The Roots & Erykah Badu Pay Respect to Hip-Hop With Extended Live Medley
Last month, The Roots co-headlined their eighth annual Roots Picnic at Penn’s Landing in their
Last month, The Roots co-headlined their eighth annual Roots Picnic at Penn’s Landing in their hometown of Philadelphia alongside The Weeknd. The night also included performances by A$AP Rocky, Phantogram and more. Of particular note, Erykah Badu’s set was backed by The Roots, who’ve collaborated before on the track “You Got Me.” Together, they executed one of the most spectacular renditions that night with a 20-minute medley which acted as an ode to hip-hop, and included guest appearances from the likes of YG, The Lox and Freeway. Enjoy the footage above, and look below to read Questlove’s account of the occasion.
You know, both acts — The Roots and Erykah — did ‘Love Of My Life’ songs, and we thought it was rather apropos that we pay tribute to the culture of hip-hop in it’s 35-plus years [...] Initially the idea just started with The Roots and Erykah wanting to mash our songs together, but as the wheels started turning I decided maybe we should turn towards more of a full on tribute to hip-hop, and then the wheels really started turning when the budget allowed me to fly out a few luminaries to perform with us. So, for some reason, a 5-minute song turned into a 20-minute migraine for my manager…but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
