By Dan Ouellette, eMusic ContributorWhen pianist, vocalist and band leader Joe Jackson contemplated undertaking a Duke Ellington tribute, he decided against reverence. Instead, as he's displayed throughout his career, he fashions his Duke homage in his distinct cross-genre pop… more »

By eMusic Editorial Staff, eMusic ContributorBonnaroo has come a long way since its jam-band origins 10 years ago. Now, it's the home for musical eclecticism, with everything from roots rock to fizzy electronic music to soul-shaking R&B occupying its seven… more »

By Christina Lee, eMusic ContributorThe more the Roots face the bright stage lights, whether on tour or Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, the more their music recedes into big city high-rises and a bleak worldview. Founding members Tariq "Black… more »

By Christina Lee, eMusic ContributorHow I Got Over's title track begins with a determined drum-and-bongo shuffle, ideal for navigating grocery store aisles, city traffic or even a flooding inbox. But then the Roots plunge into what they're actually thinking:… more »

By Christina Lee, eMusic ContributorDiehard Roots fans cried foul when Black Thought mumbled nonsensically in the hook of The Tipping Point's lead single, something ?uestlove didn't even expect. ("Roots diehards should be used to this zaniness," he wrote in… more »

By Christina Lee, eMusic ContributorIn February 2000, the Roots won their first and only Grammy for "You Got Me," the lead single from fourth studio effort Things Fall Apart. In its chorus, Erykah Badu sings as if she's already… more »

By Christina Lee, eMusic ContributorAfter the Roots won their first Grammy in February 2000, the Philadelphia band dissected its formula for award-winning pop balladry — and nearly destroyed it — with Phrenology. As bait, the Roots cast plenty of… more »

By Christina Lee, eMusic ContributorSustained Morse code notes fade in and out before Black Thought buzzes in, rattling off a minute-long eyewitness account of a neighborhood shooting. The Roots may have signed to Geffen, but instead of celebrating its… more »

By Christina Lee, eMusic ContributorIn November 1995, Malik B stepped off a bus in Düsseldorf, Germany, abandoning the rest of the Roots in the middle of a European tour. Geffen had just signed them to a seven-figure contract, which… more »

By Christina Lee, eMusic ContributorOrganix offered the first glimpse of how the Roots' blend of limber rhythms and deft rhymes could seduce coffee shop and dive bar patrons alike, launching a bidding war among six record labels. Black Thought… more »

By eMusic Editorial Staff, eMusic ContributorIt was a year full of surprising breakouts and breathtaking discoveries, with reliable favorites from familiar faces and strong entries from new voices. These are our Top 100 Records of 2011. more »

By J. Edward Keyes, Editor-in-Chief Even though the new release cycle continues to slow down, we've still got a few banner new releases today, alongside some hidden gems. Let's dive in. The Black Keys, El Camino: Years ago, when I was… more »

By Ryan Reed, eMusic ContributorWhen Philly rap legends The Roots signed on as house band for Jimmy Fallon's late night show, certain fans shuffled the "sell-out" card, worried the crew's gritty street edge would soften in the face of… more »

By Ryan Reed, eMusic ContributorWhen Philly rap legends The Roots signed on as house band for Jimmy Fallon's late night show, certain fans shuffled the "sell-out" card, worried the crew's gritty street edge would soften in the face of… more »

By J. Edward Keyes, Editor-in-ChiefRising Down is the Roots at their most paranoid. It's a tense, claustrophobic album that opens with an argument — between Black Thought, ?uestlove and the group's manager — and ends with a celebratory track… more »

By J. Edward Keyes, Editor-in-ChiefFollowing 2002's marginally-optimistic The Tipping Point, a record wrongly derided as a sellout because of sleek first single "Don't Say Nothin'," Game Theory found the Roots doubling down on unrest and political skepticism. Game Theory… more »

By J. Edward Keyes, Editor-in-ChiefFollowing 2002's marginally-optimistic The Tipping Point, a record wrongly derided as a sellout because of sleek first single "Don't Say Nothin'," Game Theory found the Roots doubling down on unrest and political skepticism. Game Theory… more »

By J. Edward Keyes, Editor-in-ChiefRising Down is the Roots at their most paranoid. It's a tense, claustrophobic album that opens with an argument — between Black Thought, ?uestlove and the group's manager — and ends with a celebratory track… more »

By Hua Hsu, eMusic ContributorOn September 7th, a federal appeals court in Cincinnati, Ohio, all but closed the book on sampling in hip-hop. A three-judge panel ruled that recent federal laws pertaining to the piracy of digital recordings also… more »