The Roots

CTL-E-4511 · Person · group · 1987-present

VERIFIED evidence grade of this record

American hip-hop band formed in 1987 in Philadelphia by Tariq 'Black Thought' Trotter and Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson; known for jazzy live-instrument hip-hop; house band on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

The record

Also known as: The Legendary Roots Crew, The Square Roots

Notes

RELP104 new supporting entity: 3 claims + evidence. Name-collision check clean.

Relationships

Okayplayer — founded
The Roots' drummer Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson co-founded Okayplayer with Angela Nissel; the site launched February 23, 1999.

Referenced by

Okayplayer — founded by → this record

Sources

Penn State Center for the Book — The Roots
Wikipedia — The Roots

Record CTL-E-4511 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · evidence grade: VERIFIED · 2 sources · 2 mapped relationships · CTL research: MUSIC-001, RELP-001.
Directory: all entity records · the knowledge graph

Cite this record

Cite as: CultureTechLens, “The Roots (CTL-E-4511),” CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph, October 2026. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-4511/

Chicago: CultureTechLens. “The Roots (CTL-E-4511).” CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph. Chicago, IL: CultureTechLens, 2026. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-4511/
APA: CultureTechLens. (2026). The Roots (CTL-E-4511) [Entity record]. CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-4511/
MLA: CultureTechLens. “The Roots (CTL-E-4511).” CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph, 2026, https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-4511/

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The Wabash Avenue YMCA, ChicagoPhoto: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Chicago Blues All-Stars performing live at Buddy Guy’s Legends, ChicagoPhoto: BluesAllstars, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Overton Hygienic Building, 3619–6227 S. State St., Chicago — Anthony Overton’s Black Metropolis business headquartersPhoto: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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