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Tariq Luqmaan Trotter (born October 3, 1973), better known as Black Thought, is an American rapper, singer, actor and the lead MC of the hip hop group The Roots, which he co-founded with drummer Questlove in Philadelphia. Regarded as "one of the most skilled, incisive, and prolific rappers of his time", Black Thought – Biography. AllMusic. Accessed on August 28, 2020. Interview of Jamal Greene, brother of Talib Kweli. Conversation with Tyler. Accessed on June 2nd 2022. he is widely lauded for his live performance skills, continuous multisyllabic rhyme schemes, complex lyricism, , and politically aware lyrics. He and The Roots perform as the house band for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, frequently playing games with Fallon and his guests.
In 2000, the Roots won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "You Got Me", with guest performances by Erykah Badu and Eve. Things Fall Apart was nominated for Best Rap Album. For Jay-Z's acoustic concert for the television program MTV Unplugged, the Roots provided instrumentals. Succeeding albums were Phrenology (2002), The Tipping Point (2004), Game Theory (2006), Rising Down (2008), How I Got Over (2010), Undun (2011), and …And Then You Shoot Your Cousin (2014).
Black Thought's first release outside of The Roots was the 2011 mixtape The Prestige, which he released alongside 10.Deep and the Money Making Jam Collective, the latter of which included longtime Roots collaborators such as Dice Raw, S.T.S., P.O.R.N., and Truck North. In 2013, he stated his intention to follow the mixtape with an album titled Talented Mr. Trotter. Black Thought Talks Lifestyle Change, Confirms Talented Mr.Trotter Still in Works & More . TheUberUrban.com (February 26, 2013). Retrieved on 2013-08-25. However, Black Thought's next release would instead be the EP Streams of Thought, Vol. 1, a June 2018 collaboration with producer 9th Wonder. That November, Black Thought and Salaam Remi released a follow-up EP, Streams of Thought, Vol. 2. The third installment in the "Streams of Thought" series, , was a full studio album released in 2020. The album was preceded by the single "Good Morning", which featured Pusha T, Killer Mike, and Swizz Beats; other featured artists on the album include Portugal. The Man, Schoolboy Q and the Last Artful, Dodgr.
Black Thought and Danger Mouse had begun work on a collaborative album, originally titled Dangerous Thoughts, in 2006. There was no further news about this album for years, until the artists announced in May 2022 that they would be releasing their collaboration that August. The album, retitled Cheat Codes, was released on August 10, 2022. Cheat Codes included a posthumous appearance from MF Doom; other featured artists included Raekwon, Kid Sister, Joey Badass, Russ, Dylan Cartlidge, Michael Kiwanuka, ASAP Rocky, Run the Jewels, and Conway the Machine.
In February 2016, Black Thought joined forces with Fashawn, Murs, and Del the Funky Homosapien to record a new track called "Rise Up" for the video game Street Fighter V. Capcom released a music video for the song that included appearances by Black Thought and his fellow collaborators.
In December 2017, Black Thought appeared on HOT 97 with Funkmaster Flex and performed a 10-minute freestyle over "The Learning (Burn)" instrumental by Mobb Deep. This freestyle went widely viral, trending on Twitter for the next days and hitting millions of views on YouTube.
In 2013, Black Thought began work on a memoir with journalist and music critic Jeff Chang and filmmaker Maori Karmael Holmes. ?uestlove to Publish Memoir, Black Thought Working on Solo Album With Jim James, TVOTR's Tunde | News. Pitchfork (February 27, 2013). Retrieved on 2013-08-25. An autobiography entitled The Upcycled Self was released on November 14, 2023.
Black Thought was also an executive producer for the short film Land, which is featured in the 2023 Oregon Shakespeare Festival's Cyberland Short Films collection, and it's about a woman who loses and then finds herself again while living in the mountains of Ashland, a small town in Oregon during the COVID pandemic, where the festival takes place. Ash Land was an official selection in 2021 for the Academy Award–qualifying Pan African Film Festival, the Brooklyn Film Festival, Bronzelens Film Festival, and Martha Vineyard's African American Film Festival. The film is directed by South African native Shariffa Ali and written by Banna Desta The film ends with a closing fade to black and voice over of Black Thought addressing the “Black Experience” in Oregon with a powerful and final affirmation: “We Black. We in Oregon. Look at us.”
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| + ! scope="col" style="width:19em;" | Title ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Other artist(s) ! scope="col" | Album |
| + !Song !Artists !Album !Year | |||
| Rest in power | (soundtrack) | 2018 | |
| Conception | Streams of Thought Volume 2 | ||
| Thought Vs. Everybody | Streams of Thought Vol. 3 | 2020 | |
| No Gold Teeth | Danger Mouse | Cheat Codes | 2022 |
| Aquamarine | Danger Mouse, Michael Kiwanuka | ||
| Because | Russ, Joey Badass, Dylan Cartlige | ||
| Strangers | Danger Mouse, RTJ, ASAP Rocky | ||
| Belize | Danger Mouse, MF Doom | ||
| Glorious Game | El Michaels Affair | Glorious Game | 2023 |
| Love Letter | BET 50th Anniversary of Hip Hop Special |
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