The Roots

Why they matter

Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter and Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson met at the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts and started out busking, Questlove on bucket drums and Black Thought rapping over him. They went through names (Radio Activity, Black to the Future, the Square Roots) before settling on the Roots. Philadelphia didn’t bite at first, so they moved to London, released Organix independently in 1993, built a following in Europe, and signed with DGC.

Do You Want More?!!!??! in 1995 introduced the sound: live drums, Fender Rhodes, a band that played like a jazz group and hit like a sampler. Illadelph Halflife in 1996 got darker. Then Things Fall Apart in 1999, cut at Electric Lady alongside the rest of the Soulquarians, became their breakthrough, and “You Got Me” won a Grammy.

Since 2009 they have been a network house band, first on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and then on The Tonight Show. They backed Jay-Z on MTV Unplugged, made records with John Legend and Elvis Costello, and released Undun, a concept album that tells one man’s life backwards. Few rap acts have stayed this busy, this long, without turning into a nostalgia act.

What a working rapper can take from it

Cut until it hurts. For Things Fall Apart, Questlove has said they recorded somewhere around 145 songs and whittled them down to 14. Most rappers release the first 14 they finish. Record more than you need, then let the weakest ideas go, even the ones you like.

Your jam session is a scouting system. Beanie Sigel made his recording debut on “Adrenaline!” after tagging along to the band’s weekly Philly jam session. Eve turned up on “You Got Me,” months before her own debut album. A regular room where people can sit in builds a scene, and a scene feeds the records. Read the Beanie Sigel and Eve profiles for where that led.

A steady gig can buy freedom. Questlove has said the TV job forced the band to write three to seven short songs a day, and the paycheck let them make Undun without worrying about getting dropped. A day job in music, whether a residency, a house band or a session gig, sharpens your hands and takes the pressure off the art. The live-show guide is a good place to start building toward that kind of reliability.