Drummer Ahmir Thompson, also known as Questlove, and rapper Tariq Trotter, aka Black Thought, started The Roots when they were in high school in Philadelphia in 1987. Over the last thirty years, the band has released 17 albums. They’ve received a bunch Grammy nominations including three wins. They’re also the house band for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. In this episode, Questlove tells the story of how they made the song "It Ain’t Fair." It was created for the film Detroit, directed by oscar-winner Kathryn Bigelow, who also made the films The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty. Detroit is about the 1967 Detroit riots, centered around the events at the Algiers Motel, where police killed three young black men and beat and tortured nine others. The Roots recruited the singer Bilal to contribute vocals to the song, and they worked with The Dap-Kings, the backing band for the late soul singer Sharon Jones, to create a sound that evoked the music of 1967.
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Little Dragon - Sweet
Aimee Mann - Patient Zero
Gorillaz - Andromeda (feat. D.R.A.M.)
Norah Jones - Day Breaks
Dirty Projectors - Up in Hudson
Sleigh Bells - I Can Only Stare
Bonobo - Break Apart (feat. Rhye)
Sara Watkins - Without a Word
Dropkick Murphys - Blood
Nicholas Britell - Moonlight
Solange - Cranes in the Sky
Metallica - Moth into Flame
Justin Hurwitz - La La Land
DJ Shadow - Mutual Slump
Angel Olsen - Shut Up Kiss Me
Jóhann Jóhannsson - Arrival
Flatbush Zombies - Bounce
Oathbreaker - 10:56 / Second Son of R.
James Vincent McMorrow - Get Low
Phantogram - You Don't Get Me High Anymore
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