this time in the form of a memoir.
Titled The Upcycled Self, the book will be released on November 14 via One World, an imprint of Random House Books. Sharing the cover image on Instagram, Black Thought wrote a touching message about the forthcoming release.
“The storytelling continues,” Black Thought captioned the post. “The medium is ever-evolving. I’m so proud of this work. It’s been years in the making — the story of the Upcycled Self — a focus on childhood forged from the fire. I hope in sharing so much about my upbringing; we can find new courage to start the difficult conversations that prompt healing with ourselves and others. As men. As Black men. As humans.”
The book is described as a “moving portrait of the artist as a young man, but gives readers a courageous model of what it means to live an examined life.” Although this is Black Thought’s first physical book, back in 2021, he released an audiobook, 7 Years, in partnership with Audible.
The Upcycled Self is out 11/14. Find more information here.
Black Thought, the prolific emcee in The Roots, legal name Tariq Trotter has announced the release of a new memoir. The legendary wordsmith stated the memoir The Upcycled Self is years in the making. Not only that, the book is set to be released on November, 14th on One World. However, preorders are open right now. In a statement from the publisher, the memoir is described as “a beautifully bluesy story of a boy genius’s coming of age. “Trotter explores the vital questions we all have to confront about our formative years,” added the publisher.
Furthermore, the publisher mentions that Black Thought explores multiple questions like forgiving the people who love and hurt us. Not only that the book also dives into confronting the question of how to honor and rediscover our first dreams. “The Upcycled Self doesn’t just narrate a riveting and moving portrait of the artist as a young man, but gives readers a courageous model of what it means to live an examined life,” detailed the publisher. Black Thought has never cheated fans when it comes to putting out great work. Reportedly the memoir is filled with vivid vignettes. Thought pens the stories of the four powerful relationships that molded him.
In an Instagram post announcing the book, Black Thought wrote in his caption that “The storytelling continues. The medium is ever evolving.” The Streams of Thought emcee has always brought us works of immaculate raps through his work with The Roots and his solo projects. Additionally, the prolific rhymer also wrote in his caption that the book is “a focus on childhood forged from the fire.” If Black Thoughts memoir is anything like his music, it’s surely a must-read. Furthermore, the legendary rapper expresses how proud he is of this project and how he hopes this book opens up bigger conversations.
However, this isn’t the only project Black Thought has been working on as of late. Recently he revealed that he was in album mode detailing the release of his highly anticipated Streams of Thought Vol. 4. Moreover, The Roots co-founder also dropped a collaboration project with the soulful El Michel’s Affair. Are you grabbing a copy of Black Thought’s new memoir? Are you hyped for Streams of Thought Vol. 4? Let us know in the comments below.
Earlier this month, Black Thought And El Michels Affair shared their collaborative album, Glorius Game, which features Black Thought rapping over music produced and played by the lattermost band. Last night (April 26), the supergroup made an appearance on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon and performed the album’s title track.
During the performance, Black Thought & El Michels Affair were joined by singer Kirby, as Black Thought rapped over the band’s jazzy, soulful instrumentals.
“My mind is hard to explain / Call y’all all aboard for this train / I float like a nautilus, mane / Damn, I love this glorious game,” raps Black Thought over a pre-chorus.
Kirby’s soft vocals gave the song a sparkling touch, as she sang “Ooh, these are the glory days / If, and they did it, baby / Back in the day, baby / I swear, these are the glory days.”
With more than three decades in the game, Black Thought has garnered an impressive resume as a member of The Roots, as a solo act, and as a collaborator. But in a recent interview with The Fader, he revealed that he still has a lot he wants to do.
“Most of the things I do I’d be doing whether there was compensation involved or not,” he said. “I’m a creative, an artist. This is what I’ve always been. The medium is ever-evolving. The disciplines cross. I work in different spaces, different fields, but it’s all as a creative and a storyteller, using whatever tools I have at that particular moment to tell the same story.”
You can watch the performance of “Glorious Game” above.
Black Thought is fresh off the release of Glorious Game, his latest collaborative album with American soul band El Michels Affair. The album is yet another quality release in his prolific career, which includes eleven studio albums with The Roots and his Streams of Thought series. He also has arguably the greatest freestyles in hip hop history and also released an album with Danger Mouse in 2022. With all the music he has shared throughout the years, Black Thought is also known for delivering some incredible guest verses. He is widely considered one of the best rappers, and his features are legendary. Black Thought’s best guest verses are known for their show-stealing bars, no matter who is on the track.
This list looks at the best Black Thought features he has contributed throughout his career. Each verse is selected considering the quality of bars, flows, and delivery in comparison to the other rappers on the song. The songs are listed in chronological order.
Black Thought is known for always having the best verse when he gets on a song. On Big Pun’s “Super Lyrical,” the debate on who has the best verse is closer than one might think. Throughout the song, Big Pun and Black Thought continue to out rap each other, much like “Brooklyn’s Finest,” where they continue to raise the bar throughout the song. Big Pun’s verse impresses with complex rhyme schemes, while Black Thought’s flow is more simplistic yet equally effective. The contrast between rhyme styles on this song makes for one of hip hop’s greatest collaborations. This song was also one of the early examples of when Black Thought’s guest verses would encourage other rappers to step their game up.
Ghostface Killah’s 2010 song “In Tha Park” is a nostalgic song about what made the origins of hip hop in New York so special. Ghostface kicks off the track by rapping about when he started falling in love with hip hop. He cites his first time seeing a DJ scratching with the MC rocking the crowd, along with the fashion. Black Thought continues with this concept, but his verse centers around the early days of hip hop’s scene in Philadelphia. His verse is also noticeably more energetic, with a flow that matches the ruggedness of the beat’s distorted guitar loop. He makes specific references to different parts of Philadelphia’s neighborhoods, putting his unique spin on the song, matching Ghostface’s verse.
The best Black Thought guest verses usually start at the end of a song, saving the best verse for last. However, he starts things off on “Art Imitates Life,” setting the bar extremely high for the verses from Talib Kweli and Rah Digga. What makes this song so unique is how unorthodox the beat is. Despite how off-kilter the instrumental may be, all three rappers deliver incredible verses. His flow and ability to cut through the beat effortlessly set Black Thought’s verse apart from the rest.
“Bird’s Eye View” is one of Black Thought’s most legendary guest verses. Raekwon and Joey Bada$$ set the bar high with phenomenal verses over a soulful beat produced by Statik Selektah. Even with those great verses, Black Thought completely eclipses them by rapping for two minutes straight. His rhyming on the song is incredible, and he spits quotable bars, such as when he raps, “My sonogram was an image of a gun in the womb / That was soon to be doper than heroin in a spoon.” The verse is even more impressive when you learn that he did it in one take.
Much like “Bird’s Eye View,” Statik Selektah allows Black Thought the majority of the song to showcase his lyrical skills on “The Imperial.” Action Bronson and Royce Da 5’9” deliver fantastic verses, lending their unique styles to the song. Much like Raekwon and Joey Bada$$ on “Bird’s Eye View,” it is very difficult to out-rap Action and Royce on a song. However, it is not for Black Thought as he raps for nearly three minutes, resulting in an earth-shattering verse that came close to the same acclaim as his Funk Flex freestyle. He raps at the highest level on this song with complex rhyme schemes and killer one-liners.
Rappers have struggled to keep up with one Black Thought verse, but Freddie Gibbs does a pretty good job keeping up on “Extradite.” It takes from “Nautilus,” Bob James’s 1974 song, one of the most sampled tracks in hip hop history. Freddie Gibbs is on point the entire time and can keep up with Black Thought most of the song. The amazing thing about the collaboration is that the beat goes through many different phases throughout. Black Thought spits two killer verses and can match Freddie’s tough rapping style with his clean, concise delivery.
Much like “Extradite,” the beat on PRhyme’s “Wishin” changes throughout the song, forcing the rappers to keep up with the instrumental. The original version featured Common and was already impressive enough. “Wishin’ II” takes things to another level as Black Thought kicks one of his best verses. He starts over the slower portion of the beat with the same conviction as when it speeds up. He gets into his groove when the production speeds up. As mentioned, it is tough to out-rap Royce Da 5’9”, but Black Thought set the bar too high on this song.
During this later part of his career, Black Thought rapped over more experimental beats. These new and refreshing stylistic choices have helped him push musical boundaries. His appearance on Roc Marciano’s “Diamond Cutters” is a prime example of how unique production choices helped Black Thought approach songs differently. His sharp delivery and impressive rhyme schemes cut through the eerie flute sound in the beat. It contrasts well with Roc’s off-kilter flow.
“Crowns For Kings” starts with one of Benny The Butcher’s best verses ever. He raps about his humble beginnings over the triumphant horns in the beat. It was a magnificent way to start a song and an EP. Black Thought’s verse, on the other hand, is last for a good reason. Not only is it one of his best guest verses, but it’s the best verse on Benny’s EP. Black Thought matches Benny’s content in his bars as he paints a picture of being a kid surrounded by poverty and turning it into a success story. He raps, “We was crooks, tryna cop more rides than Great Adventure / Any image we took, not a father was in the picture.” It is easily one of the best Black Thought verses.
Like “In Tha Park,” Eminem’s “Yah Yah” is a song that pays homage to the earlier eras of hip hop. The song is chaotic, consisting of a bombastic instrumental with energetic verses from Eminem, Royce Da 5’9”, and Black Thought. Black Thought sticks to the topics, referencing Slick Rick and J Dilla. He keeps listeners on their toes, constantly switching his rhyme schemes and keeping up with the rapid tempo of the beat.
Overall, Black Thought tends to have the best guest verse when he hops on a track. He has spit so many legendary guest verses that it is difficult to narrow the list down to ten. In addition to his latest release, Black Thought also recently announced two new albums.
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Black Thought is sharing details about the highly anticipated Streams of Thought Vol. 4. The Roots rapper released the previous three versions of the album in He’s also gearing up for an album set to come out later this week. Glorious Game is a collaborative effort with the ever-soulful El Michel’s Affair. Both albums have garnered considerable interest from fans.
During an interview with Fader, Thought revealed that Glorious Game is a deeply personal album. “It’s probably my most personal record to date,” he said. “It’s going to be all narrative and it’s going to all come from a very personal place.” Meanwhile, Thought detailed the long list of artists set to feature on the Streams of Thought Vol. 4. “The album features Yasiin Bey, Pharoahe Monch, Fabolous, Redman, Rick Ross, Big K.R.I.T. Curren4y, Tobe Nwigwe, and J.I.D.,” he said. “There’s at least one feature on almost every song.” He went on to reveal that R&B veteran Nicole Wray also features on the album.
Despite the long features lost, Thought says the album didn’t take long to record. “I wanted to shuffle through the recording process the same the listener shuffles through songs,” he said. Thought says the project is already complete. However, he’s not committing to a release date. “It’s been in my vault for a couple years now,” he said. “It could come out at any point in time.” Obviously, Thought gained stardom as a co-founder and frontman of the Roots. However, the members of the group have never shied away from doing solo projects. Thought credits this as the source of the group’s strength. “Everybody has there own thing they do when we’re not together as part of the roots,” he said. “There’s a great appreciation for what we are able to achieve independently.”
The Roots rapper has certainly been busy over the past year. He released the album Cheat Codes, a collaboration with Danger Mouse just last year. The album received generally favorable reviews from fans and critics. Moreover, the project features a posthumous feature from MF Doom. We will see how well his two newest projects perform with his loyal fan base.
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Chuck D just stamped both Eminem and Black Thought as 2 lyrical cyborgs in hip hop.
During an appearance on N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN’s Drink Champs podcast on Saturday, the Public Enemy veteran gave both MCs their flowers referring to them as ‘cyborgs’..
The legendary MC who is arguably your favorite MC’s MC
“Eminem and Black Thought… big ups to Black Thought, The Roots, and also Eminem. Cyborgs, man,” Chuck said. “They’re cyborgs, but let me tell you this: we can also get caught up cause’ you know, you got future generations, and then you got people who ain’t gonna even get on the register who are so dope.”
The “Fight The Power” rapper continued by praising Skyzoo as a dope lyricist, which prompted the Brooklyn MC to give Chuck D his flowers on Instagram.
“The good word on a Sunday from the pastor of hip-hop, the legendary rhyme animal Chuck D,” Skyzoo wrote in response. “An absolute icon. Honored x humbled x grateful to say the least. Thank you OG. The book I studied from as a young aspiring writer had chapters dedicated to your penmanship in it. I learned from you 1,000%. Salute OG.”
Check out the post below:
Watch the full interview below.
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