Everyone’s favorite drummer, Questlove, is celebrating the release of his brand new book today. Titled “Mixtape Potluck”, the book imagines a potluck dinner party where he invites over 50 chefs, artists and entertainers and asks them to bring their favorite recipes.
The guest list features names like Carla Hall, Tom Sachs, Fred Armisen, Martha Stewart and many more, and the book pairs each guest with a song that Questlove feels matches their creative energy. The unique concept is a must read for any fan of literature, food or The Roots!
Purchase Questlove’s new book “Mixtape Potluck” here.
With Lollapalooza still a couple months away, Chicago has a slew of A-list concerts to kick off the summer until one of the world’s best music festivals returns. With shows from Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, Post Malone, Diana Ross and many more, Windy City music fans will have plenty of opportunities to see some amazing live music this June.
Check out our list of the 10 can’t miss concerts in Chicago next month!
Lil Yachty teamed up with The Roots and Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show and delivered what may be his best rap yet, so can we stop all the Lil Boat hate? Rapping about 59 different characters from the hit cartoon series, The Simpsons, Yachty was backed by Questlove and The Roots with a killer sample to the hit show’s theme song.
“Steer clear of Nelson, he’ll laugh at you openly. It’s worse than hearing, ‘okaly dokaly’. Flanders… store just for left handers.” Bars! And before you cry “that’s a real hot album song, I wonder who wrote it? Oh sh*t!,” let’s give Yachty the benefit of the doubt on this one. Either way, his delivery was perfect.
Watch Lil Yachty rap about 59 Simpsons characters below.
For its big 10th anniversary, the Roots Picnic will return to Philadelphia for another year of great music. Taking place at the Festival Pier at Penn’s Landing, The Roots will bring their hometown festival to Phili on Saturday, June 3rd.
And to say the lineup for this year is great would be an understatement, as it’s excellent from top to bottom. Headlining the Picnic will be Pharrell and The Roots, who have a lot of tough acts to follow. Also performing at the Roots Picnic will be Lil Wayne, Solange, Kimbra, 21 Savage, Black Thought & J.Period with Fat Joe, Mobb Deep and Scott Stoch, Thundercat, Virgil Abloh, Noname, Pete Rock and many more!
For tickets and more information, fans can visit RootsPicnic.com, so if you’re in Phili or are willing to travel for some great music, get your tickets before they are all gone.
Check out the lineup for the 10th Annual Roots Picnic below.
Sunday marked the final day of Common’s (now 2-day) music festival, AAHH! Fest. Taking place at Chicago’s Union Park, Common brought some of the biggest names in hip-hop to his hometown festival. Following Saturday’s Community Day, where fans got to see some of the city’s young talent perform, as well as surprise guest appearances and sets from Chicago’s own, Tink, Taylor Bennett and Dreamville’s Omen, Sunday’s main stage lineup was stacked from top to bottom.
First up was a Chicago native and one of our favorite emerging artists, Sir The Baptist. With some huge co-signs, Jay-Z and Lil Wayne (just to name a couple), Sir The Baptist is making waves throughout Chicago and the rap world as a whole. Whether you’ve been hooked from Day 1, or were blown away by his moving performance at Lollapalooza this year, Sir The Baptist is one of the easiest rappers to root for right now and his single ‘Raise Hell’ will certainly get you on your feet.
Next up, AAHH! Fest saw a performance from another one of the city’s more conscious rappers, SAVEMONEY’s Vic Mensa. Another rapper who had a moving and memorable set at Lollapalooza this year, Vic Mensa brought performances of his politically charged EP, There’s Alot Going On. Following Vic’s performance, Odd Future’s Syd tha Kyd-led group, The Internet hit the stage, and delivered as always.
Moments later, it was time for another one of Chicago’s own to hit the stage, this time ‘Don’t Tell ‘Em’ singer Jeremih. Giving fans a half hour of some of his biggest hits, Jeremih’s set was definitely for the ladies in attendance tonight. Following his set, and some of music’s most talented young artists, was all for the hip-hop heads in the audience. Next, AAHH! Fest saw sets from The Roots, Common, Ice Cube, Bilal and a surprise appearance from R. Kelly, all legends in their own right.
But after a few legends in hip-hop stepped off stage, it was time for the night’s headliner, none other than J. Cole. Returning to Chicago, after a headlining performance for the opening night of Lollapalooza’s huge 25th Anniversary, J. Cole killed it, to no one’s surprise. While J. Cole is one of the few artists tonight without direct Chicago ties, you wouldn’t have guessed it by the audience’s reaction as Cole stepped on stage. Michael Jordan isn’t the only great name from North Carolina embraced by the Windy City, as J. Cole will always have a second home in Chicago, and that was more than evident tonight. AAHH! Fest will have a tough job matching this year’s performances in 2017.
Common’s huge hometown music festival, AAHH! Fest, is returning this month, set to match a legendary inaugural year in 2014 which saw performances from Kanye West, Common, Twista, Lupe Fiasco, Jennifer Hudson, Jay Electronica and more. Although fans shouldn’t expect a surprise performance from Mr. West this time around, as he is currently on his Saint Pablo Tour, AAHH! Fest’s 2016 lineup is just as exciting. AAHH! Fest will take place on September 24-25, with a community day showcasing young Chicago artists on the fest’s first day, and fans can get tickets now at AAHHFest.com.
Check our list of the most anticipated performers of AAHH! Fest 2016 at the jump!
Yesterday marked the fourth night ofSummerfest‘s 49th Anniversary celebration. Unlike many other premiere music festivals, Milwaukee’s lakeside festival, Summerfest, brings an especially diverse list of performers to Wisconsin every year. Tonight the World’s Largest Music Festival had some huge names including The Roots, Kasey Musgraves, Kane Brown, New Age Narcissism and more.
Check out our Summerfest Day 5 photos below and peep our Day 4 Summerfest photos here!
Just as The Roots travel north to New York City every night for Jimmy Fallon and The Tonight Show, their awesome music festival, The Roots Picnic, will be traveling to the Big Apple as well. After a huge 2015 for the Philadelphia festival, which took place last weekend with performances by some of the biggest names in music, the festival has just announced a second weekend of music, this time in New York, NY on October 1st and 2nd.
And if you thought their Phili lineup was great, the NYC lineup next fall is just as amazing. Performing at The Roots Picnic’s first New York festival this year will be D’Angelo, John Mayer, the Wu Tang Clan, Kevin Gates, X Ambassadors, of course the legendary Roots crew and many more!
Tickets go on sale this Friday, June 10th at 10:00AM, so check out RootsPicnic.com for more info!
Sharing its title with the popular Netflix documentary series, The Roots’ frontman Black Thought recruited rapper Styles P and the legendary 9th Wonder for his new record ‘Making A Murder’. Black Thought and Styles P both kill it on this 9th Wonder beat, for a track inspired by Manitowoc, Wisconsin’s Steven Avery. This is just the first of many new track you are bound to hear from Black Thought this year, as the rapper confirmed that new music from The Roots is on the way, and that he has a forthcoming collaboration with Eminem and Royce Da 5’9″.
To no surprise, Milwaukee’s lineup for Summerfest this year is the most diverse of all major music festivals in 2016. Yesterday “the World’s Largest Music Festival” revealed its over 90 headlining acts (with more to come), so today we have our most anticipated headlining acts for Summerfest 2016. This year Summerfest takes place from June 29 – July 3 and July 5 – July 1o at the Summerfest Grounds in Milwaukee, WI and you can check here for ticket information. Ticket prices start at just $13 and $80 right now for an 11-day pass (these are not misprints), with various promotions that run all festival long. Lollapalooza may be having its huge 25th anniversary just 90 miles south, but there is no better way to spend eleven days of your summer at one of the most unique music festivals that the country has to offer.
It wasn’t easy to decide who we are most excited to see at Summerfest this year, but definitely hit the jump to check out our ten most anticipated acts of Summerfest 2016. And be sure to check out Summerfest.com for more information!
The Early Registration 