For more than three decades, Tarik “Black Thought” Trotter has stood as one of hip-hop’s most formidable lyricists and enduring voices. As the frontman of The Roots, he has navigated the evolution from Philadelphia street cyphers to global stages, from underground hip-hop collective to the house band for “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.” The MC, actor, author and producer has built a career that spans multiple mediums while maintaining an unwavering commitment to artistic integrity and community service.
As The Roots prepare to return to Chicago’s Ravinia Festival — a venue that holds special significance for the group — Black Thought reflects on the elements that have sustained his creative drive and The Roots’ relevance in an ever-changing industry. The conversation touches on brotherhood, legacy, and the responsibility that comes with being a pillar of hip-hop culture.
What continues to drive you creatively after your journey from cyphers in Philadelphia to rocking stages around the world?
I feel like I’m continually driven by just the urge to serve, I feel like the opportunity that I’ve been blessed with as an artist is a position of servitude. I perform in many ways a service to the community, to various communities. So it’s something, it’s a responsibility that I’ve never really taken lightly. And that also look at us as a blessing. So it’s what keeps me going, and it’s what keeps my music and my writing feeling fresh.
The Roots have a dynamic sound as a live band. How do you keep evolving without losing the essence of what made people love you in the first place?
I think the core, the essence, the foundation of what made folks fall in love with The Roots is the relationship that Questlove and I share. And I think as founder members of this band that’s been around for 30-plus years, it speaks to just the real meaning of brotherhood, and just full functionality as a unit. The fact that we’re still here in terms of live musicians, in terms of Black bands, there aren’t many who had a Roots run.
But that said, the longer, the more time we spend together, I feel like the tighter we get. And 15 or 16 years ago, when this Tonight Show opportunity presented itself, I think we’ve just grown tighter since then, because from that point on, since Tonight Show, we’ve been playing together in some way, shape or form pretty much every day. So I think that that also contributes to the tightness, the evolution.
You’re returning to Ravinia this summer. What is it about performing at Ravinia that keeps you coming back?
Ravinia, performing there just feels so super authentically Chicago in a way that, I’ve always looked at Chicago as a sister city to Philadelphia. You know, tough streets. I feel like I’m from the south side of Philly. If I was from Chicago, I’d be from the south side of Chicago, and I feel like they’re almost interchangeable. And Chicago was actually the first place I ever traveled when I left the city of Philly as a small child.
But we’ve always just had an affinity for that place. So many friends and friends who’ve become family and extended family are from there, or have roots there — no pun intended. So, it always feels like a second homecoming when we play anywhere in Chicago. But Ravinia, it just feels like the real Chicago.
What can people expect from this year’s performance? Any surprises?
I hate to say no surprises, but sometimes the surprises are also a surprise to me. I mean, we are, we come ready to play and ready to improvise, and there’s no telling who’s in town. Like I said, I got lots of friends and extended family from Chicago, or either still in Chicago. And who knows? Man, like Saba Pivot might pop out, Common might pop, I mean, I’ve got so, it’s really no telling.
Your name always comes up when people talk about alien lyricists, MCs that sound like they’re not even from this planet. In your opinion, who do you think is an alien lyricist?
I think man, Styles P is an alien lyricist. Ghostface, another alien in my opinion. Roc Marciano, or maybe he just goes by Roc Marci now. But he’s always been somebody that, those who know, if you know, you know, cats who could rap real good know the other cats that could rap real good. And that’s who we sort of, that’s who we check in for. That’s the real competition. And sometimes it’s unspoken. But some of those guys that I just named are definitely otherworldly.
You’ve written books, plays and bars. How do you approach each medium differently while staying true to who you are?
I’ve tried to, I think though the medium is ever evolving, no matter which tool I sort of utilize, it’s a continuation of the same story. So sometimes you reach the full extent within one medium, like you go as far as you’re able to go in your storytelling as a musician, and it’s time to pick up the camera, or it’s time to write a screenplay, or it’s time to take it to the theatrical stage, or whatever you need to do to sort of continue to, just to continue the process, to continue to push the needle forward.
So, it’s been a blessing to be able to cross disciplines and to go from strength to strength in that way.
Three decades in, your relevancy has not gone anywhere. What advice would you give to younger artists trying to build a legacy that lasts in today’s industry climate?
I would advise younger artists to be mindful of that, to be mindful of legacy and to be mindful of just the moves you make, the friends you make, the relationships you build, the bridges you burn, and the effect that all those things sort of have a little further down the line.
And I would say be observant. Like study the game, study the culture, study the timeline of those of us who have gone before you, so you don’t have to make the same mistakes. A lot of sacrifice has been made. So younger artists coming up don’t have to sort of do the same thing and pay the same dues in the same way that folks from my graduating class did. So receive that.
See the Roots at Ravinia on June 27, 2025.
