The Roots

The Roots
The Roots performing in Toronto, Ontario on March 24, 2007.
Background information
Also known as	The Legendary Roots Crew, The Fifth Dynasty, The Square Roots
Origin	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Genres	Hip hop alternative hip hop neo soul jazz rap
Years active	1987 (1987)–present
Labels	Def Jam, DGC, MCA, Interscope-Geffen-A&M
Associated acts	Jimmy Fallon, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Soulquarians, J Dilla, Jill Scott, Martin Luther, Jaguar Wright, Amel Larrieux, John Legend, Dave Chappelle, BT, Kendrick Lamar, Joey Bada$$, Jazzyfatnastees, Elvis Costello, Erykah Badu, Big K.R.I.T.
Website	theroots.com
Members	Black Thought Questlove Kamal Gray Frank "Knuckles" Walker Captain Kirk Douglas Damon "Tuba Gooding Jr." Bryson James Poyser Mark Kelley Ian Hendrickson-Smith (added for The Tonight Show) David Guy (added for The Tonight Show)
Past members	Josh "Rubberband" Abrams Malik B. Owen Biddle Dice Raw Hub Ben Kenney Martin Luther Rahzel Scratch Scott Storch Kenyatta "Kid Crumbs" Warren

The Roots is an American hip hop group, formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots are known for a jazzy and eclectic approach to hip-hop featuring live musical instruments.Malik B., Leonard "Hub" Hubbard, and Josh Abrams were added to the band (formerly named "The Square Roots").

Since its first independent album-length release the band has released 10 studio albums, two EPs, two collaboration albums (with other artists), and also collaborated on recordings and in live shows with a wide variety of artists in many musical genres. The Roots served as the house band on NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon from 2009 to 2014, and in the same role (and accompanying show guest artists) on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon since 2014. The Roots' work has consistently been met with critical acclaim. About.com ranked the band #7 on its list of the 25 Best Hip-Hop Groups of All-Time, calling them "Hip-hop's first legitimate band."

The Roots originated in Philadelphia with Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter while they were both attending the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts. They would busk out on the street corners with Questlove playing bucket drums and Tariq rapping over his rhythms. Their first organized gig was a talent show in 1989 at the school where they used the name Radio Activity, which began a series of name changes that progressed through Black to the Future and then The Square Roots. In 1992, they dropped the "Square" because a local folk group had claim to the name.