- Posted by AGM -

Hip-Hop heads shouted a collective “what the f*ck?” when NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon announced that The Legendary Roots crew would take up residency as the late night talk show’s house band.  Fallon, the former SNL star who recently replaced Conan O’Brien as the host of Late Night, casually approached The Roots at a Comedy Central special last fall and asked them to join the show.  Six months later, Black Thought, ?uestlove and the rest of the band have parked their tour bus in the Big Apple for a permanent M-F gig.

While hardcore fans have criticized the group for selling out, many recognize the opportunity for the critically acclaimed (but album sales-challenged) band to rock out in front of a broad, national audience every night.  The group has written over 200 original songs for the show and Fallon will use them creatively as more than just a side act (click here to see clip from the show’s premiere).  The band will also accompany some of the show’s musical guests, like they did here with Ludacris at Thursday night’s show:

Ludacris & the Roots – Theater of the Mind Medley (Late Night with Jimmy Fallon 03-05-2009)

The nightly gig has also been a gift to New Yorkers who will benefit from the Philly natives permanent move to NYC.  The Roots announced a residency at Highline Ballroom called “The Jam” – a string of 14 shows at the cozy Chelsea club for only $10 a night (the same price as a pack of Parliament Lights at a Manhattan bodega.)  The inaugural show went off Thursday night with a line of fans stretching two blocks, braving the icy temperature to get the first look at the best live band in hip-hop.  Inside, the energy was bursting out the walls as the packed house seemed to know something special was about to go down.

The Roots did not disappoint, unleashing a 70 minute set that kicked off just before midnight and included guest appearances by longtime Roots collaborator Dice Raw, Brooklyn native Talib Kweli, Rawkus Record’s Pharaoh Monche, The Fugees’ Jon Forte (another WTF?) and the soulful Chrisette Michele (who kills it on the Roots track Rising Up off their latest album).?(Broken Cool has some great video- click here)

Rocking a black fedora,  the vibrant Black Thought welcomed the amped-up mass to “the best deal in town” with a new jam before inviting Kweli onstage for an impromptu freestyle battle – highlighted by Kweli ripping on the Roots’ white bassist Owen Biddle, “I don’t even know who this guy is”).  The Roots steered clear of their major hits in favor of a jam-like atmosphere with a mix of freestyling, crazy keyboard collaborations, torrid guitar solos by Captain Kirk and even scatting by the jazzed-out Michele. 

In addition to the Highline residency, The Roots’ afro-sporting drummer, ?uestlove, announced that he will be DJing every Thursday night at Le Poisson Rouge in the West Village.  According to the club, the weekly event promises to feature “familiar faces both in the crowd and the DJ booth with ’special surprise guests’ bringing their own flavor to the party.”

The band will also continue to tour the rest of the country 10 weeks a year when not filming the show.