The Roots

Released: May 19, 1993

Songwriter: Black Thought

Producer: The Roots

[Black Thought]
Peaceful minds.. in a land of war
Seek peace of mind, through mental peacefulness
Peacefulness, peacefulness, peace-ful-ness
Is in the mind of the beholder
Behold, my mental piece
Could shatter your peace, to pieces
Pieces and portions of rhythmic distortion relax me
The echos reverb and feedback of reality disturb my peace
Forcing me to retreat, to the below beneath
Down a step and a step and a step and a step
And a step beyond
To a level of my own
Private, mystic, ritualistic, culturalistic sanity
Yet some say that I am insane
Is that not ironic? My soul not sonic
As I flow through the tonic, of life I find
That the strife behind, that pushes and pulls
And pulls and pushes me
Into all of the bullshit that I experience from day to day
Is the reason.. for my search, or journey, or struggle
To find.. the broken pieces of the sign
That combine, to form the crooked line
That we call.. peace y'all

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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