HIPHOP LAB: EARSHOT THE ROOTS... BEYOND BOUNDS

Every now and then, I push through my dreadfully awkward bubble and allow life to surprise me and awaken me. As I’ve gotten older, I find myself becoming more cynical, caught in a growing tug-of-war with bitterness that tries my soul daily. I am an avid over thinker, and as I’ve aged, it feels harder and harder to put myself back together.

I tell you these things upfront because I used to be an incurable optimist. And although I sometimes try to fight through the bullshit and hug my inner child a little tighter, lately I’ve been giving him the side-eye. I turned 46, and more and more, I find myself spending too much time talking myself out of a good time. That  all changed on September 20, 2026.

My dear friend SB Rawz, who is as punk rock as their name, told me to get my ass in gear and go see The Roots, who were playing Greensboro’s Folk Fest.

So I hopped in my car, and we hit the scene.

They are a brilliant coach, writer, and friend of eight years that has held space for me in a wonderful way and encouraged me to slow down and partake in the Folk Festival headlined by The Roots.

The unity in the City of Greensboro was electric, intentional, and genuine. You could tell the city understood the value of this event. Everyone seemed to be taking care of everyone, and the mindfulness and love were uncanny. When the organizers took to the stage to announce The Roots, the crowd went crazy. Yes, even the organizers of the event were rock stars. They also received an overwhelming roar of applause and appreciation for having worked so hard to make this happen and also shared the importance of keeping the festival alive. They stood there, ecstatic, basking in the fruits of their labor as they watched their city light up for a free concert festival they had poured themselves into. Then The Roots stepped in.

The Roots didn’t waste a moment letting Greensboro know that the party was about to really start. The Illadelphia sons took the crowd on a phenomenal crash course in the sheer brute force of the power of sound.

Black Thought isn’t just a frontman. He is a motivational speaker, a lyricist, a fucking mad scientist, and a certified professor of funkanomics. The band demonstrated how iron sharpens iron as they generously served up hip-hop, jazz, funk, rock, and soul in a thunderous, controlled-chaos musical journey.

The Roots are pleasantly defiant. They were also incredibly generous in giving Greensboro a levitating experience.

I saw them two years ago at an outdoor venue in Vienna, Virginia, called Wolf Trap, and somehow they’ve evolved even further since then. They continue to uplift audiences through the art of play and the power of sound. They reinvent covers and originals while remaining true to the soul of their musical umbrella, and they continue to conquer every stereotype and naysayer determined to put them inside a box.

The Roots effortlessly deliver on every level and quietly dominate with vision, love, and generosity. And somewhere in all of that noise, I was reminded to hold tighter to my inner child. To embrace this moment. We witnessed old and young, different races, religions, and sexual orientations, just get free. That made the show even sweeter.

My dear friend SB Rawz and I couldn’t help but dance. We danced with the people around us, recited every lyric, and screamed until we were hoarse.

Then came the biggest magical moment. The Roots played “You Got Me.”

The audience sang the hook in perfect-pitch harmony while Black Thought delivered the lyrics. The tears started flowing down my cheeks. I felt like The Roots and the City of Greensboro were baptizing my soul.

And then there were the encores. Watching Questlove get busy on those drums had me forgetting, if only for a while, the pain I’d been carrying.

The Roots’ message of joy is contagious. It is the kind of elixir we need more of right now.

And Black Thought?

He is definitely in my top five. His cadence, wordplay, and delivery are uncanny. There is a precision to the way he commands language that feels less like rapping and more like watching a master craftsman work.

Later that night, I was sore as fuck, but SB Rawz and I hobbled over to a phenomenal Greensboro music venue, The Pyrle, to watch Questlove DJ at a V.i.P. event. And somehow, the night kept getting better. Questlove took us through another magical musical journey, lacing old and new music together and effortlessly rocking the crowd. He opened with Phil Collins’ classic “In the Air Tonight,” brilliantly setting the tone before chopping it up into a mashups that moved through wild breakbeats, fluid melodic chants, funk, early-2000s hip-hop bangers, and ’80s party starters. He was surgical with that shit.

If I were an ESPN commentator, I’d tell you The Roots played the best fucking game and somehow, this championship team is only going to get better with time.

I’m looking forward to their next album, Endgame, which will mark their first full-length project in over a decade since 2014’s ...And Then You Shoot Your Cousin. Black Thought and producer 9th Wonder also have a new full-length collaborative album that is reportedly in the final stretch of production.

There is something beautiful about realizing that the things you thought you had outgrown might actually be the things you need 

Maybe my inner child wasn’t the one I needed to give the side-eye to after all....

By Bryan Harvest Blaque Hancock