The Roots

Released: December 2, 2011

Songwriter: ?uestlove Black Thought Khari Mateen

Producer: Khari Mateen ?uestlove

[Verse 1: Black Thought]
I drew a two of hearts from a deck of cards
A stock trick from my empty repertoire
Another hopeless story, never read at all
I’m better off looking for the end, where the credits are
It’s a pain living life against the grain
I’m looking back, and y’all look the same
Troy, Mark, and Lil' What’s-His-Name
Memory is rerunning it all
It’s the flight of my fall, and it’s right on the wall

[Hook: Mercedes Martinez & Tracey Moore]
I remember
Can you remember
How it was? I do
Remember, do you?
I remember
Can you remember
How it was? I do
Remember, do you?

[Verse 2: Black Thought]
I used to ride the train to the same two stops
And look at the graffiti on the rooftops
Like the same song playing on the jukebox
Joint called "Faded Polaroids in a Shoebox"
Regardless to what the cadence is
It can’t be forgotten, like auld acquaintances
I realize how depressing of a place it is
And, when I notice my reflection, whose face it is

[Hook: Mercedes Martinez & Tracey Moore]
I remember
Can you remember
How it was? I do
Remember, do you?
I remember
Can you remember
How it was? I do
Remember, do you?

[Instrumental Interlude]

[Hook: Mercedes Martinez & Tracey Moore]
I remember
Can you remember
How it was? I do
Remember, do you?
I remember
Can you remember
How it was? I do
Remember, do you?

[Verse 3: Black Thought]
It’s only human to express the way you really feel
But that same humanity is my Achilles’ heel
A leopard can’t change its spots, and never will
So I’m forever ill, now, I can never chill
What’s keeping me from breaking out, like Benadryl
When my baptism of fire resulted in a kill
Sometimes, it’s as cut-and-dry as a business deal
You gotta cause the blood of a close friend to spill
But you remember still

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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