![]() That the Roots-Blige set came on the heels of Jazmine Sullivan, the best performance of the Picnic, made for one nearly impossible act to follow. Though pitchy during “I’m the Only Woman,” and during an emotive “I Can Love You,” by the time Blige got to a bluesy, holy cover of Rose Royce’s “I’m Going Down,” a frenetic version of “Real Love” and a darting duet with Black Thought, “Reminisce” (after the pair’s peppery “What’s the 411?”), Blige and the Roots were back on track and rode the night to a rump-shaking close. ![]() Erykah Badu), and it shouldn’t be the last, as it set a mood of serenity while elevating its singer to rawer-than-usual heights. Saturday’s jam wasn’t the first Picnic where the Roots closed on R&B’s tip (e.g. Joining with the back-to-back smooth groove of “Love No Limit (Remix)” and “Mary Jane (All Night Long),” Blige’s soulful, modulating flow wound through the night’s end like a sultry breeze. Running through a hypnotic brass-and-reed-driven megamix of instant funk, Manu Dibango and Kool & the Gang riffs gave the Roots immediate command of the crowd. Thank Quest’s directorial debut, “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised),” and its Oscar documentary victory, and Thought’s work as an actor, virtually (“Waiting for Godot”) and Off Broadway (“Black No More”), for bringing more prestige to the ensemble. To go with its extended family feel, 2022’s Picnic marked 35 years of collaboration between the Roots’ co-founders, rapper-lyricist Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter and drummer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, two men at different stages in their life than when they started. That it’s currently held on a lawn, the Mann Center’s bucolic Fairmount Park, gives the now-two-day event a familial picnic vibe. Blige, for night one’s closer – but much had changed since its start. ![]() Cole’s Dreamville in North Carolina, Jay-Z’s Made in America in Philly, H.E.R.’s Cali-based Lights On and anything Travis Scott may do in the future as the blueprint.įourteen years later, for 2022’s iteration of the Roots Picnic on Saturday and Sunday, the extended ensemble delivered again - this time, backing the original queen of hip-hop-laced R&B, Mary J. As the first, ongoing, hip hop-artist-curated fest, the Roots Picnic predates J. The inaugural fest was a one-day affair near the City of Brotherly Love’s downtown, with its greatest highlight being hip-hop’s mightiest live band backing legacy rap and R&B artists such as Snoop Dogg, Erykah Badu and De La Soul, giving each vocalist a raw, inventive new energy. In 2008, on a pier beside Philly’s Delaware River, the Roots started what would become an annual live gathering, the Roots Picnic.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |