The annual Roots Picnic turns 10 this spring and they’re bringing Pharrell, Solange and Lil’ Wayne to Festival Pier to celebrate on June 3. Tickets go on sale today at noon at rootspicnic.com.
For a decade, the annual picnic has driven local and national crowds to Philly to hear the best and brightest old and new school hip hop artists, some of whom (e.g. Snoop Dogg, Public Enemy, Usher in the past) get the rare opportunity to team with one of America’s finest, most dynamic, live bands: The Roots.
“This definitely speaks to the staying power of The Roots and the uniqueness of the Picnic as a good festival,” says Roots co-founder Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter. “Not many music festivals last, have a 10 year run or hold such validity and stay consistently good-and-getting better.”
Pharrell Williams (Hidden Figures) will join The Roots, along with additional headliners such as nu-soul songstress Solange (Beyoncé’s sister), rapper Lil Wayne, producer/bassist Thundercat, old school rap legend Pete Rock, and British acid jazz DJ Gilles Petersen atop the (so-far) 19-artist bill.
Two of the Roots Picnic events involve Black Thought alone. First, there is his now annual, morning-of-the-concert Black Thought/Roots Rock 5K charity run for hisGrassROOTS Foundation. Information on that is forthcoming
Then there is the Black Thought & J Period Live Mixtape showcase – an improvisational DJ/MC set developed in 2016 during The Roots’ first New York City-based Picnic. “It was a big hit in New York and now every time we do a Picnic, just like my 5K, this live mixtape will be part of the proceedings,” says Trotter.
The 2017 iteration of the Philly Roots Picnic just happens to be something special: a set to feature rappers Fat Joe and Mobb Deep, along with keyboardist-turned-mega-producer Scott Storch. “This is the official original Roots reunion with Philly’s own Scott Storch,” says Trotter happily.
Storch famously got his start as a one-time member of The Roots in their early years (he played and co-wrore tracks on The Roots; independent label debut, 1993’s Organix) who left the band by 1995 for fame, fortune, and the gossip pages. One of Storch’s first big tracks, “Lean Back,” a 2004 smash with Fat Joe and Remy Ma, will get a live airing as part of Thought’s Live Mixtape, along with “many other surprise tracks and additional unannounced guests,” says Trotter. “That’s what makes a Roots Picnic great – the performances we have planned and the ones that just happen.
via philly.com
