The Roots

When it comes to presentin' this hip-hop shit to you in its most pure form, me and my
brothers . . . are the ultimate level," the Roots' Black Thought tells a crowd in Zurich,
Switzerland, on "The Ultimate," song six of The Roots Come Alive. It's not an empty boast:
Unlike most DJ-based crews, Philadelphia's finest thrives on performance, using its own live
instrumentation and old-school freestyling to create a charged atmosphere that'... More >

World-class DJ and beatbox, excellent drummer and bassist, pretty darn good rapper(s), bourgie jazzmatazz ("Proceed," "Love of My Life").