State Champ Radio Black Thought
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According to reports, The Roots’ lead MC Black Thought is writing and planning to direct a new film, teaming up with his bandmate Questlove on the project. The unnamed film is planned to be powered by the 360-degree immersive platform WonderRoom with the hopes that it “drops audiences into Hip-Hop’s soul,” with its narrative.Black Thought, aka Tariq Trotter, is partnering with the Impossible Creative studio, who has been behind several immersive experiences in cities across the globe. On their website, they describe their mission in creating those spaces as “designing, filming and mastering 360° experiences that cross an illusory threshold – where a room’s walls, ceiling and floor disappear, giving audiences the experience of being there, of infinite perspective in all directions.” Questlove and Shawn Gee of Two One Five Entertainment are signed on as producers of the film.“I’m grateful to Impossible Creative for entrusting me with their technology in bringing my latest project to the world.” the Grammy Award-winning rapper said in a statement about the project. “Hip-Hop has a rich and beautiful history, and by creating a space where audiences play a role and physically live out its greatest moments, the potential for a better understanding of the genre and its roots increases significantly.”“Working with Tarik and the team at Two One Five is a dream come true. Tarik’s stunning vision will allow audiences to feel the music, stories, and culture of Hip-Hop come alive around them in a way that’s never been experienced before,” said David Galpern, Impossible Creative’s co-founder and producer.FanX Studios Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Schwartz will serve as executive producer and provide oversight for Impossible Creative, and Josh Williams will also oversee the film project for Two One Five. Impossible Creative is eyeing next spring for the premiere to take place in New York City.
The film world is nothing new for Black Thought and Questlove. Black Thought has numerous acting credits to his name, including HBO’s The Deuce dramatic series, 2010’s Night Catches Us and the 2014 James Brown biopic Get On Up. Questlove won an Academy Award for Summer of Soul, and is also the producer of the documentary Sly Lives! on the recently deceased rock pioneer Sly Stone.
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Black Thought is easily one of the best lyricists ever, so it would figure that many artists who’ve had chances to work with him know that their work is cut out for them. During a recent chat, the frontman for The Roots shared that he may have scared off J. Cole from working on a collaborative project.
Black Thought, 52, was a guest on the This Week in White Supremacy podcast with host Dr. Jasiri X and discussed the journey of the Philadelphia star as a rapper en route to becoming a New York Times bestselling author.
After sharing details of his book, The Upcycled Self: A Memoir on the Art of Becoming Who We Are, the artist born Tariq Trotter shared how he connected with J. Cole about six years ago to attempt a joint project.
“I don’t know the brother well, but he and I had talked about doing music together at one point. At the beginning of 2018, he hit me like, ‘Yo, let’s do an album,’” Thought shared around the 29:00-minute mark. “I told him to send me some music. I told him I was with it. It wasn’t, ‘Send me some music to see if I want to do it,’ it was like, ‘Let me see what you’re thinking.’
Thought added that the beats Cole sent him initially were too close to the sound he achieved with The Roots and his solo projects are audibly different from those with his band. After requesting a new set of beats, Thought said the energy somewhat shifted.
“So I asked him to do a different batch, I gave him an explanation, and in my explanation I think I scared him off. Maybe some of the trigger words that I was using, like, ‘I want something hard. This beat ain’t aggressive enough.’
Black Thought offered his opinion on J. Cole apologizing to Kendrick Lamar after dropping and later deleting “7 Minute Drill” and more.
Check out the full interview below.
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If Black Thought thinks highly of your music consider yourself lucky. The Philly native says Mach Hommy and a handful of others are some of his favorite underrated rappers.
The legendary lyricist joined his Roots bandmate on the Questlove Supreme podcast to discuss his recently released memoir The Upcycled Self. While the duo discussed a variety of moments in the book they did find time to discuss his biggest influences. Tariq pointed to classic performers such as Kool Keith, Special Ed and Greg Nice but also spoke on some rappers who he feels do not get enough praise.
“Mach [Hommy], yeah, that’s my ace,” he explained. “I think his association with the whole Griselda family and that movement, but the way that he’s distinctly, ya know, different is huge too.” The “75 Bars” MC also pointed to Your Old Droog but revealed he wasn’t feeling his music at first because he sounded like Nas. “I met him on the road opening up for Royce and Premier when they were doing their PRhyme tour and we sort of hit it off,” he added. “I talk about mentorship and, ya know, just artists that we share demos with one another and I’m just able to just, y aknow, offer wisdom […] he’s been one of those artists.”
You can listen to Questlove and Black Thought chop it up below about rappers who he feels are unsung starting at the 1:29 mark.
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Black Thought manages to still dazzle as a lyricist and had done so with expert ease since the 1990s, so it is fitting that his latest missive salutes the culture that raised him. As part of BET’s yearlong celebration of the 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop, Black Thought shares a potent tribute titled “Love Letter To Hip Hop.”
Black Thought, known to most as the frontman for The Roots, used the tribute to highlight the culture’s beginnings in the inner city of New York and the purpose of unity that sparked its inception. Further, Thought uses the moment to highlight the likes of mogul Sylvia Robinson and other women who paved the way such as Salt-N-Pepa, MC Lyte, Queen Latifah, Sha Rock, and Roxanne Shante.
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Some of Thought’s contemporaries are mentioned in the poetic tribute such as Common, Jay-Z, and A Tribe Called Quest, and also expertly shouts out regions outside of the usual East Coast locales such as Atlanta, Los Angeles, Houston, and more.
Benny Boom directed the visually stunning piece that captures Black Thought’s crystal clear delivery and gives it a necessary punch since the ode is delivered acapella.
Check out Black Thought saluting the culture as only he can in the video shared below.
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