Philadelphia emcee and author Black Thought recently took to social media to reassure fans that The Roots have a new project on the way to clear up the rumours that got shelved.
The long-awaited project has been in the works for some time now and will see the 1990s jazz-hop collective reunite to release new material. The lyricist (real name Tariq Trotter) unveiled the group have recorded lots of music for it and insisted that it’s “definitely coming.”
During an interview to promote his new nook, The Upcycled Self: A Memoir on the Art of Becoming Who We Are, Trotter touched upon the forthcoming album, stating, “We’re a lot closer to a new Roots album. “What I’ll say — what I always say is: on the day that Questlove decides to say, ‘Hey, the album is done,’ then it’s done.”
He continued, “It’s not like we have to get it underway. The ball has been rolling. There are many songs recorded, many verses written, many a production, you know, a couple of the songs are already mixed.”
Questlove is the executive producer of the upcoming record and, as the primary producer of The Roots, has a vast amount of creative control. Siding with the beatmaker, Trotter admitted it feels incomplete and doesn’t want to rush the release.
Making sure fans understand the process is important, Trotter disclosed, “It’s not done until it feels complete and until it speaks to and tells whatever story it is we’re trying to tell. And I think the more time that passes, the more of a gap there is to catch folks up on, and I think there’s something in that, in wanting to just be complete in our return.”
He concluded, “So yeah, the new Roots album is definitely coming. I think you’re gonna likely see a new Black Thought album — or two — before the new Roots album just because those are the records that I have the final say about.”