Tag Archives: Roots

Black Thought Recalls Brief Nas Beef

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Black Thought Recalls Brief Nas Beef

The legendary Roots crew has had precious few hip hop beefs, but during a recent appearance on The Combat Jack Show, frontman Black Thought revealed that he had a brief falling out with rapper Nas. Thought says that the Queensbridge rhymer dissed his crew during an interview. “In some interview he made a comment about how wack it was for us to do the movie Bamboozled with Spike Lee and ‘How you gonna call yourself The Roots and Black Thought or something and you’re portraying a group called The Alabama Porch Monkeys in Spike Lee’s movie with the ball and chain and all,’” said Black Thought. “Nas was spazzing out on a lot of people during that point in time because he was losing his mom. He had actual beef during that time and this was just a comment he made about The Roots.”

“I hadn’t really interacted with him at all up until that point. And then there was a show one night with Talib Kweli and I think he invited Nas, and he invited me. And we were all there in the building together. I had a chance to meet Nas and he explained to me that it wasn’t coming from a personal place and he basically apologized,” Black Thought explained. “He told me he was going through it. He lost his mom. I totally relate to that, I lost my mom when I was 17. She’s a murder victim. Both my parents are murder victims, got killed in Philly.”

via:hiphopblog

 

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Crate Diggers: J Dilla’s Vinyl Collection

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In this episode, we celebrate legendary producer J Dilla, who has worked with The Roots, Common, Erykah Badu, Janet Jackson and A Tribe Called Quest. Then we join musician friends J. Rocc, DJ Spinna, Frank Nitt and Grap Luva in Detroit to open Dilla’s storage locker, never-before-seen to the public.

Crate Diggers profiles people with extraordinary vinyl record collections, with owners displaying and telling the stories behind their collections. Watch them all here:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=…

Just Blaze To Headline 7th Annual J Dilla Fundraiser Event In New York

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The folks over at promotions company Rare Form have been putting on its annual Donuts Are Forever fundraiser and tribute in honor of the late J Dilla since 2007. Headlining the seventh special event will be producer Just Blaze on the turntables, joining a growing group of Hip-Hop icons that have appeared as guests.

The jam will take place Sunday, February 17 at SRB Brooklyn. Joining Just Blaze on the wheels will be DJ Tara, DJ Parler, DJ Stylus and Shawn Dub. Hosting the event will be Brooklyn underground MC Fresh Daily.

Already scoring support from past Dilla collaborators such as ?uestlove of The Roots, the company recently announced a new partnership with music site Okayplayer. The press release read:

Okayplayer has supported Donuts Are Forever since its inception in 2007 and Rare Form since we began 2003,” said Kristy Gomez of Rare Form. “Whether promoting our other events, having ?uestlove DJ Donuts 4, or serving as a sounding board for our ideas, Okayplayer has always been a behind-the-scenes supporter. We’re excited to bring them to the forefront as a true collaborator.

Dan Petruzzi, president of Okayplayer, called Donuts Are Forever the “definitive annual J Dilla tribute in NYC” and voiced his team’s support in the venture. Donuts Are Forever was inspired by the life and music of James “J Dilla” Yancey who succumbed to health complications related to a rare blood disease back in 2006. His last produced album, Donuts, was the inspiration behind the  name of the event.

To get tickets for Donuts Are Forever 7, follow this link.

?uestlove Says D’Angelo’s New Album Now “99% Done,” Calls It A “Classic”

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Last year, D’Angelo teased fans with a few notable performances, including a set at Jay-Z‘s ‘Made In America’ festival, but a promised new album was never delivered. Now, ?uestlove reveals that the long awaited, highly anticipated third album from the enigmatic R&B crooner is almost ready, we hope. The Roots’ drummer has been working diligently to get the album delivered to the label in spite of his hectic work schedule. “I’m heading out to Asia right now praying that we’re still on schedule for when we said we were going to turn that record in,” ?uest told Billboard. “All last week, I was in the studio finishing (the album). We spent close to 18 hours, well not me personally because I have to go to ‘Fallon,’ but usually right after work. He’s the only person that I’ll actually go to the studio with and stay there to six in the morning, re-doing these drum parts… Right now, we’re just tightening up the loose ends. But I still stand by, 99% of it is done.”

Right now the plan is turn the record in by February at the latest. ?uest did not hold back on the praise, hailing the project as classic material. “I would not be far off by saying this is probably my generation’s version of Sly (and the Family Stone‘s) ‘There’s a Riot Goin’ On.’,” said ?uest. “It’s potent. It’s funky. It’s an extremely hard pill to swallow. He’s one of those artists that have, of course, taken 13 years to follow up a record. It’s going to take you about 10 years to digest this record. Totally brilliant. Just the way this society works with music… being able to judge if something is a classic after the first listen, you can do that after thirty seconds on this. And the fact that we started this record in 2004, and it still sounds like it came out five years from now, it is a testament to the timelessness of it.” The working title of D’Angelo’s new album is James River, but there is no scheduled release date at the moment. Born Michael Archer, his last album, Voodoo, was released in 2000. When D’Angelo hit the stage with ?uestlove at Bonnaroo last year, it was the Richmond, VA native’s first time performing stateside in a dozen years. In an interview with GQ magazine, D’angelo revealed that it was the death of his friend J Dilla that inspired him to get his act together after years of alcohol and drug abuse.

via:hiphopwired.com

The Roots To Release Thirteenth Studio Album “&TYSYC” In Late 2013

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The Roots To Release Thirteenth Studio Album "&TYSYC" In Late 2013

The Roots‘ ?uestlove announced earlier this summer that the crew was at work on its thirteenth studio album&TYSYC, which serves as the follow up to last year’sundun. Now, fans might have to wait a bit longer for the next project. During an interview with Hip Hollywood, ?uestlove announced that the LP will now drop in late 2013. “You’re gonna get a new Roots album late 2013,” he confirmed. In 2010, the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania group released its tenth album How I Got Over, following with Wake Up Sessions and undun in 2011. They are currently house band on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.” Watch the interview below (via HHNM).