Black Thought compiled a list for us of his top ten rappers of all time, most of which are heavy-hitters who paved the way in the early days of hip hop. On Sunday (May 17th), the Roots frontman sat down with Hot 97’s Fatman Scoop for a virtual interview, where Scoop inquired about who would make Black Thought’s Top 10 Rappers Of All Time list. Immediately, he begins naming a ton of legendary MCs, resulting in a list that looks like this:

1. Rakim
2. Chuck D (of Public Enemy)
3. Kool G Rap
4. Big Daddy Kane
5. KRS-One
6. The D.O.C.
7. Rev Run (of Run-DMC)
8. Schoolly D
9. EST (of Three Times Dope)
10. LL Cool J

Consisting mostly of East Coast artists, Black Thought’s list appears to be heavily influenced by his own regional roots. D.O.C., who hails from Dallas, is the sole rapper that doesn’t come from East Coast backgrounds, while Schoolly D and EST are both fellow Philly natives alongside Black Thought.

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Thought also reflected on collaborating with some of the rappers listed in the past. “If I did a record with G Rap, the nuances of my style that come from G Rap will probably stand out more because that’s who I was paired with,” Thought explained later on during their conversation. “There’s certain artists that are one-fifth of who I feel makes me up, and Rakim is one of those dudes. I occupy a dope space where most of the MCs that I have a certain level of respect for, that respect is mutual. That’s all the validity, that’s all really the accolades, that’s all my flowers while I’m still here.” Watch the full interview below:

It’s been a minute since we’ve heard some new music from the legendary Black Thought, with his most recent verse arriving alongside Eminem, Q-Tip, and Royce Da 5’9″ on “Yah Yah.” Today, Thought has come through with a stay-at-home variation of the NPR Tiny Desk Concert, which finds him revisiting songs from his recent Streams Of Thought volumes, as well as premiering some three new songs in the process.

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The new tracks “Thought Vs. Everybody,” “Yellow,” and “Nature Of The Beast,” which features contributions from Portugal, The Man, are set to arrive on his upcoming Streams of Thought Vol. 3 EP, though we have yet to receive an official date. In the meantime, Thought’s seventeen-minute set provides plenty of material to unpack, his sharpened delivery never missing a step. Though he appears completely relaxed in stance, almost wizardly with that graying beard, his lyrics are no less deadly than they’ve ever been. 

Not to mention the quiet flex of a wall lined with platinum plaques and an actual Grammy overlooking the scene, propped up by a stack of Thought’s favorite book club selections. Clearly, few can match wits with the intellectual mastermind — with or without the socks and sandals combination. Check out Black Thought’s official contribution to the Tiny Desk cause, and keep an eye out for that Streams Of Thought Vol. 3. 

The Roots are being honored in Philadelphia in a major way as the legendary hip-hop group and Philly natives are set to be honored with a stretch of East Passyunk in the city of Brotherly Love, officially earning them what is now Avenue Of The Roots.

Per the Philadelphia Inquirer, the red signage was already placed at the 600 Block of Passyunk on Friday. A dedication ceremony to commemorate the moment and honor their legacy will take place during the last week of May 2020, coinciding with the timeline of this year’s Roots Picnic.

“….does this mean WHAT I THINK IT MEANS!!!???!!!???” de facto frontman Questlove penned in a caption on Instagram. “[H]ell of a way to find out!!!! WOW!!!!!”

The legislation was originally proposed by activist Leroy McCarthy, the same individual allegedly behind moves to have streets named after the likes of The Notorious B.I.G., Phife Dawg, and Tupac Shakur. It was Philadelphia City Council legislator Mark Squilla who officially introduced the resolution that led to the establishment of Avenue of the Roots.

“I am happy that Avenue of the Roots is getting done, happy for hip-hop, happy for Philly and beyond. Plus, this is Black History Month in the making,” McCarthy said in a statement. “Congrats to The Roots and Team Roots for putting in the work over the years. This honor is well deserved. It took hard work to get this done, and the overall efforts for hip-hop recognition, but this is bigger than me — doing it for the culture, and hip-hop don’t stop. I’m looking forward to the street dedication in May 2020.”

Roots Picnic has established itself as one of the premier music festivals catering to hip-hop fans around the nation and, this year, with headliners like Meek Mill, DaBaby, and Summer Walker, we’re in for another amazing show. While most festivals pack a weekend full of activities, performances, and music-centric showcases into three days, the Roots Picnic is doing so in one single day, choosing Saturday, May 30 to return to Philadelphia’s Mann Center. 

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Questlove officially announced the line-up for the 2020 edition of Roots Picnic, confirming some of the most exciting profiles for performances at the festival. The headliners will surely be enough to bring out a sell-out crowd to Philly but, further down the card, a slew of discovery-worthy names are listed for you to enjoy. The soulful Snoh Aalegra will be bringing her brand of R&B to the stage with Burna Boy, Thundercat, Griselda, Baby Rose, SiR, Buddy, and more all slated to make additional appearances. The Roots will also be presenting a soul showcase featuring the likes of Brandy, SWV, and Musiq Soulchild.

If you’ve had enough of music and you just want to chill and dive into a conversation with some of the top minds in the game, you’ll have a chance to do that too with Elliott Wilson and Questlove both bringing their shows to Roots Picnic.

The event will take place on May 30. Tickets are available on Friday at noon.

It’s Funeral season, so expect to see much more of Lil Wayne in the days to come. The rap icon released his 13th album last Friday (January 31), and since then, the Weezy takeover has been non-stop. The Funeral reviews have been positive thus far as outlets have stated that the project showcases the many faces of Lil Wayne throughout his career.

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On Wednesday (February 5), Wayne took to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon stage for a live performance of his Funeral track “Dreams.” With The Roots backing him up, Weezy took center stage in a fur coat and sunglasses. “I’ve always been the artist that’s been left field,” the rapper recently told Entertainment Weekly. “I’ve always been whatever they want to call me, some Martian or whatever. I’ve always been that artist and that’s just the growth of who that artist is now.”

He was also asked about “Dreams,” a song where he reflects on having a nightmare that he was broke. “That [song] right there was just perfect,” Wayne said. “When I sang that hook I was like ‘Okay I got it.’ You know me, I’m a subject guy. You give me a subject, thank god I’m very creative with my words, and I have a wonderful personality, so I can stick to that subject real well and make something out of it. I’ve always been that guy.” Watch his Tonight Show performance below.

Drake might be the biggest pop star on earth right now but he’s ultimately a student of hip-hop. Acts like Kanye West, Cam’ron, Jay-Z, and Lil Wayne have clearly been influential in his sounds, as he’s admitted in the past, as well as R&B artists like Aaliyah, Sade, and Usher. However, he’s a student of the rap game, first and foremost, and last night, he hit the ‘Gram to pay homage to a few artists that he might not credit as often as he should for influencing him.

“Spent my night listening to some of the greatest ever,” he wrote in the first of eight Instagram Story posts where he showed love to a few artists he’s worked with in the past and some that are on his bucket list of collaborators, apparently. Among them are Elzhi, Phonte, Dwele, Slum Village, MF Doom, The Roots, and Cody Chesnutt.

For those familiar with Drake’s ATF/October’s Very Own Blogspot days, the rapper has collaborated with several of these artists in his early career. Not only has Drake called Phonte one of his biggest influences but they also worked together on “Think Good Thoughts” alongside Elzhi. Dwele and Little Brothe also linked up with Drake on “Don’t You Have A Man.” He’s also sampled The Roots and Slum Village in some of his recent work as well. 

As for MF Doom, the rapper has previously paid homage to the masked MC in the past while sparking speculation of a collab in the works. Although that’s never been confirmed, Drake did rap over “Accordion” with Nickelus F back in the day.