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Black Thought
Background information
Birth name	Tariq Luqmaan Trotter
Also known as	Bad Lieutenant, Big Bank Willie Gank, and Riq Geez
Born	October 3, 1972 (age 36)
Origin	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Genre(s)	Hip hop
Years active	1987–Present
Label(s)	Def Jam
Associated acts	The Roots

Tariq Luqmaan Trotter (born October 3, 1972), better known as Black Thought, is an American hip-hop artist and the lead MC of the Philadelphia-based hip hop group The Roots. Thought, who co-founded The Roots with drummer ?uestlove (Ahmir Thompson), is widely lauded for his complex and politically aware lyrical content, and his sharply honed live performances.

Biography

Tariq was born to the late Cassandra (Cassie) and Thomas Trotter and was raised in South Philadelphia on 7th Street. Both parents were murdered. While in high school Tariq met ?uestlove in the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts, and formed a drummer/MC duo performing on the streets of Philly and at talent shows. Thought would subsequently spend some time as one of two MCs in the group The Square Roots: the other one was Malik B., who Tariq met while attending Millersville University.

A name change (to simply The Roots) and an album release (Organix) Black Thought and Malik struck a balance, with Malik bringing more personal raps and Thought oriented towards a more political style infused with battle raps.

After Malik B. left the group, Thought continued drifting toward the political, and was featured on several other records like Common's One Day it'll All Make Sense, Linkin Park's Reanimation and more recently its frontman Mike Shinoda's The Rising Tied, as well as Damian Marley's Welcome to Jamrock and The Coup's Pick a Bigger Weapon.

The Roots' 2006 album Game Theory shows a more introspective side of Black Thought and is the "darkest" Roots album to date; the Roots' 2008 album Rising Down exposes Black Thought's anger and frustration regarding a variety of current issues. Taken together, these works suggest Black Thought's increasing willingness to express more personal and emotional thoughts and beliefs.

Solo album

Black Thought was in the process of recording a solo album (to be titled Masterpiece Theater), but he shelved the project when he determined the project would not assist the group in their release from their contract with MCA Records. Some of the songs he recorded for Masterpiece Theater were eventually released as tracks on The Roots' album Phrenology. He is also working on a collaborative project with producer Danger Mouse (which, according to XXL magazine and himself, is to be called Dangerous Thoughts), and Thought recently revealed it to be a singing album--much in the same style of the Gnarls Barkley projects.

In a recent HipHopGame interview[1], Black Thought spoke of yet another solo project (title TBA) that will come out on the label Razor and Tie. When asked whether or not ?uestlove would still be involved production-wise, he stated, "I get beats from all types of dudes. It’s just an understanding that once I’m married to a beat and I’m going to use it, certain elements are going to be replayed and changed. Questlove probably will change your bass and play the drums live. But if it’s a solid production, I’ll still use that beat. It’s not like I only work with Questlove. For all intents and purposes, we’re able to come together and decide who we’re going to work together. We do it like that." He also indicated that "Get Busy" producer Ritz and his production team would be contributing.

Aliases

• Bad Lieutenant, Big Bank Willie Gank, and Riq Geez

Guest appearances

• "Appreciate", Love and Life, LaToya London
• "Burnin' and Lootin'", Chant Down Babylon (Post-Humous Remix), Bob Marley
• "Clap!", Next, Soulive
• "Flutlicht", Sinnflut, Curse
• "Guerilla Monsoon Rap", Quality, Talib Kweli
• "Hard Hitters", Expansion Team, Dilated Peoples
• "Hurricane", The Hurricane Soundtrack, Black Thought, Common, Dice Raw, Flo Brown, Jazzyfatnastees and Mos Def
• "It's About That Time", Soul Survivor, Pete Rock
• "Live From The PJs", Revolutions, The X-Ecutioners
• "Live From the Sretch Armstrong Show", Lyricist Lounge Volume One, Various Artists
• "Meiso", Meiso, DJ Krush
• "My Favorite Mutiny", Pick A Bigger Weapon, The Coup
• "Pimpa's Paradise", Welcome to Jamrock, Damian Marley
• "Respiration (Flying High Remix)", Respiration 12", Black Star
• "Right Now", The Rising Tied, Fort Minor
• "Stolen Moments pt II", One Day it'll All Make Sense, Common
• "Cold Blooded", Like Water for Chocolate, Common
• "Super Lyrical", Capital Punishment, Big Pun
• "X-Ecutioner Style", Reanimation, Linkin Park
• "Eh Hee",live in concert at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, WI,Dave Matthews Band
• 1997: "Get This Low", The Psycho-Social, Jedi Mind Tricks
• 2000: "Network", Plain Rap, The Pharcyde
• 2001: "Zen Approach", Zen, DJ Krush
• 2006: "Yes, Yes Y'all",Timeless,Sergio Mendes
• 2006: "Love Movin'", The Shining, J Dilla
• 2007: "Clean Up", Deep Hearted, Strong Arm Steady
• 2008: "Cause I'm Black", Super Gangster (Extraordinary Gentleman), Styles P

References

External links

• Black Thought discography
• Interview with ThaFormula.com

Wikipedia content modification information:

• This page was last modified on 12 December 2008, at 15:07.

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