The Roots

The Roots
The Roots
	The Roots performing in 2016
Background information
Also known as	The Legendary Roots Crew; The Fifth Dynasty; The Square Roots; The Tonight Show Band
Origin	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop; alternative rap; conscious rap; progressive soul; progressive rap;
Discography	The Roots discography
Years active	1987–present
Labels	Def Jam; DGC; Interscope Geffen A&M; MCA; Okayplayer;
Spinoffs	Nouveau Riche; Soulquarians;
Members	Black Thought; Questlove; Captain Kirk Douglas; Damon "Tuba Gooding Jr." Bryson; Raymond Angry; James Poyser; Mark Kelley; Stro Elliot; Kamal Gray; Ian Hendrickson-Smith; Dave Guy;
Past members	Josh "Rubberband" Abrams; Malik B. ; Owen Biddle; Kid Crumbs; Jeremy Ellis; Dice Raw; F. Knuckles; Hub ; Ben Kenney; Martin Luther; Rahzel; Scratch; Scott Storch; Nikki Yeoh;
Website	theroots.com

The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by singer Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and drummer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, having served in the same role on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon from 2009 to 2014. Current regular members of The Roots on The Tonight Show are Captain Kirk Douglas (guitar), Mark Kelley (bass), James Poyser (keyboards), Ian Hendrickson-Smith (saxophone), Damon "Tuba Gooding Jr." Bryson (sousaphone), Stro Elliot (keyboards and drums), Dave Guy (trumpet), Kamal Gray (keyboards), and Raymond Angry (keyboards).

The Roots are known for a jazzy and eclectic approach to hip hop featuring live musical instruments^[6] and the group's work has consistently been met with critical acclaim. ThoughtCo ranked the band #7 on its list of the 25 Best Hip-Hop Groups of All-Time, calling them "Hip-hop's first legitimate band."^[7]

In addition to the band's music, several members of the Roots are involved in side projects, including record production, acting, and regularly serving as guests on other musicians' albums and live shows.

^ Bush, John (n.d.). "The Roots: Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
^ Patrin, Nate (June 25, 2010). "The Roots: How I Got Over Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
^ Nieman, Carrie (May 14, 2003). "Digging the Roots". Style Weekly. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
^ Gross, Jason (May 10, 2006). "The Roots: They're a (funky) American band". Creative Loafing Charlotte. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
^ Lewis, Miles Marshall (August 9, 2007). "Common". Dallas Observer. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
^ Powell, Kevin (October 24, 1996). "Album Review: Illadelph Halflife". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 6, 2007. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
^ Adaso, Henry (October 12, 2017). "25 Greatest Hip-Hop Groups – Best Rap Groups of All Time". ThoughtCo. Retrieved March 26, 2018.

[1] Bush, John (n.d.). "The Roots: Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved January 27, 2021.

[2] Patrin, Nate (June 25, 2010). "The Roots: How I Got Over Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 27, 2021.

[3] Nieman, Carrie (May 14, 2003). "Digging the Roots". Style Weekly. Retrieved February 21, 2022.

[4] Gross, Jason (May 10, 2006). "The Roots: They're a (funky) American band". Creative Loafing Charlotte. Retrieved January 27, 2021.

[5] Lewis, Miles Marshall (August 9, 2007). "Common". Dallas Observer. Retrieved July 14, 2021.

[IH_Review-6] Powell, Kevin (October 24, 1996). "Album Review: Illadelph Halflife". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 6, 2007. Retrieved January 25, 2010.

[7] Adaso, Henry (October 12, 2017). "25 Greatest Hip-Hop Groups – Best Rap Groups of All Time". ThoughtCo. Retrieved March 26, 2018.

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