The Roots Members Who was the original line up original lineup included Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter (MC) and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson (drums Where did they meet classmates at the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts. Who was added Josh "The Rubberband" Abrams,
Where did they find him
Where did The Roots find Josh Abrams?
The Roots' original lineup included Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter (MC) and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson (drums), classmates at the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts. As they began to play at school and on local streets, they added bassist Josh "The Rubberband" Abrams, who went on to form the jazz group The Josh Abrams Quartet. They later added another MC, Malik Abdul Basit-Smart ("Malik B.") and Leonard Nelson "Hub" Hubbard (bass), and Scott Storch (keyboards). Kenyatta "Kid Crumbs" Warren (MC) was in the band for Organix, the Roots' first album release. Another MC, Dice Raw, joined the band in cameo appearances on later albums. The band filled Storch's position with Kamal Gray (keyboards), who continues in that capacity. Kamal Gray did not play with the Roots on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon between April or May and early September 2012. His absence was not publicly explained, however on the September 17, 2012 (NBC's 'Late Night' 700th) episode, Gray returned to the group. Beatboxer Rahzel was a band member from 1995 to 1999. Alongside Rahzel was turntablist/vocalist Scratch, who also DJ'd in live concerts. However Scratch left abruptly in 2003. Malik B. left the group in 1999 due to personal reasons but continued to record, making occasional cameos on some albums. Guitarist Ben Kenney, had a brief stint with the group and contributed to the Phrenology album, but left to join Incubus as bassist. Percussionist Frank Knuckles joined the lineup in 2002 and guitarist Kirk "Captain Kirk" Douglas replaced Kenney. Vocalist Martin Luther toured with the Roots in 2003 and 2004 and contributed to the Tipping Point album. The group announced in August 2007 that its longtime bassist Leonard Hubbard was leaving. Owen Biddle was the band's bassist in 2007-2011.  The band announced on August 25, 2011 that Owen Biddle left the band, replaced by Mark Kelley. On The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, James Poyser plays additional keyboards.  Because most of the band members hail from Philadelphia and its surrounding area, they showed their support for the Phillies during the 2009 World Series against the Yankees, displaying Phillies memorabilia when performing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. On the episode which aired the day after the Yankees clinched the title, Questlove stated "No comment!" on the show's intro (when he usually states the episode number), and had a Yankees logo purposely displayed upside-down on his drumset. In 2010, the group showed support for the Flyers during their run to the Stanley Cup Final by having the team logo on their drumset, and again in 2014 when the Flyers faced the New York Rangers in the first round of the playoffs on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.  In April 2017, Frank Knuckles left the Roots due to family issues, and has not appeared on The Tonight Show since then. Later in August 2017, Knuckles sued Questlove, Black Thought and the band manager Shawn Gee over unpaid royalties.  In June 2017, Questlove announced in an interview that producer and performer Stro Elliot is an official member of the Roots. CANNOTANSWER
As they began to play at school and on local streets,
The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, having served in the same role on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon from 2009 to 2014.

The Roots are known for a jazzy and eclectic approach to hip-hop featuring live musical instruments and the group's work has consistently been met with critical acclaim. ThoughtCo ranked the band #7 on its list of the 25 Best Hip-Hop Groups of All-Time, calling them "Hip-hop's first legitimate band."

In addition to the band's music, several members of the Roots are involved in side projects, including record production, acting, and regularly serving as guests on other musicians’ albums and live shows.

Band history

1987–1993: Early years

The Roots originated in Philadelphia with Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter while they were both attending the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts. They would busk out on the street corners with Questlove playing bucket drums and Black Thought rapping over his rhythms. Their first organized gig was a talent show in 1989 at the school where they used the name Radio Activity, which began a series of name changes that progressed through Black to the Future and then The Square Roots. Another MC, Malik B., and a permanent bass player, Leonard "Hub" Hubbard, were added to the band before the release of their first album. In 1992, they dropped the "Square" from "Square Roots" because a local folk group had claim to the name.

Unable to break through in their native Philadelphia, the band briefly moved to London, where they would release their 1993 debut, Organix. The album was released and sold independently. In the span of a year, the band developed a cult following in Europe, boosted by touring. The Roots would receive offers from music labels, and the band eventually signed with DGC/Geffen.

1994–1997: Do You Want More?!!!??! and Illadelph Halflife
The Roots' first album for DGC, Do You Want More?!!!??!, was released in the United States the year following the signing. During the recording process, beatboxer Rahzel and keyboardist Scott Storch joined the band. The addition of the two members provided additional depth to the band's sound, and energized the Roots' Philadelphia jam sessions, which the band would later sample for songs on Do You Want More?!!!??!. The album's opening track features Black Thought introducing the band's sound as "organic hip hop jazz," and indeed; the album is characterized by a combination of contemporary East Coast hip hop and jazz influences, with a heavy reliance on Storch's Fender Rhodes and the occasional saxophone of guest musician Steve Coleman. The album spawned three singles with accompanying videos: "Proceed," "Distortion to Static," and "Silent Treatment." The album was a moderate hit among alternative music fans, boosted by the group's appearance at Lollapalooza. In 1995, the band performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival. In the years since its release, Do You Want More?!!!??! has come to be considered to be a classic jazz rap album.

The 1996 release Illadelph Halflife was the group's third album and their first to break the Top 40 on the Billboard 200 chart, spurred in part by MTV's airplay of the video for "What They Do" (a parody of rap video clichés) and "Clones," which was their first single to reach the top five on the rap charts. The band added "What They Do" was also the group's first single to hit the Top 40 of Billboard's charts, reaching a peak of No. 34. Scott Storch left the band and was replaced by a new keyboardist, Kamal Gray. The band's sound would take a darker turn during this period, heavily influenced by the Wu-Tang Clan and the RZA's grimy and haunting production style, replete with samples from old jazz and classical music. The album is also notable for its many guests and collaborators, including Common, D'Angelo, Q-Tip, and others. These collaborations would provide the foundation for the creation of the Soulquarians and permanently forged the Roots' association with the neo-soul subgenre.

1998–2000: Breakthrough with Things Fall Apart
The group released Things Fall Apart in 1999 (named after Things Fall Apart, a novel by Chinua Achebe, which in turn was named after a line from "The Second Coming" by W.B. Yeats). This was their breakthrough album, peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 charts and earning a gold record, signifying U.S. sales of at least 500,000 units. The album was eventually certified platinum in April 2013. Mos Def contributed to the track entitled "Double Trouble." The track "Act Two" features African-Belgian band Zap Mama and Common. The track "You Got Me," a duet with R&B singer Erykah Badu and Eve and Jill Scott intended by Black Thought for the "unconscious" population, peaked at No. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. At the 42nd Grammy Awards "You Got Me" won the award for Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group and the album was nominated for Best Rap Album.

Steve Huey of the website allmusic.com perceived "a strong affinity for the neo-soul movement" in the album. First-time cameos on Things Fall Apart for Philadelphia natives Beanie Sigel and Eve helped to earn them major record deals later (with Roc-A-Fella and Ruff Ryders, respectively). After this album, Dice Raw left the collective to record his solo debut album Reclaiming the Dead. In the summer, the band performed at the Woodstock '99 concert in New York state.

2001–2005: Phrenology and The Tipping Point
Several members, including longtime member Malik B., left the group. In December 2001, the Roots backed Jay-Z for his MTV Unplugged concert. With heightened popularity came mounting pressure. The Roots released Phrenology (named after the pseudoscience of the same name) in 2002. Despite not charting as high as Things Fall Apart, reaching a peak of No. 28 on the charts, Phrenology was commercially successful, being certified gold, and earning a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album. At the time, however, there came rumors that the Roots were losing interest in their signing with MCA. During this time, the band backed Jay-Z for his 2003 farewell concert in Madison Square Garden and appeared in the accompanying Fade to Black concert film.

After Phrenology, Ben Kenney and Scratch both left the group; Kenney joined the rock band Incubus. This culminated with the release of 2004's The Tipping Point, the byproduct of several jam sessions. The album earned two more Grammy nominations: one for Best Urban/Alternative Performance for the track "Star/Pointro" and another for Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group for the track "Don't Say Nuthin'." The Tipping Point peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard album chart. In 2005, Home Grown! The Beginner's Guide to Understanding the Roots, Volumes 1 & 2, a two-disc compilation album, was released. The Roots were among several performers on the 2006 film Dave Chappelle's Block Party, whose event took place on September 18, 2004, and was released on film two years later.

2006–2008: Game Theory and Rising Down
Game Theory was released August 29, 2006, on Def Jam Recordings. Questlove describes the album as being very dark and reflective of the political state in America. The first single from the album, "Don't Feel Right," appeared on the internet in May 2006, and is available for free download on several websites. The album's first video, titled "The Don't Feel Right Trilogy," premiered on August 21, 2006, and features three songs, "In the Music," "Here I Come," and "Don't Feel Right." It earned an 83 on Metacritic and 2 Grammy Nominations. The late J Dilla is honoured on different occasions throughout the album. Track 1 is credited to be "Supervised by J Dilla." Track 13 "Can't Stop This" is devoted to his persona, the first part being an edited version of a track ("Time: The Donut of the Heart") of his Donuts album, released three days before his death. This version comprises vocals by Black Thought. Secondly, a string of kindred artists reminisce about J Dilla in the form of answering machine messages.

The Roots' eighth studio album, Rising Down, was released on April 29, 2008, the 16-year anniversary of the 1992 Los Angeles riots. In the weeks before the album's release, the original first single "Birthday Girl," a radio-friendly collaboration with Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump was removed from the album reportedly because it didn't fit in with the album's tone. It remained as a digital download available from iTunes as a bonus track, as well as on international releases. Picking up where Game Theory left off, the album maintains a dark and political tone, with Black Thought and several guests venting about the ills of society today. The album's guests include Chrisette Michele, Common, Mos Def, Saigon, Styles P, Talib Kweli, and Wale; it also features Philadelphia artists Dice Raw, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Peedi Crakk, Greg Porn, and Truck North, as well as former member Malik B. Rising Down features the Roots incorporating a more electronic and synth-heavy feel into their sound. Rising Down was released to critical acclaim, garnering an overall score of 80 on Metacritic. The album's first single was "Rising Up" featuring Chrisette Michele and Wale.

2009–2010: How I Got Over and Wake Up!
How I Got Over reflects the relief the band felt at the end of the Bush administration and the beginning of the Obama presidency. Guests include Blu, Phonte, and Patty Crash. A cover of Cody Chesnutt's song "Serve This Royalty" was expected to be covered on the album, similar to the group's reworking of his single for The Seed 2.0 on Phrenology. Rather than relying on samples, the album was recorded live, with covers (including Celestial Blues, featuring the song's original artist, Andy Bey) being reinterpreted by the band. The album was released on June 22, 2010.

On June 24, 2009, the Roots debuted the first single and title track from the album live on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. The song features longtime Roots collaborator Dice Raw. The Roots collaborated with R&B singer John Legend on the album Wake Up!. The album was released on September 21, 2010, and was publicized two days later with a live concert at Terminal 5 in New York City with John Legend and Jennifer Hudson that was streamed on YouTube. On October 30, 2010, the Roots and John Legend played live at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear in Washington, D.C.

2011–2014: Undun, ...And Then You Shoot Your Cousin, and side projects
The Roots released their 13th album Undun via Def Jam Records on December 6, 2011. The first single "Make My" leaked on October 17, 2011. Undun tells the story of their semifictional character, Redford Stephens, who struggles unsuccessfully to avoid a life of crime and fast money. The album's name is inspired by The Guess Who's song "undun," and the character was named after the Sufjan Stevens song "Redford." The album features artists including Aaron Livingston, Big K.R.I.T., Phonte, Dice Raw, Greg Porn, Truck North, Bilal, and Sufjan Stevens. The Roots also collaborated with R&B singer Betty Wright on the 2011 album Betty Wright: The Movie, credited to Betty Wright and the Roots. The album, co-produced by Wright and Questlove, was nominated for a 2012 Grammy in the "Best Traditional R&B Performance."

The Roots and Elvis Costello released Wise Up Ghost on September 17, 2013, via Blue Note Records. On July 22, 2013, they released a music video for the first single, "Walk Us Uptown." The Roots released ...And Then You Shoot Your Cousin on May 19, 2014. The first single, "When the People Cheer," was released on April 7, 2014. Black Thought described the album as a satirical look at violence in hip-hop and American society overall.

2015–present: End Game
In an interview with Fuse TV, Questlove said he also had ". . . two or three secret, major musical projects that I'm working on that I can't really talk about." In September 2016 The Roots backed up Usher at a Global Citizen benefit concert in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, launching speculation of a major collaboration between the two acts. In October 2016, the group announced their 17th studio album, End Game. Black Thought in June 2017 further revealed that producers 9th Wonder and Salaam Remi will contribute to the album, and in March 2019, Questlove revealed there will be an unreleased J Dilla beat on it as well.

The Roots was among hundreds of artists whose material was destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire. Responding to an earlier Times report, Questlove confirmed that the masters for Do You Want More?!!!??! and Illadelph Halflife were among those lost in the fire.

Members
The Roots' original lineup included Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter (MC) and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson (drums), classmates at the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts. As they began to play at school and on local streets, they added bassist Josh "The Rubberband" Abrams, who went on to form the jazz group The Josh Abrams Quartet. They later added another MC, Malik Abdul Basit-Smart ("Malik B.") and Leonard Nelson "Hub" Hubbard (bass), and Scott Storch (keyboards). Kenyatta "Kid Crumbs" Warren (MC) was in the band for Organix, the Roots' first album release. Another MC, Dice Raw, joined the band in cameo appearances on later albums. The band filled Storch's position with Kamal Gray (keyboards), who continues in that capacity. Kamal Gray did not play with the Roots on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon between April or May and early September 2012. His absence was not publicly explained, however on the September 17, 2012 (NBC's 'Late Night' 700th) episode, Gray returned to the group. 
Beatboxer Rahzel was a band member from 1995 to 1999. Alongside Rahzel was turntablist/vocalist Scratch, who also DJ'd in live concerts. However Scratch left abruptly in 2003. 
Malik B. left the group in 1999 due to personal reasons but continued to record, making occasional cameos on some albums. Guitarist Ben Kenney had a brief stint with the group and contributed to the Phrenology album, but left to join Incubus as bassist. Percussionist Frank Knuckles joined the lineup in 2002 and guitarist Kirk "Captain Kirk" Douglas replaced Kenney. Vocalist Martin Luther toured with the Roots in 2003 and 2004 and contributed to the Tipping Point album. The group announced in August 2007 that its longtime bassist Leonard Hubbard was leaving. Owen Biddle was the band's bassist in 2007–2011.

The band announced on August 25, 2011, that Owen Biddle left the band, replaced by Mark Kelley. On The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, James Poyser plays additional keyboards.

Because most of the band members hail from Philadelphia and its surrounding area, they showed their support for the Philadelphia Phillies during the 2009 World Series against the New York Yankees, displaying Phillies memorabilia when performing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. On the episode which aired the day after the Yankees clinched the title, Questlove stated "No comment!" on the show's intro (when he usually states the episode number), and had a Yankees logo purposely displayed upside-down on his drumset. In 2010, the group showed support for the Philadelphia Flyers during their run to the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals by having the team logo on their drumset, and again in 2014 when the Flyers faced the New York Rangers in the first round of the playoffs on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

In April 2017, Frank Knuckles left the Roots due to family issues, and has not appeared on The Tonight Show since then. Later in August 2017, Knuckles sued Questlove, Black Thought, and the band manager Shawn Gee over unpaid royalties.

In June 2017, Questlove announced in an interview that producer and performer Stro Elliot is an official member of the Roots.

On July 29, 2020, founding member Malik B. died at the age of 47.

Band lineup

Current members
 Black Thought – rap and singing vocals (1987–present)
 Questlove – drums, backing rap vocals, beatboxing (1987–present)
 Kamal Gray – keyboards, backing rap vocals (1994–present)
 Captain Kirk Douglas – guitars, singing vocals (2003–present)
 Tuba Gooding, Jr. (Damon Bryson) – sousaphone, tuba (2007–present)
 James Poyser – keyboards (2009–present)
 Ray Angry – keyboards (2010–present)
 Mark Kelley – bass, synthesizer bass, moog (2011–present)
 Ian Hendrickson-Smith – flutes, saxophones (2015–present)
 Dave Guy – trumpet (2015–present)
 Stro Elliot – beatbox, percussion, sampling, tambourine, Ableton, HandSonic, SPD-SX, finger drumming, keyboards (2017–present)
 Jeremy Ellis – beatbox, sampling, Maschine, Arcade machine sampler, midi fighter, finger drumming (2014–present)

Former members
 Malik B. – rap vocals (1987–1999; died 2020)
 Josh 'Rubberband' Abrams – bass (1992–1994)
 Kenyatta 'Kid Crumbs' Warren – rap vocals (1993)
 Scott Storch – keyboards (1993–1995)
 Nikki Yeoh – keyboards (1994)
 Hub  – bass (1994–2007; died 2021)
 Rahzel – beatboxing (1995–2001)
 Dice Raw – rap vocals (1995–2001) (frequent collaborator with the band)
 Scratch – beatboxing (1998–2003)
 Ben Kenney – guitars, bass (2000–2003)
 F. Knuckles – percussion (2001–2017)
 Martin Luther – guitars, vocals (2003–2004)
 Owen Biddle – bass (2007–2011)

Timeline

Touring and other work

The band tours extensively, and their live sets are frequently hailed as the best in the genre. The Black Eyed Peas opened for The Roots in a performance at Rochester Institute of Technology in May of 2001. In 2006, the band played a concert in NYC's Radio City Music Hall with Common, Nas, Talib Kweli, and Big Daddy Kane. Also in 2006, they backed Jay-Z for his Reasonable Doubt Concert, a celebration of the 10-year anniversary of the release of his first album.

In 1994, the Roots appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation album, Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool. The album, meant to raise awareness and funds in support of the AIDS epidemic in relation to the African American community, was heralded as "Album of the Year" by Time magazine. They have been highly involved in many other Red Hot Organization productions, including the 1998 album Red Hot + Rhapsody and the 2001 album Red Hot + Indigo, a tribute to Duke Ellington.

The Roots have been featured in four movies: Dave Chappelle's Block Party, both performing album songs and playing as a backing band for other artists; Spike Lee's Bamboozled; Marc Levin's Brooklyn Babylon, in which Black Thought plays the protagonist, Solomon, and former band member Rahzel narrates; and Chasing Liberty, starring Mandy Moore. Black Thought and Questlove were both featured in the movie Brown Sugar. Black Thought made an appearance in the film Love Rome as Tariq Trotter, and Questlove currently appears in the recent documentary movie about TBC Brass Band called From the Mouthpiece on Back, which lists the Roots as one of the executive producers of the movie.

The Roots were featured on the album True Love by Toots and the Maytals, which won the Grammy Award in 2004 for Best Reggae Album, and showcased many notable musicians including Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Trey Anastasio, Gwen Stefani / No Doubt, Ben Harper, Bonnie Raitt, Manu Chao, Ryan Adams, Keith Richards, Toots Hibbert, Paul Douglas, Jackie Jackson, Ken Boothe, and The Skatalites.

The band guest-performed with the Dave Matthews Band during their 2007 summer tour. Members of the Roots played in various forms as well as a whole band on DMB's back to back concerts at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wisconsin. In 2007, the band performed at an NAACP tribute to Bono, covering U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Pride (In the Name of Love)." Black Thought mixed in lines from the band's own "False Media."

The group hosts a highly anticipated jam session every year the night before the Grammys. The Roots jam session, produced by Okayplayer, Goodtime Girl Entertainment, and Keldof, has been attended by celebrities ranging from Jay-Z, Beyoncé, and Tom Cruise to Don Cheadle, Jeremy Piven, and Prince, with impromptu performances from Snoop Dogg and Corrine Bailey Rae to Queen Latifah, Matisyahu, Fall Out Boy, and Dave Chappelle.

Billed as "The Roots," Questlove, Douglas, and Biddle made an appearance on The Colbert Report on April 15, 2008, when Stephen Colbert spent a week in Philadelphia prior to the 2008 Pennsylvania Democratic primary. During the appearance, they performed the intro song to the show, and closed the episode with a rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner."

The Roots are featured on the Men in Black Original Soundtrack (1997) with the song "The Notic" with neo-soul singer D'Angelo. The song "Here I Come" was featured in the films Superbad, Hancock, and Step Up 3D. "Here I Come" is also featured in many video games including Project Gotham Racing 4. The song "The Seed 2.0" featuring Cody ChesnuTT was featured in the movies Collateral and I Think I Love My Wife, as well as the Without a Trace episode "Candy." The song "Don't Say Nuthin" was featured in the first-season episode, "Busey and the Beach," of HBO's Entourage. The song "Guns Are Drawn," featuring Aaron Livingston, was featured in a season six episode of CBS' Cold Case. The band also collaborated with musician BT on the song "Tao of the Machine," which was featured in the film Blade II along with the Japanese bonus disc for the album Emotional Technology.

They performed on the popular kids' show Yo Gabba Gabba!, performing "Lovely, Love My Family" in 2008. They also did a secret jam session at the Oulipo Ballroom in Kentucky in 2009. In 2012, they played during the NHL Winter Classic at Citizen's Bank Park in Philadelphia and at Austin City Limits Music Festival (ACL) in Austin, Texas. In 2013, they performed at the Gathering of the Vibes Music Festival at Seaside Park in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

The Roots host the Roots Picnic, an annual all-day music festival in Philadelphia, every June. In 2017, they headlined the 2017 NBA All Star game pregame introductions and performed a musical show with various guests titled "The Evolution of Greatness."

Late Night and The Tonight Show
In March 2009, the Roots became the official house band on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, with "Here I Come" as the show's theme. When Jimmy Fallon became the host of The Tonight Show in February 2014, the Roots became the house band for that show.

The Roots are featured heavily throughout the show, providing the bumper music in and out of commercials, as well as the opening song "Here I Come" and playing the show off the air. Fallon frequently interacts with the band during the course of the show, and they occasionally provide snippets of music for some monologue running jokes such as Funkin' GoNuts. They also provide music and drum rolls for the games with show guests, along with theme songs for the games and segments like Darts of Insanity, Wheel of Carpet Samples, and Christmas Sweaters.

On November 22, 2011, US Congresswoman and presidential candidate Michele Bachmann was a guest on Late Night. For her entrance, the Roots controversially played a snippet from Fishbone's 1985 song, "Lying Ass Bitch" resulting in apologies from Fallon, Questlove for The Roots, and NBC. The incident nearly resulted in the Roots being dismissed from the show, but the timing of the Thanksgiving holiday and a national security gaffe by Bachmann shortly after helped defuse the situation in the media. As a result of the incident, NBC approves all walk on songs prior to the filming of each show.

Sketches 

 One of the first sketches involving the Roots was "Freestyling with the Roots." Fallon finds an audience member and gets them to talk about themselves and a topic. The information is relayed to Trotter along with a genre of music, and they then compose a song on the spot. In the early days of the show in 2009, there was apprehension about their overall fit with the show, but after the first appearance of this sketch and its successful reception, ". . . They knew they were there for life."
 Thank You Notes, a segment every Friday, involves keyboardist James Poyser prominently. The segment starts with "Can I get some thank you writing music, James?" with Poyser playing and typically acting upset. Fallon then tries to engage with him to get him to smile before continuing the segment.
 Slow Jam the News features Fallon and Trotter, often with a celebrity guest, rhyming over a "slow-jam" played by the Roots. The lyrics are often political or current events related, with guests usually appearing to talk about an issue pertinent to them. Brian Williams is a frequent popular guest "vocalist," talking about the news as if he were still behind his anchor desk. Some of the notable guest slow-jammers include former President Barack Obama and former Governor Mitt Romney. Like the majority of the show, the segments are uploaded to YouTube after airing on NBC and often go viral; President Obama's clip has received over 8 million views and the Mitt Romney clip received 2.7 million views in less than a week.
 The Roots have contributed to additional online successes with the Classroom Instruments sketch. Fallon and a musical guest from the show will record an arrangement of a song with the Roots providing accompaniment on instruments that would be found in an elementary school music class. Examples of these instruments are wood blocks, pixiphones, kazoos, tambourines, melodica, shakers, and recorders. They have performed "Call Me Maybe" with Carly Rae Jepsen, "Blurred Lines" with Robin Thicke, "All I Want for Christmas" with Mariah Carey, "Hello" with Adele, the Sesame Street theme song with several members of the cast, and "Enter Sandman" with Metallica.
 The Roots also provide the backing tracks for Fallon's and Justin Timberlake's episodic "History of Rap." As of March 2014, the incredibly popular History of Rap saga consists of 5 parts and 101 individual songs, all performed with a comedic approach. The fifth installment was performed during the inaugural week of Fallon's Tonight Show.

Philanthropy
The founding members of The Roots attended a creative arts school in South Philadelphia called CAPA, and through a donation helped set up the CAPA Foundation, where they now sit on the board. The Roots partnership with the CAPA Foundation also includes opportunities for students to perform on national stages, learn through internships the business side of show business and a master class series.

After watching the 2010 documentary Waiting for Superman, Questlove was inspired to raise money for Harlem Village Academies, a group of charter schools.

Awards and nominations
 Grammy Awards

|-
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|2000
|"You Got Me" (with Erykah Badu) 
|Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group
|
|-
|Things Fall Apart
|rowspan="2"|Best Rap Album
|
|-
|align=center|2004
|Phrenology
|
|-
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|2005
|"Star"
|Best Urban/Alternative Performance
|
|-
|"Don't Say Nuthin'"
|rowspan="2"|Best Rap Performance By a Duo/Group
|
|-
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|2007
|"Don't Feel Right" (featuring Maimouna Youssef)
|
|-
|Game Theory
|Best Rap Album
|
|-
| rowspan="5" style="text-align:center;"|2011
|"Hang On in There" (with John Legend)
|Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance
|
|-
|Wake Up! (with John Legend)
|Best R&B Album
|
|-
|"Shine" (with John Legend)
|Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals
|
|-
|"Wake Up Everybody" (with John Legend, Melanie Fiona & Common)
|Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
|
|-
|How I Got Over
|Best Rap Album
|
|-
|align=center|2012
|"Surrender" (with Betty Wright)
| Best Traditional R&B Performance
|
|-
|align=center|2013
|Undun
|Best Rap Album
|
|-

 MTV Video Music Awards

|-
|2003
|The Seed 2.0
|MTV2 Award
|
|-

 mtvU Woodie Awards

|-
|rowspan="2"|2004
|rowspan="2"|The Roots
|Road Woodie
|
|-
|Welcome Back Woodie
|
|-

 BET Awards

|-
|2005
|The Roots
|Best Group
|
|-
|2009
|The Roots
|Best Group
|
|-

 NAACP Image Awards

|-
|2005
|The Roots
|Outstanding Duo or Group
|
|-
|2007
|The Roots
|Outstanding Duo or Group
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|2011
|rowspan="2"|Wake Up!
|Outstanding Collaboration
|
|-
|Outstanding Album
|
|-

 First Hip-Hop group to perform at Lincoln Center, January 2002
 Named one of the "Twenty Greatest Live Acts in the World" by Rolling Stone, 2003
 "Heroes Award" from the Philadelphia chapter of the Recording Academy, 2004 (Recipient)

Discography

 Organix (1993)
 Do You Want More?!!!??! (1995)
 Illadelph Halflife (1996)
 Things Fall Apart (1999)
 Phrenology (2002)
 The Tipping Point (2004)
 Game Theory (2006)
 Rising Down (2008)
 How I Got Over (2010)
 Undun (2011)
 ...And Then You Shoot Your Cousin (2014)

A distinctive feature of the Roots albums is the way tracks are numbered. With the exception of their collaboration albums, the Roots have used continuous track numbering beginning with their first studio album Organix through all following albums:
 1–17: Organix
 18–33: Do You Want More?!!!??!
 34–53: Illadelph Halflife
 54–71: Things Fall Apart
 72–76: The Legendary
 77–86: The Roots Come Alive
 87–102: Phrenology
 103–113: The Tipping Point
 114–127: Game Theory
 128–143: Rising Down
 143–156: How I Got Over
 157–170: Undun
 171–181: ...And Then You Shoot Your Cousin

Questlove references this numbering system in his book Mo' Meta Blues: The World According to Questlove (specifically to the release of Illadelph Halflife), and explains it was "...our way of saying that it was a continuation of the work we had started on Organix and Do You Want More?!!!??!."

Similarly, the Roots' 2005 compilation albums, Home Grown! The Beginners Guide to Understanding The Roots, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, feature a continuous track numbering beginning at negative 29 and counting up to zero. The implication is that this "Beginners Guide" would introduce new fans to the Roots and lead them to consuming the Roots' discography beginning at Organix.
 −29 thru −14: Home Grown! The Beginners Guide to Understanding The Roots, Vol. 1
 −13 thru 0: Home Grown! The Beginners Guide to Understanding The Roots, Vol. 2

References

External links

 The Roots' official website
 [ The Roots] at Allmusic
 
 TheRootsArchive.com
 Retrospective of The Roots  at DefJam
 The Roots's Philadelphia  at MapQuest

 
Alternative hip hop groups
American funk musical groups
Def Jam Recordings artists
DGC Records artists
Geffen Records artists
Grammy Award winners for rap music
Hip hop groups from Philadelphia
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
MCA Records artists
Musical groups established in 1987
Musical groups from Philadelphia
The Tonight Show Band members
Radio and television house bands
"What Lies Beneath" is the 20th episode of the fifth season of the American series The Vampire Diaries and the series' 109th episode overall. "What Lies Beneath" was originally aired on May 1, 2014, on The CW. The episode was written by Elisabeth R. Finch and Holly Brix and directed by Joshua Butler.

Plot
The episode starts with Tyler (Michael Trevino) waking up on the Traveler's camp where he finds himself chained up. Maria (Tamara Austin), Julian's wife, the traveler who is inside his body, is with him and kisses him believing that he is Julian. Tyler pretends to be him so he can find out what is going on and when he hears Maria saying that Markos (Raffi Barsoumian) found a way to remove the magic from Mystic Falls and he is now on the search for the doppelgangers, he shifts and runs to the Salvatore house to tell them Markos' plan.

At the Salvatore house, Damon (Ian Somerhalder) tries to locate where Enzo (Michael Malarkey) is with the help of Luke (Chris Brochu) but Luke cannot find him. Stefan (Paul Wesley) joins them and tries to convince Damon to stop looking for Enzo because the reason Luke cannot find him is probably because Enzo does not want to be found. Tyler interrupts them to tell them Markos' plans and that he is after the doppelgangers as they speak, so Damon and Stefan decide to go with Elena (Nina Dobrev), Caroline (Candice Accola) and Luke at a place where Luke will cloak them with a spell and Markos will not be able to find them.

The four of them along with Luke go to Caroline's father's cabin in the woods to hide. Luke works on the spell while Caroline sees Elena and Stefan acting weird and she thinks that they two of them are back together and want to hide it but the thing they are hiding is Enzo's death. Caroline, plans a game night where she hopes to make them admit they are back together, and Damon agrees since he can also see the way they act and he also believes they hide something but not a romantic relationship. At the same time, Enzo's ghost is at the cabin and wants to make sure that Damon will find out about his death.

In the meantime, Bonnie (Kat Graham) and Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) try to have a romantic weekend just the two of them, but Jeremy gets a text from Matt (Zach Roerig) and they have to go home. Jeremy leaves and Bonnie's grandmother, Sheila (Jasmine Guy) appears to her to warn her that she has to tell Jeremy the truth about the Other Side falling apart and not giving him hope that she will find a way to stay alive. While they talk, Sheila knocks over a lamp something that as a ghost should not be able to do.

The games at the Forbes' cabin start and Damon suggests to play "Never Have I Ever" where Caroline takes the opportunity to "ask" if Elena and Stefan are back together while Damon asks about where Enzo really is. Things get awkward, Stefan does not answer the question and keeps saying that he did not lie about Enzo, while Elena prefers to leave and go take a bath. Enzo follows her and when she gets into the tub, he pushes her under the water. Elena tries to get on top and at the brief moment she does, she manages to shout out to Damon who rushes into the bathroom but cannot see anyone. Elena tells him that someone was pushing her under the water but could not see anyone. Damon believes that is the ghost of Caroline's father but cannot understand why he would try to hurt Elena and Elena finally tells him the truth about Enzo.

In the meantime, Stefan calls Bonnie to ask if people from the other side can interact with the real world and Bonnie tells him about Sheila. Caroline overhears their conversation and she also knows now that Enzo is dead. They all try to figure out why Enzo would try to drown Elena since something like that would not work and they realize that this was just a distraction. They rush outside to find Luke but Luke is gone and that means he is no longer protects them with the clogging spell and travelers can find them. They split up to find Luke and then leave the cabin. Caroline and Damon are mad at Elena and Stefan respectively for not telling them about Enzo.

Stefan and Damon find Luke tied up in the barn and they try to untie him when Enzo sets the barn on fire and stakes Stefan in the back. Then he does the same to Damon and wants to keep them there so they will burn. Stefan manages to remove the stake and Damon forces him to take Luke and get out of the burning barn, while he tries to convince Enzo that he will find a way to bring him back to life since they did it in the past with Jeremy and Bonnie. Enzo frees him and Damon gets out before he gets burn.

Meanwhile, Matt, Tyler and Jeremy want to find out where Markos is and the only way is to ask the traveler who is inside Tyler body. They tied Tyler up and call Julian. Julian takes over but he does not want to tell them anything. He changes his mind when Matt and Jeremy start to torture him and he tells them that he does not know where Markos is but he knows that Markos does not like troubles so he will probably go on to make him permanent on Tyler's body. The only way to prevent that is for Jeremy and Matt to go and get Julian's body from where the travelers hide their bodies when they possess others.

Jeremy and Bonnie go to where Julian told them and start to be searching for Julian's body among the others. While they are searching, Maria appears with other travelers and they get Julian's body leaving Jeremy and Bonnie to go back home without it. They try to explain Tyler what happened when he starts seeing things and being in pain. At the same time, the travelers burn Julian's body and chant, indicating that they started the spell for making Julian permanent on Tyler's body. Julian takes over again saying: "I assume you did not find my body" while everyone looks at him terrified to the idea that Tyler is gone for ever.

The episode ends at the Forbes cabin, where Damon, Stefan, Elena, Caroline and Luke prepare to leave but the travelers have already found where they are and they manage to capture Elena and Stefan.

Feature music 
In the "What Lies Beneath" episode we can hear the songs:
"Chemical" by Kerli
"River" by together PANGEA
"Turn It Around" by Lucius

Reception

Ratings
In its original American broadcast, "What Lies Beneath" was watched by 1.84 million; slightly up by 0.03 from the previous episode.

Reviews
"What Lies Beneath" received positive reviews.

Ashley Dominique of Geeked Out Nation gave the episode an A- rating. "In "What Lies Beneath" our crew did everything they possibly could to rival against the travelers, while dealing with Enzo's ghost doing it's  best to kill them all."

Stephanie Flasher from TV After Dark gave the episode a B+ rating saying: "Overall, this episode was quite entertaining. It had a nice story that was amusing yet had an climatic build up to keep the audience engaged."

LaToya Ferguson of The A.V. Club gave the episode a B rating. "There are a couple of things TVD can do that will make me forget all of my worries about the show. When the show goes back to its horror roots, it’s easy to momentarily forget all the bad that has been going on. Also, put any of these characters in cabin, and I’m predisposed to not hate the episode. Luckily, “What Lies Beneath” does both these things and is a better episode for it."

Matt Richenthall from TV Fanatic rated the episode with 3.4/5. "This outing did a solid job furthering Caroline's obvious crush on Stefan; evolving Damon as someone worthy of being loved; and scaring the crap out of anyone who enjoys a good ghost story." Richenthal also commented on the villain Markos and the Travelers stating that they are boring: "A series such as TVD needs a strong villain - and Markos is a complete snooze. He has no personality. He hasn't done anything remotely frightening. He's simply existing in the show's universe and saying he wants his people to have a home."

Caroline Preece of Den of Geek gave a good review to the episode saying that the show is built in secrets. "This week’s episode was an episode that addressed these secrets and, as a handy by-product, actually provided some relief to the audience." Preece also comments on the love triangle between Stefan, Elena and Damon and the possibility of something new to start between Stefan and Caroline: "I admire the show’s restraint with [the love triangle], having another pairing develop over multiple seasons while we were all distracted with the ‘epic-ness’ of the central trio’s dysfunction. I like it, and look forward to seeing it play out."

Josie Kafka from Doux Reviews gave a positive review to the episode saying that there was nothing particularly wrong with it. "The most interesting parts of this episode were the emotional beats. Elena and Stefan seem to have a solid friendship in the works, which is a nice change from the awkwardness of months past. Caroline’s sudden jealousy didn’t seem too sudden: Candice Accola did a good job of conveying Caroline’s confused reactions to her own surprising interest in Stefan. Is that a love-interest, or just Caroline struggling to find somebody to love? By TVD standards, she has been single for a very, very long time."

Stephanie Hall of K Site TV also gave good review to the episode saying that it was an episode of hidden truths. ""What Lies Beneath" tapped into the relatable character drama that made The Vampire Diaries an initial success and used the grand mythology to enhance the otherwise seemingly simple stakes that several of the characters were facing."

Notes
The episode takes its title from the 2000 movie What Lies Beneath.

References

External links
 
 

2014 American television episodes
The Vampire Diaries (season 5) episodes "Encyclopedia Griffin" is the 11th episode of the thirteenth season of the animated sitcom Family Guy, and the 242nd episode overall. It aired on Fox in the United States on February 15, 2015, and is written by Lew Morton and directed by Jerry Langford.

Plot
After someone steals Stewie's tricycle, Peter sets out to find who did it. He and his friends interrogate a child in the neighborhood and find the child who stole it. The successful feeling, and being hired to find another child's baseball cards, inspire them to open a detective agency. They take cases such as a gumball machine that takes a child's money. Pursuing a rash of thefts, they watch hidden camera footage of Chris sneaking in and taking things. Searching his room, they find a life-size female doll made out of the stolen items as he arrives to protect "Heather."

The doll creeps out Lois and she thinks it may be a reflection of her sex life with Peter. Peter has a talk with Chris and finds that the doll is not being used for sex, as she has been holding out so Peter tries to make Chris sexy for the doll. When she collapses into his lap, Chris takes it as wanting sex although Lois chews out Peter for ignoring her instructions to make him get rid of it so she gives him the silent treatment. She is almost fooled when flowers arrive for "Heather" but realizes that Chris treats his doll better than Peter does her.

After finding out that Heather and Chris have a picnic planned, Lois asks if she and Peter can tag along so Peter can be reminded what romance is like, but his stupidity repeatedly backfires in Lois' face. Fed up with jealousy, Lois takes the doll in the night. She denies seeing it and encourages him to move on. Instead, he cries over her leaving.

Lois sees him depressed and decides to show him where she buried the doll after stabbing it. She apologizes, but encourages him to treat a real girlfriend like he treated the doll and he will be happy. That night, Peter admits that he did learn a lesson as Chris arrives with a dominatrix named Mistress Vita. Peter tries to fake the end of the show early when Lois notices that Mistress Vita knows his name.

Reception
The episode received an audience of 2.51 million, making it the second-most watched show on Fox that night after The Simpsons episode "My Fare Lady".

The Parents Television Council, a long-time critic of Family Guy, named the episode as the "Worst of the Week", the second time in a row for the series, taking offense at what they saw as sexualization of children.

References

External links 
 

2015 American television episodes
Family Guy (season 13) episodes
Dolls in fiction
Television episodes about theft