The Roots

The Roots call themselves "The Legendary Crew" and describe their songs as experimental music. They are entitled to say this – the band, performing since 1987 till present, has won numerous awards and collaborated with a range of famous musicians, while their own music features a large number of geners too. The band was formed in Philadelphia around 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir Thompson. After five years of performing without huge success, The Roots moved to London, and recorded their debut album Organix, which attracted attention of some record labels. The Kooks choose DGC Records, although it was better known for its grunge music releases, and moved to America to record their second album. Do You Want More?!!!??!, simmiliar to the firs disk, was equal parts jazz instrumental improvization and beat box, and was ignored among the hip-hop fanbase being a moderate hit among alternative music fans.

The 1996 release of Illadelph Halflife brought a universal popularity to The Roots, and songs What They Do (a parody of rap video cliches) and Clones became genuine hits. Attempting to appeal to a wider audience, the band began integrating programmed drums and samples into their sound. It was also The Roots' first album to include prominent guests, such as Common, D'Angelo, Erykah Badu and Q-Tip. The next album, Things Fall Apart, turned out to a breakthrough for The Roots, becoming a gold record. The track You Got Me, a duet with R&B singer Erykah Badu and Eve, earned The Roots a Grammy award for Best Performance By A Duo Or Group. But then discrepant times has begun: on the one hand, several The Roots' members left, including long time member Malik B, and the band's new album, Phrenology, got low marks from the critics. On the other hand, the album became a commercial success, and The Roots' popularity increased with their spot backing Jay-Z for his live MTV Unplugged album. After that, the band released The Tipping Point – although two members left, citing pressures mounted on the group be record label to sell more records, the album earned two more Grammy nominations: one for Best Urban/Alternative Performance for the track Star and another for Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group for the track Don't Say Nuthin.

The Roots' next album, Game Theory, released on August 29, 2006, was described by Ahmir Thompson as being very dark and reflective of the political state in America. Despite critical acclaim and a Grammy nomination, Game Theory has sold significantly less than the band's previous releases. Finally, The Roots' eighth studio album Rising Down was realesed on April 29, 2008. The album maintained a dark and political tone. It featured such guests as Chrisette Michele, Common, Mos Def, Saigon, Styles P, Talib Kweli, Wale, Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump and many others. The year 2010 was marked by the releases of two records: the new studio attempt How I Got Over that got excellent reviews from the critics and the collaborative album Wake Up! that had been created jointly with John Legend. The long play Wake Up! included original interpretations of soul compositions of sixties and seventies of the previous century. It is worth mentioning that every music lover will definitely enjoy the new creations of The Roots, whether it is fresh original compositions or the record with cover-versions.