BLACK THOUGHT

Black Thought Returns To Carnegie Hall For Hip Hop Workshops, Showcase On April 7

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Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute (WMI) today announced that seven rising MCs have been selected to participate in a free master class led by
legendary hip-hop artist Black Thought from April 4-7, 2022 as part of the Hall’s ongoing series of workshops and master classes for young professional musicians. During the multi-day master class, The Roots front man mentors the MCs in sessions focusing on lyricism, flow, style, and delivery while also exploring the history of hip-hop. DJ and producer Sean C. joins as a special guest, helping to coach the MCs, and leading music industry figures will share insights about building a career. The works, which was originally scheduled for fall 2021—builds off the Hall’s inaugural hip-hop workshop series with Black Thought in February 2020 and follows his April 1-3 residency at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The MCs, who have been recognized as exceptionally talented rising artists in hip-hop, are:

TA3 (Lumberton, New Jersey)
Genesis Be (Biloxi, Mississippi)
Born Wenzday (East Hartford, Connecticut)
Relic The Bully (Chicago, Illinois)
Felisha George (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Jrei Oliver (New Orleans, Louisiana)
SIYAKA (Brooklyn, New York)

For the culminating event in this season’s hip-hop workshop at Carnegie Hall, the MCs perform in a public showcase, curated by Black Thought. The performance takes place on Thursday, April 7, 2022 at 7:30 p.m. in the Weill Music Room in Carnegie Hall’s Resnick Education Wing. Tickets for the final showcase are now on-sale. It will also be available for audiences at home to livestream on Facebook, YouTube, and Carnegie Hall’s website. This marks the second time that Black Thought has led a master class at the Hall, following his first workshop in February 2020.

The post Black Thought Returns To Carnegie Hall For Hip Hop Workshops, Showcase On April 7 appeared first on The Source.

Black Thought Adds A Clever Rap Verse To A Classic ‘Frozen’ Song On ‘The Tonight Show’

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The musical abilities of The Roots are a core component of The Tonight Show and that was on display yesterday, when the show tasked Black Thought (aka Tariq Trotter) to come up with some new rap verses for non-rap songs. Trotter understood the assignment, as the kids say, and came through with some clever lines.

The “Rap Remix” segment started with a gaffe, as Trotter rapped about St. Patrick’s Day, the upcoming holiday most commonly associated with Ireland, over bagpipes, the instrument most commonly associated with Scotland. While uilleann pipes (listen to an example of them being played here) are a type of bagpipe associated with traditional Irish music, the ones heard on Fallon did not sound to be of that variety. Furthermore, the song being played was “Scotland The Brave.”

From there, Trotter rapped over the ’60s Batman theme song before wrapping up the segment with a take on beloved Frozen cut “Do You Want To Build A Snowman?.” The song was remixed into a more hip-hop-appropriate instrumental and Trotter really closed out the verse strong, concluding, “Up in a cyclone, we’ll build him together / Spring is upon us, I’m sweating, so / if he melts, just say, ‘Oh well’ / ’cause look: You gotta let it go.”

Watch the “Rap Remix” segment above.

A James Brown Documentary Produced By Mick Jagger And Questlove Is Coming In 2023

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James Brown
Getty Image/Ralph Ordaz

A new four-part documentary series about James Brown is coming in 2023, according to A&E network. Titled James Brown: Say It Loud, it’ll be produced by the Rolling Stones‘ Mick Jagger and the Roots’ Questlove and Black Thought. It’ll feature tons of interviews with people from Brown’s life such as friends and collaborators, while also including exclusive archival footage.

“He was a brilliant performer who inspired me from the beginning and was deeply committed to the Civil Rights movement,” Jagger said in a statement, also stating that he’s “thrilled” to help produce it. “I have always admired James and learned so much from him.”

“The life of James Brown is significant not only to understand his immense musical impact, which inspires us and other artists to this day, but also for the deep and lasting impression he has had on American culture,” Questlove and Black Thought added. “Brown’s life is a crucial and timely story of struggle, redemption, and self-identity and we are honored to have the chance to share it.”

James Brown: Say It Loud will be directed by Deborah Riley Draper. It follows the 2014 biopic Get On Up, in which Chadwick Boseman played Brown. That was also produced by Jagger.

Black Thought And Questlove’s Disney Animated Series Premieres This Week On Disney+

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Disney Press

If you had told me 20 years ago that the two main members of The Roots would be executive producers on a Disney animated series, I’m not totally sure I would have believed you. But here we are in 2022, with Black Thought and Questlove working on “Rise Up, Sing Out,” a musical series looking to inspire and empower children with uplifting messages and cultural affirmations. Variety reports the series will be streaming starting today on Disney Plus with the first episode also airing on Disney Channel and Disney Junior.

Not only do Quest and Thought produce the series and the music in it (naturally), but they will also appear in it in adorable animated form offering themes of “diversity, inclusion, kindness, and self-expression.” Disney produced the show to address a growing demand for children’s entertainment that would help parents teach kids respect for each others’ differences in an increasingly diverse world. In a statement, The Roots’ frontmen tackled those issues head-on:

The ‘Rise Up, Sing Out’ shorts touch on a lot of real-world issues, especially for young Black kids, that just weren’t talked about when we were growing up. The beautiful thing about these shorts is that not only are they going to provide young kids the proper language to talk to their friends and family about some of the things that might be bothering them, but it’s also going to give parents the tools on how to respond.

We feel this is the perfect moment and the perfect time for us to put this project out into the world to plant a seed about kindness that will hopefully have a lasting impact for generations to come.

In addition, on Friday, February 4, Walt Disney Records will release the music from the series to streaming. It looks like the future is in good hands — who would’ve thought those hands would belong to The Roots?

Watching Black Thought Speed-Rap One Of His Earliest Flows Will Remind You Just How Talented He Is

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Though plenty of hip-hop heads are more than familiar with exactly how talented Black Thought (aka Tariq Trotter) is, he’s always ready to remind everyone at the drop of a hat. Whenever the uninformed posters of the internet reveal their ignorance of his immense skill level, Black Thought fans always rush to defend his honor. It’s almost become a meme itself at this point, but not quite, because he really is that good! Just in case anyone was left with any doubts, Trotter recently returned to his old stomping grounds at The Tonight Show to discuss a project he briefly left the show to work on.

Trotter took a hiatus from The Roots and late night to help adapt John Ridley’s novel Black No More into a musical that will be playing in New York until February 27 (tickets here). So of course, Jimmy Fallon had his former coworker back on the show to actually talk about the musical and what Trotter experienced during the process of working in live theater. But it wouldn’t be a Black Thought appearance if there wasn’t also some off-the-cuff freestyling, right? After sharing some middle school memories, and with just a tiny bit of mild coaxing, Trotter unleashed a bout of speed-rapping — on command, no less — that’s so epic it really does put most MCs to shame. Kendrick better come with that rumored new single as soon as possible if he wants to stay in the running for greatest rapper alive, at least that’s how I feel when I watch Black Thought take the mic. Check it out above.

Saba Recruits 6lack, Smino, G Herbo, Black Thought, And More For His Third Album ‘Few Good Things’

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Saba Capitol Hill Block Party 2019
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This April marks four years since Saba released his last album, Care For Me. Luckily the Chicago rapper will release his third at the beginning of next month. Called Few Good Things, it’s locked in for a February 4 release date, and so far, he’s shared three singles: “Stop That,” “Fearmonger” with Daoud, and “Come My Way” with Krayzie Bone. With a little over a week left until the album arrives, Saba unveils its full tracklist and artwork.

The cover for Few Good Things depicts a middle-aged man posed in front of a fence with light pink flowers slightly covering parts of his body. As for the tracklist, it includes featurs from 6lack, Smino, G Herbo, Black Thought, Mereba, Foushee, Eryn Allen Kane, Benjamin Earl Turner, Pivot Gang, Cheflee, Daoud, and Day Wave.

You can view the cover art for Few Good Things above and check out its tracklist below.

1. “Free Samples” Feat. Cheflee
2. “One Way Or Every N**** With A Budget”
3. “Survivor’s Guilt” Feat. G Herbo
4. “An Interlude Called ‘Circus’” Feat. Eryn Allen Kane
5. “Fearmonger” Feat. Daoud
6. “Come My Way” Feat. Krayzie Bone
7. “Still” Feat. 6lack & Smino
8. “A Simpler Time” Feat. Mereba
9. “Soldier” Feat. Pivot Gang
10. “If I Had A Dollar” Feat. Benjamin Earl Turner
11. “Stop That”
12. “Make Believe” Feat. Foushee
13. “2012” Feat. Day Wave
14. “Few Good Things” Feat. Black Thought & Eryn Allen Kane

Few Good Things is due 2/4 via Pivot Gang, LLC. You can pre-save here.

Rap Report Card From the 1990s Grades Jay-Z, DMX and More

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How’d your favorite rapper score on the rap report card? Continue reading…

Common, Black Thought, And Seun Kuti Catch A Groove To A Warm Rhythm In Their Video For ‘When We Move’

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Towards the end of last year, Common dropped A Beautiful Revolution, Pt. 1, which sported nine songs and guest appearances from Stevie Wonder, Lenny Kravitz, PJ, and more. Less than a year later, the rapper returned with A Beautiful Revolution, Pt. 2, with 11 songs and features from Brittany Howard, PJ, Marcus King, and more. Now he returns with a new video for “When We Move.”

It finds Common, as well as Black Thought and Seun Kuti, both who appear on the song, on a dance floor, dancing the night away as the groovy track plays in the background. “I’m a just give black power its flowers / Whether in the projects or in the palace,” Common raps as images of pivotal moments in Black history play. “Even when the pale horse tried to gallop / And stir it up, stir it up we kept the balance.”

The new video comes after he, Black Thought, and Seun Kuti performed the song on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. He also shared a video for “Imagine,” which captured his optimistic vision for the future.

You can watch Common’s video for “When We Move” above.

A Beautiful Revolution, Pt. 2 is out now via Loma Vista Recordings. Get it here.

Common And Black Thought Debut ‘When We Move’ With A Vibrant ‘The Tonight Show’ Performance

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In 2020, Common released his first-ever EP, A Beautiful Revolution, Pt. 1, a jazzy return to his hip-hop roots featuring appearances from Black Thought, Chuck D, Lenny Kravitz, PJ, and Stevie Wonder. Led by the Black Thought-featuring single “Say Peace,” the project found Common once again dwelling on weighty themes and socially conscious messages over Afrocentric production styles. Today, Common returned to the well with Black Thought to release “When We Move,” the first single from the second installment of his A Beautiful Revolution series, which is set to drop on September 10 via Loma Vista.

Also last night, Common dropped by The Tonight Show to debut the track live just as he’d done with “Say Peace,” giving an energetic performance alongside The Roots and longtime friend and collaborator Black Thought and Nigerian Afrobeat artist Seun Kuti, the youngest son of Fela Kuti. As usual, the two MCs brought complex, thoughtful rhymes to the bouncy production while the band channeled the energy of the Afrobeat legend.

A Beautiful Revolution Pt. 2 will continue in the same vein of collaboration for the veteran rapper with features from Alabama Shakes’ Brittany Howard, PJ, who will once again be all over the tracklist, and Marcus King, among others. He said in a statement:

“A Beautiful Revolution Pt. 2 was created with hope and inspiration in mind. The spirit of the album was meant to emulate what a greater day would sound and feel like. We were in the midst of some tough political and socially challenging times. There was still hurt, anger and pain lingering, so I was thinking, ‘What is the next step in this revolution?’

I wanted to write about that and create music that embodied that. How could this music be an example of the beautiful aspects of revolution that include joy, self-love, compassion, dreams, peace and good times? As a piece of art, I believe we took it to different places musically only to come back to the original intention. To bring joy to people’s hearts, fun to their lives and smiles to their souls.”

Watch Common and Black Thought’s vibrant performance above.