Dave Chappelle will host the 2018 Roots Picnic taking place June 2nd in their Philadelphia hometown at the Festival Pier. Brandy, The Diplomats and 2Chainz are some of the headliners for the event.

Black Thought and J.Period will have a live mixtape session featuring Fabolous and Jadakiss.

This year will debut the Podcast Stage with live shows from Angela Rye, Questlove and Drink Champs.

Tickets for The Roots Picnic go on sale Friday but there are presales being offered now.

What will be the outcome of the NYPD’s investigation on Russell Simmons for sexual assault?

Did Alexandra Shipp understand the difference between colorism and racism when she responded to fan’s desire for a dark-skinned Storm after the announcement that Disney bought Fox?

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Did Black Thought say more bars in his 10-minute freestyle on the Funkmaster Flex show than any other rapper this year?

[youtube id=”xc6TyaW0Ppw”] Talib Kweli’s Radio Silence is another triumph for his ever-growing discography. He performed “Heads Up Eyes Open” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon with Rick Ross and Yummy Bingham. Kweli recently got into a heated Twitter chat with professional poker players who are fans because of their belief that Kweli’s lyrical content is “obnoxious” and not the reason that people listen to his music. The rapper, who has built a 20-plus year career based on his political viewpoints explained that the choice to depoliticize his music is racist.

The Roots and Bilal with a horn section including Jeff Bradshaw perform a 12-minute concert of “It Ain’t Fair” for NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concerts. The song is from the Detroit soundtrack and their contribution to the music has become one of the most memorable things about the film.