THE ROOTS

Black Thought Verses: The Roots Icon’s Best Bars

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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. 

Big Pun – “Super Lyrical” (1998)

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 – “In Tha Park” (2010)

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.

Talib Kweli – “Art Imitates Life” (2013)

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.

Statik Selektah – “Bird’s Eye View” (2013)

“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.  

Statik Selektah – “The Imperial” (2015)

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. 

Freddie Gibbs – “Extradite” (2015)

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.

PRhyme – “Wishin’ II” (2015)

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. 

Roc Marciano – “Diamond Cutters” (2018)

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. 

Benny The Butcher – “Crowns For Kings” (2019)

“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.

Eminem – “Yah Yah” (2020)

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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Questlove Seeks To Inspire “Black Nerds” In New Book

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Questlove is finding more and more ways to inspire Black youth. Whether it’s through his timeless classics with his band The Roots or winning Oscars for beautiful depictions of the Black existence, Quest always has the youth in mind. This time around the six-time Grammy winner has found yet another way to inspire young Black kids with the release of his new novel The Rhythm of Time. Despite it being out since Tuesday (April 18), the young adult novel has already found its way into Amazon’s Top 5 best seller list under the “Children’s Action and Adventure” section.

The book aims to inspire Black nerds like Questlove who never saw themselves represented in the books he read. In a recent interview with The View, he told the hosts he dedicated the book to his 9-year-old self who enjoyed reading but never saw himself in the books that were available to him. Although the book isn’t autobiographical, Quest uses his Philadelphia upbringing as inspiration. He told the hosts “I want Black nerds to see themselves as well.”

Questlove Opens Up About New Novel

The Rhythm of Time follows seventh-grader Rahim Reynolds and his friend Kasia Collins, who spend their time building all sorts of crazy gadgets. Rahim is then transported back to 1997 after getting his hands on one of Kasia experimental cell phones. He must find a way back to the present while dodging nefarious obstacles and roadblocks. Questlove collaborated with New York Times bestselling author S.A. Cosby to create the novel, recommended for ages 10 and up (we’re all kids at heart). This is Quest’s sixth publishing venture, the 260-page bestseller is available on hardcover for $16 on Amazon.

In addition to his new book, Quest is also taking his talents to big screen yet again. He’ll be directing a live-action hybrid adaptation of Disney’s classic Aristocats. This will be his feature film directorial debut, and the movie is expected to be a live-action hybrid rendition of the classic film. Questlove will serve as the executive producer alongside co-producers bandmate BlackThought, Shawn Gee, and Zarah Zohlman. Have you read Quest’s book yet? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Queen Latifah’s U.N.I.T.Y Celebrates 30 Years Of Female Empowerment

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Queen Latifah Amazon Music

Amazon Music is paying tribute to Queen Latifah with a short film called Generational Queens. The film will honor Latifah for her 1993 women’s empowerment anthem,  “U.N.I.T.Y.,” which turns 30 this year. Amazon Music honors rapper/actress Queen Latifah with a short film titled Generational Queens. The film will highlight Latifah’s 1993 hit, “U.N.I.T.Y.,”  which turns […]

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Questlove And Black Thought Are Accused Of Fraud In A Lawsuit From The Estate Of Late The Roots Bassist Leonard Hubbard

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Music titans Questlove, Black Thought, Live Nation, and Universal Music Group have been named in an explosive fraud lawsuit. According to Rolling Stone, Questlove (real name Ahmir Thompson) and Black Thought (real name Tariq Trotter), co-founders of hip-hop group The Roots, the group’s manager Shawn Gee, and band employee Munir Nuriddin are being accused of working together to “scheme to defraud” the estate of the band’s late bassist Leonard Hubbard’s widow and estate out of money owed to them.

After forming Grand Negaz, Inc. to manage the band’s business dealings in 1993, a financial agreement was made to clearly state ownership percentages to ensure everyone knew their respective compensation splits. Thompson and Trotter took 37 percent of stakeholders’ interest, while member rapper Malik Smart (who died in 2020) and Hubbard retained 17 percent each. However, in addition to that, the lawsuit claims Hubbard was to be granted 25 percent of the group’s recording and publishing earnings, as well as a 33 percent stake in the band’s touring performance company.

The lawsuit presented by Hubbard’s widow and estate is seeking “restitution for property, money, and benefits” that were not provided to him as outlined in the paperwork. While the matter is being litigated, they are requesting that the courts “freeze” The Roots’ trademark “until a value can be determined for the brand.”

Hubbard departed from the group in 2007 to seek medical care after being diagnosed with blood cancer, and later died in 2021. The suit alleges that beginning in 2014 up to the current day, Thompson, Trotter, and others, “through a pattern of racketeered behavior, fraudulently converted, divested and absconded with monies lawfully belonging to the Plaintiff Decedent.”

The lawsuit also accuses the musicians of forming a new business, Legendelphia, in 2013, to allegedly transfer funds from their business Grand Negaz, all without the approval of Hubbard. As for where Live Nationa and Universal Music Publishing Group is named, the suit accuses Gee of “deactivating Hubbard’s personal royalty account.” It also accuses that Gee, Thompson, and Trotter of “sending a letter be written from Legendelphia to Universal Music Publishing Group to divert Hubbard’s royalties to Legendelphia” instead of Grand Negaz, Inc.

No public statement has been released by The Roots, Thompson, or Trotter. All parties declined Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.

Black Thought Filled In For Trugoy In De La Soul’s ‘Tonight Show’ Performance Of ‘Stakes Is High’

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De La Soul’s de facto “comeback” has been bittersweet; while the group’s groundbreaking catalog has finally come to streaming platforms, it only did so after one member of the trio, Trugoy The Dove, died at the age of just 54 years old.

However, the remaining members, Posdnous and Maseo, are trucking along as best they can. They stopped by The Tonight Show this week, where they took the stage with the band to perform one of their signature songs, “Stakes Is High,” with The Roots. Black Thought helped fill the void left by Dave’s passing, rapping his verses with perfect chemistry alongside Pos — an unsurprising development, considering the impact “Stakes Is High” has had on hip-hop. Who doesn’t know those iconic rhymes?

Ahead of the performance, house band leader Questlove gave De La some flowers, telling them how much they influenced The Roots. “For the first time, we just saw, like, ourselves,” he said. “This is how the group bonded, Tariq [Black Thought] and I. We saw three friends just having fun with each other, practical jokes and all that stuff, and we had never seen that in hip-hop before.”

Meanwhile, De La’s entree to the streaming world has been pretty successful; their game-changing debut, 3 Feet High And Rising, re-entered the Billboard 200 with a new peak of No. 15.

Watch De La Soul and The Roots perform the classic “Stakes Is High” above.

Questlove Told De La Soul How They Changed His Life And Perception Of Hip-Hop Back In The Day On ‘Fallon’

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For years now, a critical component of hip-hop history has been missing from the streaming music landscape: De La Soul. Finally, though, the trio’s music hit Spotify, Apple Music, and the rest last month. Tragically, however, this all finally came together shortly after the death of member Trugoy The Dove. To celebrate their streaming debut, though, surviving members Posdnuos and Maseo visited The Tonight Show yesterday (March 16) to talk about it.

A couple minutes into the conversation, Jimmy Fallon spoke about how the trio’s debut album, 1989’s 3 Feet High And Rising, has changed the lives of so many music fans and asked Questlove to share how the album changed him. Quest explained, “For the first time, we just saw, like, ourselves. This is how the group bonded, Tariq [Black Thought] and I. We saw three friends just having fun with each other, practical jokes and all that stuff, and we had never seen that in hip-hop before.”

Elsewhere during the conversation, Fallon started by acknowledging Trugoy’s death and how hard the current De La Soul revival must be in light of that. Posdnuos noted that it’s been “bittersweet.”

Later in the episode, the pair teamed up with The Roots for a performance of “Stakes Is High.”

Watch the interview above and the performance below.

The Cast Of ‘The Super Mario Bros Movie’ Sang The Game’s Iconic Theme With The Roots And A Special Guest

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The Super Mario Bros. Movie is just a month away from hitting theaters and the Nintendo/Illumination PR team is going all-out to promote it. In addition to crafting an interactive website for a hypothetical Mario Bros. plumbing business and releasing a new, final trailer yesterday showing off even more of its Mad Max-inspired Rainbow Road sequence.

The cast and crew weren’t done yet, though. The film’s voice actors — consisting of Chris Pratt, Jack Black, Anya Taylor-Joy, Keegan-Michael Key, Seth Rogen, Fred Armisen, and Charlie Day — stopped by The Tonight Show for a musical sketch in which they sing the iconic Super Mario Bros. video game theme song acapella alongside the show’s host Jimmy Fallon and house band The Roots.

In a Brady Bunch-like sequence, each singer appears in their own squares, which slide and shift across the screen while scenes from both the video game and the movie scroll by. Jack Black appears to be having an utter blast, especially when the game’s underground theme kicks in. Then, as they all reach the “end” of the level, they’re joined by a few more special guests: Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto and Illumination founder Chris Meledandri (who gets vocal backup from the Minions, naturally).

It’s a cute bit, which is to be expected from The Tonight Show, but it’s also a testament to how truly iconic and generational the Mario brand has been for the past four decades.

Watch the clip above.

Today in Hip Hop History: The Roots Released Their Fourth LP ‘Things Fall Apart’ 24 Years Ago

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On this day in Hip Hop history, The Roots released their fourth studio album Things Fall Apart. This project is considered by many publications at the Roots “breakthrough” album, gaining them coverage in major publications and expanding their fan base. It also came at a time when the whole Soulquarian collective (D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, Common, The Roots, Talib Kweli, Most Def, and J Dilla) began to come out the gate with hit album after hit album (some titles including Mama’s Gun, Like Water for Chocolates, and Voodoo).

This album was the group’s first project to sell 500,000 copies. The album was eternally stamped at the 2000 Grammy Awards when the album’s hit single You Got Me featuring Erykah Badu and Eve (then known as Eve of Destruction) won Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. The album was also nominated for Best Rap Album but was outvoted by Eminem’s The Slim Shady EP, which coincidentally was released the same day.

The album takes its title from the Chinua Achebe novel by the same name. Much like the novel, this album focuses on themes that may seem dismal to some but every day to others. An apparent theme of the album is the uphill battle that people of color, specifically Black Americans, deal with in their day-to-day life. This project synthesized a tone exemplified in Harlem Renaissance era poetry with the street styling specific to Philly rap.

The composition of this album is more than noteworthy. The combination of jazz, swing, soul, and Hip Hop was able to bring the lyrics to life and give each song a full body. The Roots instrumentation on this project is groundbreaking.

The consciousness of this album starts with the cover. The group felt that not one but five covers were best at describing the message they were trying to convey. Each of them represents the result of “things falling apart” throughout the world

1.”Woman Running” by Unknown was shot in Bedford-Stuyvesant projects in Brooklyn and captures two teenagers evading police brutality during a riot in the 1960s.

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2.”Ace in Hand” by Bettman was shot on April 15, 1931 and captures an assassinated mob boss in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York.

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3.”The Church Bombing” by Unknown depicts a church that was set ablaze as a for of hate protest against those that worship there.

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4.”Baby in the Rubble” by H.S. Wong was shot on August 28th, 1937 shows a child screaming among rumble caused by Japanese warfare.

5.”Crying Child” by Peter Turnley was shot on August 1st, 1992 and shows a Somalian child crying due to their current living situation.

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After this album, The Roots went on to celebrate ridiculous success. They released 10 more albums and won two more Grammy’s. Their commercial success has continuous risen over the years. In 2009 The Roots became the official band of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and when we became the host of The Tonight Show in February 2014 he took them along and made them the house band on that broadcast where they could now be seen every night.

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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 […]

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