Illadelphia-bred and Grammy award-winning hip-hop tour-de-force The Roots refreshed a full house of fans at the Highline Ballroom, April 6. As the progenitor behind the union of hip-hop and live instrumentation, The Roots brought in a number of guests to join in the jam session. Emcees, trumpets, trombones, bassists, keys, and Questlove all delivered well-crafted beats with a side of conscious lyrics. The crowd sunk into a groove so cohesive that it belied the speckled nature of old and young, urban and crunchy. Tariq 'Black Thought' Trotter did well with his words, fashioning an intelligent message and solidifying the existence of informed hip hop. Though you'd be hard-pressed to scrounge a ticket for the jam session at Highline, you can always snag a comfy spot on your futon to catch The Roots as they raise the street cred of The Jimmy Fallon Show.

Nicole Velasco