The Roots took over the Roxy Hotel’s Django stage in New York City to close out Monday’s episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Shot entirely on a Samsung S10+ phone, the filming featured split screens that highlighted solo melodies and audience reactions while the Roots performed a swinging rendition of “More Today Than Yesterday.”
The clip opened with Fallon heading to the hotel and descending the stairs to the club as the Roots jammed and Tariq Trotter, better known as Black Thought, was being introduced. Their jazz-tipped version of the 1969 Spiral Starecase hit featured a bouncy piano romp and horn-inflected melodies while the talented, versatile Black Thought smiled and sang the heartfelt lyrics. “Thank you, ladies and gentleman,” Black Thought said at the end to an enthusiastic crowd. “We are ‘Try the Calamari,’” he joked.
Earlier in the month, Black Thought gave a rap recap of the crowded list of Democratic presidential candidates during the Tonight Show. Last week, the Roots’ guitarist “Captain” Kirk Douglas announced his first solo album, Turbulent Times, which will be released in May. On June 1st, the Roots will commemorate the 20th anniversary of Things Fall Apart at their annual Roots Picnic in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.