Today, Tariq Trotter—better known as Black Thought, MC for pioneering Philly hip-hop band The Roots—has released his first-ever album LP, Streams of Thought Vol. 1, produced by 9th Wonder and The Soul Council. While he has been one of hip-hop’s most well-respected wordsmiths for years, until now, his ample body of work has predominantly come as a member of The Roots—an unusual position for a rapper to be in.
Ahead of the album’s release, Black Thought sat down with NPR‘s Rodney Charmichael for a wide-ranging video interview. In it, Black Thought discussed a number of topics including his early doubts about The Roots, using his given name on The Tonight Show, the mutual adoration between himself and MacArthur Genius Grant-winning Ta-Nehisi Coates, learning that his late father was part of the Philly Black Mafia in the 1970’s, and more
He also spoke about how his 10-minute freestyle that broke the Internet in late 2017 wasn’t actually all that good—at least according to his high standards. As Black thought notes:
The art of lyricism is now in its greatest decline. That’s why it’s like, somebody comes out and you drop some bars of substance, it’s like it’s amazing. It’s like a unicorn. But, you know, I come from a school. People who have known me for years, they were less than impressed. Like, “I’ve seen you do better.” You know what I mean? They pick out little mistakes: “Oh, you faltered here. This syllable came out weird.” And that’s cool, you know what I’m saying — because that’s how they know me. But I feel like the standard, like the bar right now, is particularly low. So I’m continually trying to raise the bar.
Watch the entire interview with Black Thought below via NPR. You can also read a full write-up of the fascinating conversation by Rodney Carmichael here.
Black Thought’s Streams of Thought, Vol. 1 is available to stream today. Give it a listen below via Spotify:
Black Thought – Streams of Thought [Full Album]