The Roots

Released: May 19, 1993

Songwriter: Leonard “Hub” Hubbard Black Thought ?uestlove

Producer: The Roots

[Black Thought]
Oooh
Up, up.. up, up.. Up, Up
Up, Up.. UP, UP UP UP!!
UP!! UP!! UP!!
UP I, UP I, UP I step, UP I walk
UP I climb, to the platform
On which I await the arrival of the, black liiiine
2000 the abstract nighttrain that should be arriving
In approximately eight complete lifetimes
Do you dig that, ON, track number one
Or is it my one track mind?
With the same two hundred funky people packed together
On one car that seats sixty
Reminiscent of the Middle Passage only now we, gliiiide
Over oceans of steel, and at the speed of light
From the window, in my eye, I can't see
Damn! Brother, excuse me brother
Would you mind not dripping your umbrella into my lap?
Now where was I? What, change to spare?
Man you better change your mind, change your plan
Change your attitude, change your ideas to change your position
As I change my seat, and I change the channel on my WatchMan
Just in time, special guest, The Roots, on the
SOULLLLL TRAIN!
John Coltrane and chinese food is my date for the night
With that woman, with that girl, with that woman
With that lady, with that woman, with that child
Child I'm honey, honey-child, and I gots ta
Gotta, gots ta, gotta gots ta, gots ta gotta gotta get ready
Ready ready to go, read-read to go
Going, going, going, going, going, going, going, GONE
DAMN!
I missed my stop...Writers Block, hah!

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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