The Roots, Racism & A Tiny Desk

Surprisingly enough, music’s hottest hip-hop/brass band, The Roots, can all fit behind the Tiny Desk, Tuba and all. While most acts that come through the Tiny Desk perform 3-4 songs, The Roots made their mark with just one. After a ceremonious march into the studio with an accompanying jam, the group was joined by group lyricist, Black Thought, and feature vocalist, Bilal, for the performance of “It Ain’t Fair,” the signature track from Detroit, a film about the race riots in 1967. The 8-minute tune picks apart the construct of racism and examines how it is still tangled in the fabric our country, all while musically ebbing and flowing, twisting and turning like acts in a play.