While doing leg extensions at the gym the other day I glanced through the new issue of Rolling Stone and found an excellent Roots feature. It’s well worth your 10 minutes (depending on your reading speed. I’m Flash with mines.) The piece explores the group’s humble beginnings, replete with funny high school anecdotes like this one:

“It was my 2nd day in public school — I was a junior,” says Thompson (that would be ?uestlove). “I saw a guard pulling in a kid by the ear. The kid was like, “You just jealous because you can’t get no pussy!” That kid was an incoming ninth-grader named Tariq Trotter (that’s Black Thought for idiots) who had just been busted getting some from a ballerina in the bathroom.

They also delve deeper into serious issues, like the murder of Riq’s parents (two separate incidents). Something I foolishly failed to probe when I interviewed them 2 years ago. Ahmir said then that Riq never talks about the tragedy but was eager to add that he mentioned it on Game Theory. Shame, that song never made it to the final version. Damn you, President Carter.

Anyhow, that issue is definitely worth your $4.50 or $0.00 if you happen to live near a Barnes & Nobles. I didn’t bother to see if they have it online. Shoot me.

Update: Someone asked for this, so here you go.
The Roots - “Come Together” (feat. Zion I)

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