BLACK THOUGHT

Black Thought & El Michels Affair Relish The ‘Glorious Game’ From Their Upcoming Joint Album

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We’re another day closer to the release of Black Thought & El Michels Affair’s joint album Glorious Game, and today, the rapper and his other band rewarded fans for their patience with the title track from the album. “Glorious Game,” like “Grateful” and “That Girl” before it, sounds like an excerpt from a 1970s-era Blaxploitation film while Black Thought displays his usual virtuoso, rhyming an ode to the titular “Glorious Game” and detailing the secrets to his effortless cool.

Glorious Game is Thought’s second joint project in as many years, following 2022’s Cheat Codes with Danger Mouse, which saw him take a step back from his duties as the frontman of The Roots to spit alongside some of the rap biz’s finest MCs, including Joey Badass, MF DOOM, and Run The Jewels. Meanwhile, the multitalented rap pioneer has also been busy as a producer of film, television, and stage, most recently teaming up once again with his bandmate Questlove to produce a four-part documentary series about James Brown for A&E titled James Brown: Say It Loud. Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones is also listed as a producer.

Glorious Game is due for release on April 14 through Big Crown. Find more information here.

[WATCH] Black Thought Delivers His ‘Love Letter to Hip-Hop’ to Celebrate Hip-Hop 50

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Black Thought Delivers His 'Love Letter to Hip-Hop' to Celebrate Hip-Hop 50

Black Thought is showing the full range of his gift in a new love letter to Hip-Hop. The release is a part of BET’s 50th anniversary of hip-hop programming. The poem calls out the icons of the culture ranging from artists to fashion icons, while also examining the eras of struggle and triumph that Black people have endured.

“This is Part 2 of our Love Letter to Hip Hop and if you’re not keeping up, I need you to,” BET wrote on Instagram. “We hit up @blackthought to pen a tribute to Hip Hop as we celebrate its 50th and of course, the pen is ridiculous.”

You can watch it all below.

The post [WATCH] Black Thought Delivers His ‘Love Letter to Hip-Hop’ to Celebrate Hip-Hop 50 appeared first on The Source.

The Roots’ Black Thought Writes A “Love Letter To Hip-Hop” To Celebrate Its 50th Anniversary

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The Roots’ Black Thought

The Roots’ Black Thought shared a written verse, “Love Letter To Hip-Hop” on BET. The love letter is Black Thought’s way of thanking hip-hop in honor of the genre’s official 50th anniversary. Legendary Philadelphia and Roots rapper Black Thought shared a written verse on his Instagram dedicated to hip-hop’s 50th anniversary.  Black Thought, who has […]

The post The Roots’ Black Thought Writes A “Love Letter To Hip-Hop” To Celebrate Its 50th Anniversary appeared first on SOHH.com.

Black Thought Sends A Poetic ‘Love Letter To Hip-Hop’ In Honor Of The Culture’s 50th Anniversary

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2023 is hip-hop’s official 50th anniversary, and celebrations are taking place all year to pay homage to the impact hip-hop and rap have had on the world since that fateful rec room party in the Bronx, New York. The Recording Academy honored 50 years of hip-hop (give or take a decade) at its most recent Grammy Awards ceremony, and a few other institutions have events planned throughout the year.

One such important institution to the growth of hip-hop is BET; purveyors of the culture have been allowed to shine for over 30 years on the network thanks to Rap City, 106 & Park, and the BET Hip-Hop Awards. BET has plenty of honors planned as well, and today, rolled out the first: An ode to hip-hop delivered in poetic form by The Roots frontman Black Thought.

In a black-and-white video directed by famed video director Benny Boom, Black Thought details the origins and growth of hip-hop and its importance to those who love it as scenes from across its storied history play out on screen.

In a statement, Thought said, “I remember a time before hip hop and it’s something that we need to cherish and appreciate and not take for granted because it’s not guaranteed. Even though it’s always been there for people for the past few generations, it’s not guaranteed that it’s going to always be there if we don’t, you know what I’m saying, treat it the way we’re supposed to and continue to pour ourselves and to invest into it in an authentic way.”

You can watch Black Thought deliver his “Love Letter To Hip-Hop” above.

Black Thought And El Michels Affair Get In The Valentine’s Day Spirit With ‘That Girl’

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black thought that girl
Getty Image

In case you haven’t heard, Black Thought is keeping his hot streak going with a new collaborative album. Glorious Game, due April 14 through Big Crown, sees The Roots frontman teaming up with New York “cinematic soul” band El Michels Affair. They announced the new project in January with the lead single “Grateful,” and today, they share its follow-up, “That Girl.”

Appropriately for its release date, “That Girl” is an ode to the latest object of Thought’s affections, who he describes as “a flower from a garden / A pure, fleur de jardins.” The production is, as usual, very similar to the score of a Blaxploitation film, with an orchestral soul intro and woozy funk loops. It’s a short but sweet track that previews what fans can expect from the new album.

Black Thought has spent the last few years branching out from his role as the The Roots’ rapper. In addition to playing a low-key co-host role on The Tonight Show alongside Jimmy Fallon, he’s been releasing a string of collaborative projects, including Cheat Codes with Danger Mouse and the Streams Of Thought EPs with 9th Wonder, Salaam Remi, and Sean C.

Listen to Black Thought and El Michels Affair’s new song, “That Girl” below.

Black Thought Announces New Album

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Black Thought is still fresh off the release of his album from last year, Cheat Codes. The 12-track project finds him teaming up with eclectic producer Danger Mouse.

Boasting features from the likes of Raekwon, A$AP Rocky, Run The Jewels and more, it was certainly one of the better hip-hop albums of 2022. Additionally, it contains a posthumous feature from MF DOOM.

Black Thought of The Roots performs at Mass MoCA on July 8, 2022 in North Adams, Massachusetts. (Photo by Lisa Dragani/Getty Images)

Regardless, The Roots rapper is showing no signs of slowing down. The announcement that he’ll be dropping another new album soon came on Wednesday (January 11).

Titled Glorious Game, the new project is set to release on April 14. Along with the announcement, he subsequently dropped its lead single, “Grateful.” “They play the avenue of Amsterdam / With other pickpocketin’ thieves and gamblin’ men / And they just come at all the noodles, where resistance is futal / Business as usual, it’ll blow out your wigs like french poodles,” raps the 51-year-old in the new track.

Glorious Game will find the Philadelphia native teaming up with El Michels Affair for its entirety. Led by Leon Michels, the band is a cinematic soul group. Michels himself plays tenor saxophone, flute, keyboards, guitar, bass and percussion. Some of their other members include Homer Steinweiss, Nick Movshon and Thomas Brenneck.

El Michels Affair is best known for their 2009 LP, Enter The 37th Chamber, which is a live album that pays homage to the Wu-Tang Clan and their Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) album from 1993.

Are you looking forward to hearing Black Thought’s new album? Comment your thoughts below. Finally, make sure you stay tuned to HNHH for all of the latest music news and releases.

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