What does the audience see at a Roots concert?
The Roots are absolutely the last group of black musicians with a major label record deal, which is sort of a sad thing. Growing up as a kid, I knew all the members of Cameo, Kool and the Gang, the Commodores, War. Now, the Roots are the last group of black musicians. Now people consider the Dave Matthews Band as a black band (because a member is black.) I try not to rely on the novelty of “we play instruments.” I’d rather people say, “I like you guys because you are great musicians.” What has kept the group together this long? Really? Poverty. It’s our job. We’re disciplined. You’ll see cats like, “I need to do something solo,” and it kind of falls apart. The way our fan base is built, they’ve stuck with us from the beginning of time. The emotional connection is there. Sometimes we inaugurate new members into the group, but the core of the Roots, the nucleus, will always be Black Thought (emcee), ?uestlove (drums), Hub (bass) and Kamal (keys). What is the most important lesson the gro
