You can get a taste of what the mural looks like in the above image from Amber Art and Design (featuring artist Tatyana Fazlalizadeh) – the sea of faces features Roots onstage mouthpiece Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, Roots digital mouthpiece Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson on the drums at his right, and a tapestry of its other contributors over the years, including “Captain” Kirk Douglas on guitar and Leonard “Hub” Hubbard on bass. From the folks at Mural Arts:

From founders Tarik “Black Thought” Trotter and Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson’s humble beginnings at the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA), to their staggering thirteen recorded albums, to an endless overseas touring schedule, and their current position as house band on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” on NBC, The Roots have influenced generations of artists locally, nationally, and globally.

The mural has been paired with an online multimedia component as well – dig in to some of the videos and photo galleries at the Mural Arts website here. The dedication takes place next Friday, May 31, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. And of course, there’s the Roots Picnic the next day to maximize the Roots-iness of your weekend.

From the beginning, Bonnaroo SuperJams have been synonymous with exciting, unexpected one-off collaborations of music’s top artists, with past festivals linking up the likes of Dr. John, Mike Gordon, Luther Dickinson and Stanton Moore (2003), and this year featuring Jim James, Zigaboo Modeliste, John Oates and Preservation Hall Jazz Band.  In 2012, Questlove and The Roots took things one step further by facilitating the return of R&B artist / producer D’Angelo in one of his first stateside concerts in eleven years.  In the third of four videos documenting the SuperJam, the collaborators perform Funkadelic tracks “Funky Dollar Bill” and “Hit it and Quit it.”  Watch the clip below and check out the first two installments here and here.  The Roots Picnic with Gary Clark Jr., Grimes, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and more comes to Festival Pier on June 1st.  Tickets and information can be found here.

Here’s a round up of some recent Roots-related news:

In an interview with Uber Urban, Roots MC Black Thought talked about several exciting projects he has in the works. These included film collaborations, “branching off” into clothing design, writing an autobiography, and recording a “blues album.” He’s also collaborating with Raheem DeVaughn, Jim James of My Morning Jacket and Tunde Adebimpe of TV On The Radio. Watch the interview below.

On The Roots front, last month Questlove told Billboard that a new Roots album called & Then You Shoot Your Cousin will be out in late 2013 or early 2014. In addition, The Roots and Elvis Costello also recorded together, and are in the final stages of mixing their collaborative record.

Emo-inspired South Jersey four-piece By Surprise are making a rare concert appearance tonight at The Barbary, in advance of the January 15 release of their second LP, Criteria. The all-ages show begins at 5 p.m., more information is available here. Below, listen to the title track from their new album.

Lead MC of the Legendary Roots Crew, Black Thought, is playing a solo set tonight at The Blockley in University City. This gives some hope that his long in-the-works solo LP, The Talented Mr. Trotter, might see the light of day. Or it could just be an excuse for him to jam out with a stellar lineup of his friends and contemporaries, including Reef The Lost Cauze (who released the great Reef The Lost Cauze Is Dead on Christmas). The 21+ show begins at 8 p.m., more information can be found here. Below, watch vintage footage of Black Thought freestyling with ?uestlove from the 2000 documentary Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme.

XPN Welcomes quirky / funky singer-songwriter Mike Doughty to The Tin Angel for two shows tonight. The one-time Soul Coughing frontman released his latest solo effort, The Flip Is Another Honey, back in November. The 7:30 show is sold out; tickets still remain for the 10:00 show, more information can be found here. Below, watch Doughty performing “Na Na Nothing” on KEXP.

Philly party-rap duo Moosh & Twist headline the First Unitarian Church tonight. Their latest mixtape, Back To the Basement, is due out in January. For more information on the show, check our concert calendar here; for more on what Moosh and Twist have been up to, read our interview here.

Moosh and Twist caught audiences by surprise in 2011 with a fresh perspective on following dreams and keeping cool under pressure with addictive tracks like”Possibilities” and  ”Take Me Back.”  After the explosive success of their debut mixtape, Up Before The World, Moosh and Twist continued recording and started popping up in different venues throughout the area, which landed the pair to a tour with Aer this past summer. In the midst of the chaos preparing for their upcoming headlining tour, we swapped e-mails with Moosh and Twist to get the skinny on how they started, what they’ve got coming up projects and their shared excitement about performing.

The Key : So how did you two start rapping together?

Moosh & Twist: Well, we started rapping together in seventh grade with our Spanish teacher at The Philadelphia School. We would record in the basement of our school, and that’s really where our desire to become musicians started.

TK: When did you guys start performing in public?

M&T: We would perform for a few small birthday parties every now and then for our friends early on in high school, but we didn’t seriously perform until our junior year in high school.

TK: Was it difficult to stay friends and record music while going to different high schools?

M&T: Music really kept our friendship together. We’re pretty sure we would have remained best friends and all, but without the music there’s really no telling where we’d be.

TK: What in particular is it that you think makes the two of you work so well together?

M&T: We’re very different which creates a really healthy balance with everything. When it comes to music, business, or just life on the road, we agree and disagree a lot. It’s great to have such a dope friendship as our foundation because we can disagree and settle on a compromise, which usually results in making the right decision.

TK: Where did the nicknames “Moosh” and “Twist” come from?

M&T: Well, Moosh has always been Moosh–his family gave him that nickname. And Twist came from Oliver “Twist.”

TK: What’s it like to hear fans singing along with tracks like “City Kids” or “Possibilities?”

M&T: It’s a really crazy feeling watching fans’ faces when popular songs like those come on. Everyone in the crowd gets hype before we even do anything. It makes it really easy to take the energy coming from the crowd and use it on stage.

TK: What inspires you as musicians?

M&T: From gospel to soul music to alternative rock, everything inspires us. In hip hop, our major influences would be Outkast, Kanye West, and Drake.

TK: What was it like touring with Aer?

M&T: It was awesome–they’re the homies now! We had a lot of fun, and we wish them all the best.

TK:  Who would you like to collaborate with or is that something you’re not really interested in?

M&T: We did a track with Black Thought of The Roots, which was an honor. The Roots have always held it down for Philly, so working with him was amazing. And we really don’t do many collabs…there’s never much room on a song because every song is basically OCD featuring Moosh and Twist anyway.

TK: What was your favorite show you’ve done so far?

M&T: Oh man. We’ve had a lot of crazy shows, but the favorite would probably be the TLA last January in Philly. It was sold out, Twist’s birthday, we just released The Vestibule, …the whole night was pretty emotional. It was really crazy to see our names on the marquee because we grew up looking at other artists names on there. The whole night was just surreal.

Moosh & Twist have just wrapped recording for their newest mixtape, Back To The Basement, which they plan to release in early 2013, and their next tour starts up again in February. Tickets for Saturday’s all-ages show at First Unitarian Church are available at our concert calendar here; doors open at 7:30. You can download Up Before The World here, and below watch Team OCD’s video for “Victory” from their A3C Volume 2 album.

Bing & Ruth’s David Moore on the ambient performance he brings to The Barnes Friday [link]

The new LP from The Fleeting Ends, Our Eyes are Peeled, gets the Unlocked treatment [link]

Dave Hartley, bassist for The War on Drugs, launches his sports column From The Key [link]

South Jersey pop-punks Aspiga treat us to a song from each release in their Key session [link]

Roots collaborator Truck North releases Our American Cousin free EP [link]

Does cover art make the album? We ponder this and look at some great local album covers [link]

Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore and drummer John Maloney tonight at Space 1026 [link]

Brooklyn duo She Keeps Bees is features on this week’s Folkadelphia session [link]

Photo by Daniel Kramer

Bruce Springsteen covering “I Want You” at The Main Point, 02/05/75 (audio only)

Warren Zevon covering “Chimes of Freedom” at The TLA, 12/02/00 (audio only)

The Roots jamming on Masters of War at the first Roots Picnic, 06/09/08

The Frames covering “Girl From the North Country” at The TLA, 11/19/10

The Philadelphia Buskers playing “Tangled Up in Blue” in Rittenhouse Square, 08/08/10

Music video for Philly’s The Bailey Hounds covering “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Allright” for Dylan’s 70th birthday

“Television” is a poppy, clap-happy track from Cambridge, MA band You Won’t.  The indie-pop duo of Josh Arnoudse and Raky Sastri released their debut album Skeptic Goodbye earlier this year on Old Flame Records and, as you’ll hear in the song below, they have a knack for catchy hooks and insightful lyrics.  Download “Television” below; You Won’t play Johnny Brenda’s on November 30th.  Tickets and information are available here.

If you still haven’t gotten your fill of Halloween vibes yet, check out these two tracks from Philly goth-rock outfit Night Sins.  The trio released their debut LP New Grave last week on Avant! Records and made the melodic (though still quite gothic) songs “Playing Dead” and “The Eternal Giver” available as free downloads.  Night Sins will play Kung Fu Necktie on November 13th with Cult of Youth and Hot Guts; go here for tickets and more information.

Funk It music blog unearthed this 1996 audio documentary featuring The Roots last week.  It was included in a multi-part project called “The Music Makers” produced by Philadelphian Steve Rowland and follows the now-legendary hip hop group on tour immediately after the release of their album Do You Want More?!!!??!  You can stream a few clips of the documentary below, and then head over here to download the complete episode.

On the brink of releasing a new LP in February 2013, Lancaster-born singer-songwriter Denison Witmer has unveiled an EP called The Ones Who Wait Part 2 and you can download “In Your Hands” below.  Witmer, who has been spending time in Philadelphia and Brooklyn as of late, will return to his hometown for a special holiday show at Live from The Cellar on Friday, December 14th.  More information about the show can be found here.  Download “In Your Hands” below and then check out Witmer’s contribution to The Voice Project with Devin Greenwood here.

• In Your Handsby Denison Witmer from The Ones Who Wait Part 2Download

Photo by Dominic Digiorno | twitter.com/digs1975

Explore the roots of The Roots with a 1996 audio documentary and vintage photos [link]

Philadelphia art-pop act Auctioneer premiered a new song called “Swim” [link]

We review the major label debut from Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill, Dreams and Nightmares [link]

Philly thrashers Ruby the Hatchet is streaming its entire new album from Bandcamp [link]

Twang out with indie-country guy Daniel Romano and his song “Middle Child” [link]

Remembering the late Terry Callier with performances from World Cafe [link]

Get details on The Lumineers return to Philadelphia in February [link]

Download Memory Tapes‘ second Halloween minimix, Walk Me Home 2 [link]

Philly Americana rockers The Bailey Hounds put a piano-ballad spin on Danzig’s “Mother” [link]

Dan Matz of Windsor for the Derby mixed classic rock and drone rock in an eclectic playlist [link]

Photo by Dominic Digiorgio | twitter.com/digs1975

Before they were Jimmy Fallon’s house band, and before they had their own annual picnic along the Deleware River, The Roots were a buzzing Philadelphia hip hop group on the brink of releasing their first major-label record.  That was 1995, and Peabody Award-winning producer Steve Rowland was on site to get the entire career-changing experience on tape.  The Temple University film school graduate was producing a 13-hour audio documentary called “The Music Makers” to examine “the creativity and devotion to music of six influential or visionary contemporary acts.”  Along with the up-and-coming Roots, the series spotlighted Patti LaBelle, Frank Zappa, Carlos Santana, George Clinton and The Neville Brothers.  Speaking to the inclusion of The Roots in the otherwise well-established roster of subjects, Rowland said:

When I was working with them, they were just about to release their first record. At that point, most people aren’t documented because they aren’t famous, and I wanted to explore what that period in a group’s existence is like.

The Roots’ segment, titled “On the Road With The Roots,” followed the young band as they embarked on a tour following the release of Do You Want More?!!!??! on Geffen Records in early 1995.  With insight into band dynamics, label dynamics and mini bios on bandmembers, the documentary offers a rare look at the beginnings of a local hip hop group on the verge of international acclaim.

When The Music Makers documentary originally aired in 1996, WXPN ran episodes of the series every week.  You can now stream an excerpt of the documentary on The Roots, narrated by Cornel West, below and download the entire two-part segment here.  You can also look at some really cool black-and-white pictures by photographer Dominic Digiorgio documenting The Roots’ 1995 album release show here.

The Roots have opened up another chance for Philadelphians to grab a paintbrush and help put their mark on the cityscape. This Saturday from 1 PM to 3 PM, the ongoing Roots MuralArts project at the World Communications Charter School (512 S. Broad Street) will be unveiled for the first time for the public to view. The mural, which is expected to be completed and dedicated sometime in 2013, has been called MuralArts’ “most ambitious” endeavor yet, so it’s an exciting opportunity for city-dwellers to become part of one of the city’s three thousand murals. As an added bonus, participants will be treated to performances from Chill Moody and Dice Raw; ?uestlove and Black Thought will also make appearances at the unveiling. Don’t miss this chance to let your color-by-number skills become part of Philadelphia’s history!

It’s the return of M-illa-tant! Roots alum Malik B was featured in Noisey TV‘s Live From the Streets video series yesterday, making his first appearance in a solo music video (and releasing his first rap since 2008′s Rising Down). In the video, beatmaker Mr. Green and director Sam Lipman-Stern visit Rittenhouse Square to chat with traveling street musician Kevin Brown, make a backing track from one of his songs, and bring it to Malik B to add a verse. You can hear the resulting song, “Live in the Streets,” in the video below, and grab a free download of it here.

Hometown hip-hop heroes The Roots have been prominently featured in Philly’s 4th of July festivities for five years running, and each time they manage to step up their game. Amid the massive Independence Day heat on the Ben Franklin Parkway during last week’s Welcome America Festivial, the band ushered on a surprise appearance from soul / reggae / hiphop star Lauryn Hill. She performed a half-hour set touching on the hits from her 1998 album The Mis-Education Of Lauryn Hill, some throwbacks from her days with the 90s fusion band The Fugees, and a exuberant cover of Bob Marley’s classic “Could You Be Loved.” Check out a slideshow above care of photographer Brandee Nichols (who was covering the festival for JUMP Philly) and watch video of Hill’s full set below.

SETLIST
Lost Ones
Ex-Factor
Ready or Not
Fu-Gee-La
Could You Be Loved
Doo Wop (That Thing)

On July 7th, Bruce and the Band played for nearly 100,000 people at the classic Roskilde Festival, forty minutes outside of Copenhagen. Bruce and E Street took the stage following a stellar performance by The Roots. Naturally, when Bruce was ready to do “E Street Shuffle,” he called his friends of The Legendary Roots Crew back up on stage to reprise their joint performance of the song from Late Night With Jimmy Fallon this past March. The scintillating performance was captured in this Chris Hilson line cut with John Cooper’s board mix. Participating in the performance from The Roots are Black Thought, Kamal Gray, F. Knuckles, Captain Kirk Douglas, Damon “Tuba Gooding Jr.” Bryson, James Poyser, and Mark Kelley.

Of course being Roots and Bruce Springsteen fans we love this video. The big question remains: Where was Questlove? How did he miss this?. Bruce and the band return to Philly on September 2nd and 3rd at Citizens Bank Park. Tickets are available here.

Instragram photo by Questlove

The folks over at the Funk It music blog have just posted this audio of Questlove’s Bonnaroo Superjam featuring D’Angelo’s first performance in the United States in twelve years. The setlist from the Saturday, June 9th show included covers of songs by Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, Funkadelic, Sly & The Family Stone and others. Download the audio from Funk It here. Setlist and audio of the show below.

THE SETLIST:
Intro >
Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland) [Jimi Hendrix] (including Go Back 2 The Thing & Superman Lover [Johnny Guitar Watson] teases) >
Pride And Vanity [Ohio Players] >
Players Balling (Players Doin’ Their Own Thing) [Ohio Players]
Funky Dollar Bill [Funkadelic] >
Hit It And Quit It [Funkadelic] >
What Is And What Should Never Be [Led Zeppelin]
Babies Making Babies [Sly & The Family Stone] >
Hollywood Squares [Bootsy Collins] >
Mother’s Son [Curtis Mayfield] (including Chicken Grease tease)
Power of Soul [Band of Gypsys]
She Came In Through The Bathroom Window [The Beatles]
My Summertime Thang [The Time] >
Jam (including Fire [Ohio Players] & other teases)

THE BAND:
Questlove – drums
Kirk Douglas – guitar
James Poyser – keys
Frank Knuckles – percussion
Pino Palladino – bass
Eric Leeds – saxophone
Jesse Johnson – guitar
Kendra Foster – vocals
D’Angelo – vocals, guitar, keys

All photos of The Roots Picnic by Eric Ashleigh. Check out the rest of the photos from the Roots Picnic here.

All Roots Picnic photos by Eric Ashleigh. More photos from the gallery can be viewed here.

Today, Dice released the latest single from the album – an eerie soul groove called “Rear Window.” The song was produced by Rick Friedrich, who also worked with Dice on the harmonious banger “Lighthouse” from The Roots’ 2011 album Undun. Get a taste of the picnic and help yourself to a download below; you can also check out Dice’s previous tracks “Dining Alone” and “The Illest.”

(RED) Hot + FELA, pays homage to the music and spirit of Fela Kuti and will be the first collaboration between (RED) and the Red Hot Organization, creators of a long running line of musically original compilations that benefit AIDS organizations, ranging from 1990’s Red Hot + Blue (which featured U2 on Cole Porter’s “Night And Day”) to 2009’s Dark Was The Night produced by Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National.

FRIDAY, June 1st
One of our favorite new Philly band record releases is the album from Hop Along called Get Disowned. The band is having its record release party and is headlining the First Unitarian Church tonight with Band Name, Little Big League and Mary Lattimore. (Doors: 8:00 p.m / Show: 8:30 p.m.; all ages; $10). Also playing: The Kopecky Family Band play at today’s Free At Noon and perform tonight at Milkboy Philly at 8:30 p.m. with The National Rifle and MyNameIsJohnMichael. Tickets to the 21+ show are $10-$12.

SATURDAY, June 2nd
WXPN Welcomes the Appel Farm Arts & Music Festival featuring Dawes, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Rodney Crowell, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Sara Watkins, Jukebox The Ghost, Cheryl Wheeler, Mason Porter and more. (11:30 a.m.; all ages, $5.00 for kids ages 3-12; $40.00-$50.00 for adults).

WXPN Welcomes Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue to the Keswick Theatre. (8:00 p.m., all-ages show, the show is sold out).

SUNDAY, June 3rd
Singer-songwriter JBM returns to town and plays Milkboy Philly with Tim Rogers of YOU AM I. JBM (real name: Jesse Merchant) JBM’s new album, Stray Ashes, is a gorgeous and haunting collection of songs that recalls the sparse beauty of records by Jose Gonzalez. (Doors: 7:00 pm / Show: 8:00 pm; tickets to the 21+ show are $12). Below, watch the video produced by Philly’s Out Of Town Films they did with Jesse when he played at Jonny Brenda’s several weeks ago.