The Roots

"I think the music comes first, then comes the fashion, and thus, the lifestyle." — Questlove

• Members: Black Thought (Tariq Luqmaan Trotter), Questlove (Ahmir Khalib Thompson), Kamal Gray, F. Knuckles (Francis Nicholls), Captain Kirk Douglas, Tuba Gooding Jr. (Damon Bryson), James Poyser, Mark Kelley

• Formed 1987 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 

• The band's second album, Do You Want More?!!!??!, was produced without any samples and became a hit with alternative music fans, earning them a spot at Lollapalooza. The song "You Got Me" helped bolster sales of their fourth album, Things Fall Apart.

• "You Got Me," recorded with Erykah Badu, earned them their first GRAMMY win for Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group for 1999. Collaborating with John Legend garnered two more GRAMMY Awards — Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Album — for 2010. Five of the band's albums have been nominated for Best Rap Album.

• The band went by several different names before settling on the Roots, including Radio Activity and Black To The Future.

• Legend and the Roots discussed their collaborative covers album Wake Up! at the GRAMMY Museum at L.A. Live in 2010. They later performed selections from the album for an intimate audience of 200. The band also performed a tribute to Lionel Richie at the singer's MusiCares Person of the Year ceremony in 2016. 

• Questlove performed at a benefit concert for Artists for a New South Africa in 2007. The drummer also raised money for Harlem Village Academies in 2010.