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The Roots

The Roots is an American hip hop band, formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots are known for a jazzy and eclectic approach to hip-hop featuring live musical instruments. Malik B., Leonard "Hub" Hubbard, and Josh Abrams were added to the band (formerly named "The Square Roots").

Since its first independent album-length release the band has released 10 studio albums, two EPs, two collaboration albums (with other artists), and also collaborated on recordings and in live shows with a wide variety of artists in many musical genres. The Roots served as the house band on NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon starting in 2009, and in the same role (and accompanying show guest artists) on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon since 2014. The Roots' 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."

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Genres hip hop conscious rock instrumental jazz

Albums

  1. Organix
    1993
  2. Do You Want More?!!!??!
    1994
  3. Illadelph Halflife
    1996
  4. Things Fall Apart
    1999
  5. Phrenology
    2002
  6. The Tipping Point
    2004
  7. The Best of the Roots
    2006
  8. Game Theory
    2006
  9. Rising Down
    2008
  10. How I Got Over
    2010
  11. Wake Up!
    2010
  12. Betty Wright: The Movie
    2011
  13. undun
    2011
  14. Wise Up Ghost
    2013
  15. …and Then You Shoot Your Cousin
    2014

Other releases

  1. The Roots From the Ground Up
    1994
  2. Silent Treatment
    1995
  3. Clones / Section
    1996
  4. What They Do
    1996
  5. The Next Movement
    1999
  6. You Got Me
    1999
  7. Things Come Together
    1999
  8. Come Alive (Clean Album Sampler)
    1999
  9. The Legendary
    1999
  10. The Roots Come Alive
    1999
  11. Instrumental Album
    2000
  12. Break You Off
    2002
  13. The Seed (2.0)
    2003
  14. Don't Say Nuthin
    2004
  15. Nagoya Blue Note: September 7, 2004
    2004
  16. Do This Well
    2004
  17. I Don’t Care
    2005
  18. Home Grown! The Beginner's Guide to Understanding the Roots, Vols. 1 & 2
    2005
  19. Home Grown! The Beginner's Guide to Understanding The Roots, Volume 1
    2005
  20. Home Grown! The Beginner's Guide to Understanding The Roots, Volume 2
    2005
  21. Organamix (Does Anyone Like Good Music?) Roots Rare & Remixed
    2007
  22. Marathon Man (remix)
    2007
  23. Dilla Joints
    2010
  24. Wake Up Everybody
    2010
  25. My Best Friend (Paul Walker Tribute Song)
    2013
  26. Wise Up: Thought - Remixes and Reworks
    2013
  27. Champion
    2016
  28. Wonderful Christmastime / Jesus Christ
    2017
  29. Wonderful Christmastime / Peace (Live At The Sheen Center)
    2017