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Why The Roots Remain One of Hip-Hop’s Most Groundbreaking Acts: ‘The Curiosity Is Still There
“You can leave the lights off,” Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson says. It’s 9:45 a.m. in New York, and the seemingly tireless musical polymath — and cofounder, with Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, of hip-hop collective The Roots — is in desperate need of a power nap. A whirlwind summer has finally drained his battery.
This summer alone, The Roots hosted the 16th edition of their blockbuster Roots Picnic headlined by Erykah Badu and Jay-Z — in his first major solo performance in seven years, and his only one this year outside of his Yankee Stadium shows; Thompson premiered his critically acclaimed Earth, Wind & Fire documentary; the group returned to the Montreux Jazz Festival more than three decades after its debut there and performed for the opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago — all on top of its 17-years-running gig as Jimmy Fallon’s late-night house band. “I’ll probably look at 2026 as our best bucket-list summer we’ve ever had,” says Thompson, 55.
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For more than three decades, Thompson and his longtime creative partner Trotter have inspired each other to keep the same childlike sense of discovery that took root when they first met as big-dreaming teenagers at the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts. Starting with their 1999 breakthrough, Things Fall Apart , The Roots have released a string of acclaimed albums and picked up three Grammy Awards — and while the group’s lineup has changed over the years, Thompson and Trotter have remained the constants that both anchor it and continually expand its reach.
“The brand is greater than its parts,” adds Trotter, 52. “It’s a beautiful thing, and it’s something you’re only able to achieve over time.”
The Roots have certainly mastered the art of longevity, enjoying a rare degree of creative freedom and commercial success along the way. They have also endured profound loss, including the death in 2014 of the group’s longtime producer and co-manager Richard Nichols. But in the years since, The Roots rediscovered the creative spark that first brought them together. With the guidance of longtime manager and Live Nation Urban president Shawn Gee, Thompson and Trotter tell Billboard they are preparing to release the long-awaited Endgame , The Roots’ first studio album in more than a decade.
With the project nearing completion, Thompson and Trotter say that Endgame is a return to the free-flowing jam sessions that once defined The Roots’ creative process. The group is still chasing the feeling that captivated them as teenagers: pure curiosity.
Thompson (left) and Trotter of The Roots photographed July 15, 2026 in New York.
DeSean McClinton-Holland
You guys have been together since 1989. In a genre where even some of the greatest groups eventually break up, what has made the bond between you so strong?
Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter: We’ve been together for such a long time. What else would I consider at this point, right? Long before I met my wife or thought about having children, this relationship, band and dynamic existed. This is something that stood the test of time. There’s no shortcut to that.
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson: Our first gig, the Montreux Jazz Festival, we were a last-minute addition. This was ’94. For it to come full-circle 32 years later and we did [it] this [past July], I kept saying, “Wow. We’re the same two high school kids who had a janky four-track recorder and a Casio SK-1 trying to figure out how to take two rocks and make fire. And here we are.” We’re still those 15-year-olds maintaining that [love for the music]. Every time I see units and guys saying, “We gotta go solo,” I’m sure it’s the Michael Jordan, Michael Jackson effect of the highlight reel. But we’ve learned that groups and collaborations are probably the wisest way to set a legacy. The solo thing is an illusion because you still need people on the team to do that. That’s what kept us together.
Trotter: We’re still very much fans of the game, and the curiosity is still there. We’ve had so many “We’ve arrived” moments that it’s so hard to count. Everything feels like a new beginning.
How have you guys maintained this level of prestige while never compromising your creative principles?
Trotter: By compromising. ( Laughs .)
Thompson: We’ve always trusted the focus group aspect. You can just gauge people’s reactions to things, but also, when you create something, do you get goose bumps hearing it? Does something excite you? And probably the standards have changed. We get better with rejection. I take that less personal now, and it helps me come back with something better. We still care about the product at the end of the day and contrary to popular belief, we still care about success. We’re a business now. We’re still creating and that should count for something.
You guys have expanded The Roots far beyond your music — whether it’s [online community] Okayplayer, The Roots Picnic or your gig with Jimmy Fallon. How have you ensured music stays at the center of everything, even without dropping albums constantly?
Thompson: I’ve learned that we’re in the creativity game and not necessarily the music game. When we [became Fallon’s house band] in 2009, that’s when I observed that all talents are transferable. This doesn’t mean [that] if you’re good at driving an 18-wheeler truck, tomorrow you’ll be able to fly an Air Force pilot jet but just observing and seeing how creators create or being able to spy on Martha Stewart at The Tonight Show and see what kind of sandwiches she’s making or watching comedians punch up a joke empowered us.
When did you realize The Roots had grown into something much bigger than just making records?
Billboard’sHipHop HallFameRoots PicnicJimmy FallonJayAhmirQuestloveThompsonIt’sNew York
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