Black Thought Says He's 'Always Been A Vocalist'

In an interview with The New York Post (January 28), Black Thought, the talented front man of The Roots, who can currently be seen every weeknight as the backup band on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, revealed plans for a solo album, a project he said that will showcase his elastic vocal abilities as opposed to the rap skills he’s most known for.



“I’ve always been a vocalist,” the Philadelphia-born lyricist explained, “When The Roots came out and got our first deal in 1993 it just a different climate in Hip Hop. It wasn’t necessarily embraced for a rapper or an emcee to showcase their singing skills as well.  Now you’ve got your Drake’s and Nicki Minajand it’s like you almost have to know how to sing as well to be considered the full package.”

As for his solo effort, Thought, born Tariq Trotter, confirmed that he will not only be singing on the album, but gave a sneak peek of its title as well.

“Right now I’m putting together an EP for Def Jam; it’s probably going to be called The Talented Mr. Trotter.  The Roots songs come from just a core foundation of contributors, but for my solo endeavour I’ll probably be reaching outside of that circle.”

In fact, prior to the release of The Talented Mr. Trotter, the popular How I Got Over emcee, who along with the legendaryRoots crew is nominated for six Grammy awards this year, plans to release a mixtape with Dice Raw, Sugar Tongue Slim and Truck North.

According to Thought, the four emcees will collectively be known as the Money Making Jam Boys and fans can expect a mixtape titled Jam Boys Prestige to be released within the next few weeks.