The Roots

Released: September 24, 1996

Songwriter: Rahzel ?uestlove Black Thought

Producer: Grand Wizzards ?uestlove Rahzel

[Verse: Black Thought]
I woke up in the darkness at 12:17...to shots and sirens
Look out the window, peep the high beams
Now they searchin, the cops lookin for the person
That pulled the trigger
Medical figures is nursin the kid that got shot
Some innocent ak that would front
To flip the rock on them at McKean Street block
I tried to tell him to stop cuz yo, it's ghetto red hot
Similar to the blood now floodin his top
I take a step out the spot, to the point of attack
And see the shorty wop heart blast out his back
Damn, I'm thinkin it don't cease, it's no more peace
Police level increase, but what the fuck...
It's still crime on the streets
I can't breathe, now what's goin on?
One minute you alive, the next, you're gone
Illadel-P-H-I-A Hell
Bust off into the heavens for the nigga who fell
And hit the L, for the niggas who fell
When that could have been prevented
In front of the flat your moms rented
And no one expect that from you, cuz you was timid
Fuckin with them cats from outside city limits
Funny how this whole thing changed, an off minute
Yo, dig it, Panic!!!!!
None of this is ever granted
Drowning in a nightmare, stranded

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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