The Roots, led by Black Thought and Questlove, will headline Stage AE. Credit: Submitted
PITTSBURGH - With 181 album tracks to choose from, crafting a concert setlist might sound like a tricky task for The Roots.
Not so, says Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter, emcee for the famed hip-hop band making a long overdue Pittsburgh appearance Aug. 31 at Stage AE.
"We let it be pretty much tailored to our audience", the Philly-bred Trotter said. "As we get there, we figure out what songs to do and when. We arrive with a list, but we'll call a lot of audibles".
A Brooklyn show earlier this month saw The Roots launch with "Thought vs. Everybody", a searing solo track Trotter released last year calling out the need for social justice reform.
The song finds him perhaps inventing a verb in the line "Did they Washington us?"
It's pronounced "Washing-tone us", he clarifies, referencing the song's points about systemic racism.
"There hadn't been a spin put on the story the way we received it", he said. "I just thought that's a dope sort of analogy. But I could have mentioned any of the other so-called Founding Fathers.
"That song was just inspired by the times. It was inspired by the climate and what my body and heart was feeling. It's crazy, I wrote it a couple years ago, but those words are even more timely and powerful now than if they came out immediately when they were finished".
The Brooklyn concert also included fan favorites like "What They Do", "Stay Cool" and "You Got Me".
Verse one of 1996's "What They Do" found Black Thought reproachfully rapping "The principles of true hip-hop have been forsaken/It's all contractual and about money-makin'".
So, 25 years later does he still believe the principles of true hip-hop have been forsaken?
"It hasn't changed or improved at all", Trotter said Wednesday in a phone interview.
And he agrees 2007's "Proceed II" has taken on a deeper meaning, regarding current circumstances, with its verse "Troubles of the world bring tears to my eye, wonder why?My man, can't vaccinate, y'all know the fate".
Trotter says "There's much I touched upon in my writing that has sort of come to light, so to speak. I don't want to say it was foreseen by me, but there's a lot of little jewels like that I've dropped in my career".
The secret to his highly praised songwriting?
"I have to remain as good a listener as possible for any idea that would present itself as an idea to proceed with", Trotter said. "Then I just need to stay out of my own way".
In its rave review of "Black vs. Thought", Hot New Hip Hop wrote, "Usually when rappers claim their supremacy in the game, it's often met with eye rolls and five or 10 names that people think are better. When a hip-hop icon like Black Thought decides to talk his talk, it's probably best for other emcees to just sit down, shut up and listen to what The Roots' frontman has to say".
Vastly respected in the hip-hop world, The Roots have garnered mainstream attention as house band on NBC's "The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon".
The Roots previously handled house band duties on Fallon's predecessor show, "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon". Trotter recalls The Roots first weighing that opportunity around August 2008, when they played Pittsburgh's one-and-done but mighty New American Music Union Festival with Bob Dylan, the Black Keys, Gnarls Barkley, Spoon and Jack White's the Raconteurs.
They added bass player Leonard "Hub" Hubbard, and another vocalist, Malik B., releasing their 1993 debut album "Organix".
Malik added a lyrical grittiness throughout The Roots' 1990s reign before leaving to pursue a solo career, though returning as a featured artist on the Roots' albums "Game Theory" (2006) and "Rising Down" (2008).
Malik died in July 2020 at age 47. No cause was given. Trotter posted a tribute on his personal Instagram page, saying "We made a name and carved a lane together where there was none. In friendly competition with you from day one, I always felt as if I possessed only a mere fraction of your true gift and potential".
The Roots' last studio album, 2014's conceptual and satirical "...And Then You Shoot Your Cousin", features cover artwork from a painting called "Pittsburgh Memory" by painter Romare Bearden.
The Roots' album cover for '...And Then You Shoot Your Cousin' is licensed from a painting 'Pittsburgh Memory' by painter Romare Bearden. Credit: Def Jam/Romare Bearden
"He was famous for working in the collage and mixed-media arts", Trotter said. "That image just resonated with us and the picture we were trying to paint of one of the main protagonists of that album".
There's no new album to support, though The Roots jumped at the chance to do an 11-city tour this summer, with Pittsburgh as stop No. 7. The opportunity quickly materialized.
"I guess there was a little break in the pandemic, and certain industries and businesses have opened back up", Trotter said. "Hopefully that can continue through this week if we very carefully do this".
Stage AE now requires visitors show proof of vaccination or recent proof of a negative COVID-19 test.
Trotter said, "We are on board with every and all precautions. Whatever keeps people safe and at ease while still entertaining them is the way to go".
Showtime is 7 p.m. with tickets $45-$65. The warmup act Kamauu is a New York-based rapper who notched 10 million cumulative streams for his first solo single "Jusfayu".
The Roots won't perform any new and unreleased songs, though work is well underway on the next album.
"It's coming soon. It's dope", Trotter said. "It's shaping up to feel like an ode to an era that's been lost".
Which lost era is that?
"Well", says Trotter with a bit of a laugh, "that will be left for you to uncover".
