The Roots

Released: August 29, 2006

Songwriter: Black Thought ?uestlove Kamal Gray Adam Blackstone Darrell Robinson Frank “Knuckles” Walker Kevin Hanson Captain Kirk Douglas Leonard “Hub” Hubbard Pedro Martinez

Producer: Adam Blackstone Kevin Hanson Pedro Martinez Richard Nichols ?uestlove

[Intro]
Stand up, stretch for the stars
Get somebody else involved right next to ya
Y'all elected me to keep it so fresh for ya
Just cause I make it possible for the rest of ya
To just take it there come on and
Get your head ringin' from the sting of the snare
Spine tingle elevating every singular hair
All the way from South Philly on a wing and prayer
And still bringin' it yeah

[Hook]
C'mon take it there
C'mon take it there
Let's take it there
C'mon take it there

[Verse 1]
I'm from the side of town
Where shots get sprayed around
So the expectancy rate be twenty-eight around
Downtown battleground where cops parade around
Have your whole view of life beyond jaded
How everybody sick of breaking down, tryin' a make it out
Hand over fist the only way to get the paper down
People tired of gettin' pushed around, gettin' gangsta now
Discipline the only way to bring some kinda change around
Chain cirgarette smokin' with bad nerves
And brothas with bad lungs from smokin' mad herb
Whoever in the dark is unseen and heard
Let's emerge, I can feel something close we on the verge
Talkin' bout, to my street sweepers, hotel housekeepers
And my people spillin' this out through jail house speakers
Some people rather use they mics than use heaters
Some people rather lose they life than lose freedom
For real

[Hook]
C'mon take it there
C'mon take it there
Let's take it there
C'mon take it there

[Poem Interlude]
Society's time bomb laying dormant
Our people disenfranchised from the free world
Oil for food but they still hungry
No democracy
They said one vote equals one voice
But he told you if he can't work to make it
He'll rob to take it
The villains
Abandoning the planet and the people
Another hot summer yo, they 'bout to flood the prisons
This ain't no do diddley, it's a do somethin'

[Verse 2: Black Thought]
Flash light, red light, proceed ahead right
Straight into them headlights, you get your head right
Head right get a third strike, hit the turnpike
Life quicker than spliff that wouldn't burn right
Make you wanna holla 'bout it
It ain't no doubt about it
Every now and then you gotta stand up and shout about it
And I'll be shoutin' it to, as if a shout'll count
Yo they got accountin' to do, reamount the balance
The shit more puzzlin' than a jigsaw
Raw pitbulls hustlin' through the pitfalls
Some of y'all toys let the laughter rip roar
Heart felt truth in every lyric I spit forth
Raise up time to lift off
Written on a legal pad, poetry that sizzle the clip board
My og, my homey who taught me deal
Said in prayer that's the only time you should ever kneel
And that's real, I'm a take it there

[Hook]
C'mon take it there
C'mon take it there
Let's take it there
C'mon take it there

The world’s premiere hip-hop band, The Roots were formed in Philadelphia in 1987 by MC Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter and drummer and bandleader Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson. Since those early days, the band has weathered changes in personnel and record labels while performing hundreds of shows a year and releasing a string of well-regarded (if not always top-selling) albums.

While the musicianship of Thompson and the other band members, as well as their seemingly limitless repertoire, gets most of the attention, real hip-hop fans know that the rapping skills of Black Thought (along with former group member Malik B.) are the group’s hidden weapon. Thought, one of the few MCs brave enough to go toe to toe with Big Pun, handles any groove the band throws at him with aplomb, style, and flash.

Today, The Roots are seen by millions every night as the house band on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, a move that has given the group the chance to indulge its not-insignificant comic side.

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