Jay-Z and the Roots go way, way back. In 2001, when Jay-Z taped his MTV Unplugged special, and he tapped the Roots to serve as his backing band. The result was awesome. When the Roots switched over the the "NY State Of Mind" beat during "Takeover"? Come on. Incredible. It was a striking connection between rap's highest level and its Soulquarian edge back when those two worlds rarely overlapped. A couple of years later, Jay gave the Roots a kind of backhanded compliment on a mixtape track: "You gotta believe, I think like a artist/ But my bills through the roof, can't do numbers like the Roots." Questlove has written that he wasn't sure how to take that.
Now, the Roots have gotten Jay-Z out of his quiet semi-retirement. This May, Jay will join the Roots once again, performing with the band as the headline act at their Roots Picnic festival. The rest of the festival lineup hasn't been announced yet, but they're all going to look small next to the blockbuster headline act anyway.
The Roots Picnic is coming to Philadelphia's Belmont Plateu May 30, and tickets go on sale Wednesday at 10AM right here. This will be Jay's first performance since 2024, when he did "PSA" for a disinterested crowd at Tom Brady's Hall Of Fame induction ceremony. The late D'Angelo was set to headline last year's Roots Picnic, but he canceled his performance because of medical issues that are sadly all too obvious today. A few months after the performance was scheduled, D'Angelo passed away from pancreatic cancer. I'd expect a lot of D'Angelo tributes at this year's Roots Picnic.
On a happier note, the festival poster has the Reasonable Doubt-era umlaut back in Jay's name. Many years ago, I watched Jay celebrate the 10th anniversary of Reasonable Doubt at Radio City Music Hall. He performed the entire album in reverse order, Memento-style, and he had the Roots and an orchestra backing him up. When it got to the big finish, Beyoncé came out to sing the "Can't Knock The Hustle" hook instead of Mary J. Blige. If this Roots Picnic performance is anything like that, it'll be truly special.
