For roots rapper Black Thought, the idyllic pleasure of playing at Central Park’s SummerStage is a piece of cake.
“It’s classic New York – or old New York, as people call it – with its energy and atmosphere,” the 50-year-old frontman told The Post about the Rumsey Playfield concert series, which the Roots will headline on Friday night as part of their “Hip-Hop Is the Love of My Life” tour (with opening acts Jungle Brothers and Digable Planets).
“Every time I played SummerStage – even as a young person at the beginning of my career – it was just phenomenal,” he said. “It was like I was literally performing in the heart of the city.”
And it’s just about 20 blocks uptown from Rockefeller Center Studios, where the Roots have been the house band on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” for 10 years. The legendary hip-hop crew followed the host of “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” when the former “SNL” star took over Jay Leno’s former time slot in February 2014.
After gaining exposure on “The Tonight Show” – where Black Thought performs under his real name Tariq Trotter – the band he formed with drummer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson is upping the ante with Roots Picnic, a festival in their hometown of Philadelphia. Nas, Jill Scott, André 3000, Babyface and Shaboozey – the country newbie behind the summer hit “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” – were among the many attendees at the two-day event on the first weekend in June.
“We were definitely influenced by SummerStage,” Black Thought said of the Roots Picnic, which began in 2008. “We wanted it to be in Fairmount Park, which is Philadelphia’s Central Park.”
And the festival keeps them rooted where they came from – even as they play in private homes across the U.S. every night on “The Tonight Show.” Black Thought says bringing hip-hop to late-night television on giant NBC has been as smooth as its bars.
“It just proves how transcendent it is,” he said. “I’ve never had to rap any other way. I mean, when it comes to foul language, you kind of have to censor yourself. But I’ve never had to speak any other way, act any other way… It’s a blessing.”
There’s no doubt about it – the Roots as house band have given the “Tonight Show” more musical credibility than any of its late-night competitors.
“We definitely revolutionized the game in that way,” said Black Thought. “We really tied ourselves into the fabric of the show in a way that no band had ever done before… we kind of changed the game. The way we do it, you have to give credit to our model.”
But the Roots have been breaking new ground since they made their independent debut with the LP “Organix” in 1993 and had their major label breakthrough with “Do You Want More?!!!??!” in 1995.
In fact, they acted as a bridge between old-school hip-hop and neo-soul, collaborating with everyone from D’Angelo and Erykah Badu to Common and John Legend.
And all along the way they have liberated both the mind and the body.
“It was always important to us to make some level of social or political commentary,” Black Thought said. “I spent most of my career trying to put myself in a position as a writer where I actually became a voice for my city of Philadelphia, for the larger black community, for the concept of black thought.”
In fact, the Roots were instrumental in a 2017 episode of ABC’s “Black-ish” that broke down the reason for celebrating Juneteenth. Their “Schoolhouse Rock!”-inspired musical number “I Am a Slave” was a catchy history lesson four years before the date became a national holiday.
“This is how my children learned about Juneteenth,” said Black Thought. “I’m really proud of that.”
