The Roots are making sandwiches. The band is holed-up in a Manhattan studio, preparing for their new gig as the house band on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon,” the NBC show that will take Conan O’Brien’s place when O’Brien moves to “The Tonight Show.” They’re working long days to create 200 “sandwiches” or “beds” — the intro and outros that will buffer each segment on the show.
“Right now, my whole life is this show,” said drummer Ahmir Thompson, better known as ?uestlove, in a recent interview as he lazily adjusted his fro pick in his trademark Afro, slightly exhausted in between rehearsals. Since forming in Philadelphia in the early 1990s, the Roots have been one of the best regarded bands in hip-hop and music, altogether. They were one of the first hip-hop bands to take up instruments and under the steady pounding of Thompson they’ve been an acclaimed act for nearly two decades, with respectable (though not huge) album sales.
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The Roots Prepare for House Band Gig on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” | Hip-Hop Linguistics