The Roots have collaborated with nearly everyone in hip hop. As the rap scene's resident band, they've made music with everyone from Jay Z and Kanye to Rae Sremmurd and Miley Cyrus. There's literally nobody they can't pair up with, and their residency on Jimmy Fallon's talk shows has proven that.
But once upon a time, The Roots used to be on TV less and in concert halls more. While we're super stoked that the band has reached this point, a selfish part of us wishes they would pair up with our favorite MCs and hit the road so we can see some great hip hop music performed live. If you frequent rap concerts, you know they can be very hit or miss, but The Roots are masters of their craft.
We'd like to see them team up with other masters of the hip hop world for some memorable live shows. Some of these MCs they've collaborated with before for full shows, some for only for one song on the Tonight Show. Either way, this is who we'd like to see The Roots back up in concert.
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick is the best MC in the world right now, straight up. He doesn't make the best pop songs, but neither do The Roots. However, the both represent the realest hip hop from their eras while still keeping a form of mainstream appeal. The two acts linked up for a cut of "Swimming Pools" on Jimmy Fallon's Late Night show, but it would be killer to see a full set from this collab.
Drake
The hottest artist in our scene is Drake, bar none. Known for putting on a pretty great live concert himself, Mr. OVO could take it to the next level by enlisting The Roots to breathe new life into his music.
Nas
The Illmatic MC performed alongside The Roots at their Philadelphia Roots Picnic, and it looked awesome. For all of us who weren't there, can we get an encore performance?
Joey Bada$$
Joey Bada$$ linked up with The Roots a couple times on Jimmy Fallon's talk shows, but we'd like to see the crew really tackle a full set of that vintage hip hop flavor Joey brings to the table. Something tells me Black Thought and Quest could probably teach the young man a couple things too.
Snoop Dogg
Just watch the video... Snoop Dogg still has it after all these years and so do The Roots. When you combine the two, that's 50+ years of experience between the two. They'll teach you a thing or two about a hip hop performance.
Kanye West
It hasn't been since Kanye's early days that he was performing alongside The Roots for Dave Chappelle's block party. Something tells me the current Yeezus wouldn't want to enlist a hip hop band to back him, but maybe some day he'll go back to his Roots.
Ghostface Killah & Raekwon
Let's face it, these dudes are getting a little old. They can still put on a great show, but the energy isn't like it was in their 20s and that's okay. We'd like to see them take it down a notch and perform some of those classic cuts without trying to hype up the party too much. Instead, enlist The Roots, take it down a notch and perform the songs in the cleanest way possible. And then occasionally get it live like this rendition of "Rock 'n' Roll!"
Soulquarians
Questlove was a member of the Soulquarians, a collective that helped to pioneer the neo-soul and alternative hip hop sound of the late 90s early 2000s. The crew was comprised of Questlove, Bilal, Common, Roy Hargrove, Erykah Badu, D'Angelo, James Poyser, Mos Def, Q-Tip, Talib Kweli, Pino Palladino, and J Dilla (RIP).
While it is a totally out of the question for this cast to get together and do a tour currently, maybe they can put money and ego aside to give the Soulquarians a last hurrah. Could you imagine seeing Common and D'Angelo do "So Far To Go" before Erykah Badu and Talib Kweli do "The Blast"? That's the stuff dreams are made of.
Black Star
Okay so if we can't get ALL of the Soulquarians together, maybe just Talib Kweli and Mos Def? The Black Star LP will turn 20 in the year 2018, and they have to honor it somehow! What better way than enlisting The Roots for a run of shows?
Bishop Nehru
The young Bishop Nehru is another MC who is enlisting vintage beats and style to put his own spin on the music of the 90s. His flow would be perfect alongside Quest and the crew.