As if The Roots haven’t been criticized enough for playing Fishbone’s “Lyin’ Ass Bitch” during the introduction to Tea Partier Michelle Bachmann on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” now NBC is requiring that Questlove clear every walk-on song with three different people. Also, they require that he never tweet about the Republican presidential candidate ever again.
Proving that sense of humor isn’t exactly NBC’s forte any more (I mean, have you seen their Whitney show?), Jimmy Fallon’s house band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The Roots, must now have all of their walk-on music for guests cleared by NBC before they play it. Why? Because during a recent appearance by Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, The Roots played a cover of “Lyin’ Ass Bitch” by Wishbone, which the Bachmann camp failed to find cute.
Hopefully you’ve been eagerly awaiting the release of these albums as much as we have, as it’s a promising week for new releases. The new full-lengths from The Black Keys, Chevelle, and even Dia Frampton have been pretty intriguing, so regardless of the “bad” or “good” review, check out what we’ve collected in new releases this week: Continue Reading
John Legend‘s latest album with the famous hip hop and R&B group, The Roots, was selected as our album of the week. Although people may have their differences when it comes to the musicality on the album, it sounds like their joint tours are going pretty well. Not only has Kanye even attended one of their shows to hop on stage and perform a few new songs, but the team-up has just snagged beloved director, Spike Lee, for their upcoming webcast. More info after the jump!
It’s always exciting when two major talents collaborate on an album and usually the success is a product of the best of both worlds. Grammy award-winning soul artist John Legend has teamed up with fellow Grammy winners The Roots on his new album, Wake Up!, a collection of soulful cover songs that reflect issues in education, health care, and environment to be released on September 21.
Even though Legend is no stranger to collaborations (rising to stardom through his collaborations with Kanye West and Jay Z), Wake Up! is a unique and brave addition to his collection, complete with hip hop legends backing him up and political messages sprinkled throughout.
On June 22, 2010, the American hip hop/neo soul group The Roots released their ninth studio album, How I Got Over, on Def Jam Recordings. The album has been in the works since 2008, and incorporates elements of soul, jazz, gospel, and even indie rock, impressively blended together for a praiseworthy sound. The seven-member band, that includes Black Thought, Questlove, Kamal Gray, F. Knuckles, Captain Kirk Douglas, Damon “Tuba Gooding Jr.” Bryson, and Owen Biddle, originated in 1987 in Philadelphia, PA and has collected countless nominations and awards from The Grammys to the NAACP Image Awards.
The band currently resides as the house band on the Jimmy Fallon Show. How I Got Over has been widely accepted in the critics’ circle, so check out for yourself what people are saying about The Roots’ latest album:
Wasn’t it just yesterday that we mentioned Yo Gabba Gabba!? True story.
Why were we talking about Nickelodeon’s kids show? Probably because we love Chromeo and they are just ONE of the awesome artists who have contributed to the show. Forget Dora the Explorer or silly purple teletubbies. Yo Gabba Gabba! managed to become the coolest show for both kids and adults. Usually teaching kids positive lessons like “lathering up” before dinner time, guest stars always include indie-friendly artists such as of Montreal, The Shins, and The Roots.
This year will mark itself as the first year there is a National Day of Service for the remembrance of 9/11, especially after President Barack Obama suggested reaching out to the 9/11 community by volunteering.
In order to make this day special, organizations such as MyGoodDeed and musicians such as Anjulie, Gavin DeGraw, and The Roots will be holding a free concert in the city of NYC on September 11th.
