"4,3,2,1" is a classic hip-hop posse cut from LL Cool J, Canibus, DMX, and Master P from 1997's Phenomenon by LL which clearly still lives on. Moreover, a slew of amazing MCs remixed the cut at The Roots' Picnic Festival during J.Period's Live Mixtape set on Saturday (June 1). Black Thought, Common, Method Man, Redman, and Freeway linked up to give this instrumental a new rendition, and fans seemed pretty impressed both online and in the live setting. Black Thought in particular spit over a lot of classic instrumentals as well, including Wu-Tang Clan's "Protect Ya Neck," Raekwon's "Ice Cream," and GZA's "Shadowboxin'."
"30 Years Ago Today w. 6 one way tickets in hand we took a risk and left our beloved City Of Philadelphia for the shaky shores of Londontown — specifically Camden — the East Village Of London," Questlove wrote of The Roots' Picnic Festival and this particular moment with Black Thought and company. "2 weeks into our stay we did our first festival (a last min side stage add on to [Glastonbury]) and we promised hook or crook we would bring a festival to our city.
Questlove's Post Thanking Black Thought, Common, Method Man, Redman & Freeway For Their Amazing "4,3,2,1" Rendition
"In 2008 that dream came true when the first @rootspicnic came to fruition," Questlove continued, later adding a comment in his caption about this Black Thought, Common, Freeway, Method Man, and Freeway link-up. "We wanted quality acts & a variety (some older names, some newer names, some right up your alley and especially the “wtf!!!?” variety——-keeps y’all guessing)——I’m especially proud of our ability to pick em when they are brand new. [...] This moment was epic: @methodmanofficial @redmangilla @phillyfreeway @common @jperiodbk @stroelliot & their fearless leader @blackthought making it look so easy. Thank You Philadelphia."
Full Live Mixtape Set At The Roots' Picnic Festival 2024
Meanwhile, hopefully this showing from Black Thought and company went better for Method Man crowd-wise compared to how disappointed he was with Summer Jam's crowd recently. "Not our crowd at all.." he wrote of the event. "Thanks again, New York and the whole tri-state (that showed up to the event) plus Pete and Ebro I got love for you guys, but never again.. at this point the generation gap is just too wide for me.. #nevercomingback."
Read More: The Roots’s “Game Theory” Marked A New Era
