Tariq and ?uest met in the Philadelphia High School for Creative 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.
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 more towards a more political style infused with battle raps.
After Malik B. left the group due to drug issues, 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.
Black Thought was in the process of recording a solo album, but the project was shelved when it was realized the effort would not assist the group in their release from their contract with MCA Records. Some of the songs he had recorded were eventually released as tracks on The Roots' album Phrenology. He is working on a collaborative project with producer Danger Mouse (which, according to XXL magazine, is tentatively being called Dangerous Thoughts), as well as a Gangsta Grillz mixtape with DJ Drama. He is still a core member of The Roots. He has also been a member of two production teams, Grand Negaz and The Grand Wizzards.
The Roots latest album Game Theory shows a more introspective side of Black Thought and is the "darkest" Roots album to date.
Twofifteen
Black Thought Lyrics
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Yo
The big wheel keep turnin' like ice and animes
The church kitchen hustle dinners every Saturday
Pull over, let me grab a plate
I tend to gravitate
Towards, our fish dinners from a styrofoam platter, taste
Hustlin' for everything we had 'til he passed away
When I would ask about what path to take
He used to laugh and say
No man is an island but I'm a castaway
Casualties, I seen 'em like the French Foreign Legion
On the streets, they used to carry out bizarre procedures
In jean jackets and Jabbar Adidas
Back when local R&B was just as soulful as orthopedics
Me and my man twistin' up some reefer and
Wishin' we knew On The Town
Hitman in the lights of sand Christian
On the edge of existence man, listen
Understand, respect and fear was the all-American ambition
For badass kids in the laundromat, foldin' a load
Well lo and behold, a whole 'nother fork in the road
My wish for them is that the truth is eventually told
Out on the corner, where whatever you can sell is sold
I heard murder ran a vast deserted land
Since back when Burning Man
Was blacks in Birmingham
Before the presidential election diversion scam
Matter fact, before they clapped Franz Ferdinand
You gossip on Jay and Beyonce or Kim and Kanye
But keep risin' to the top what my mind say
Picture my daughter drinkin' water with a sign
Say for colored girls, I ain't talkin' Ntozake Shange
Who said in Senegal, I was a king and general
Rich in every resource
Precious metal and mineral
Before the devil entered the land of the plentiful
With that Jamaican funk, gotta get it into who for generations
Under God, indivisible, sike, war, patience
Vampires in a interview
Book come institutionalized what a nigga do
But what we had to do to survive, none o' them could do
Who the technical culprit
I don't mess with no vultures
I'm electrical voltage, not the regular dosage
Too obsessive compulsive, I'm a fuckin' explosive
Mixed message in a bottle I left with the postman
I'm that arachnophobia, black petroleum
Ceremoniously holy, when at the podium
Even though it's hotter than weapons grade plutonium
The people try'na check for the return of the Ichiban
Obi-Wan universe, you owe me own solid
My homie Gonzalez only know gun violence
On the corner, where they probably on they 21 Savage
Catch two in your cabbage young Cesar Chavez
Revision one, yo, where we get our rhythm from
Continuum, still swingin' like a pendulum
Here the women come, sing it, like Sarah Vaughan
Heard 9th up in a house, from North Carilon'
Ain't no mannequin challenge, but y'all paralyzed
It's gettin' cold outside, a word from the wise
Y'all niggas better bundle up
But I bet it be a hotter summer not for nothin'
Yo, the cops get down, especially when it come to us
Nigga better be a Rockefeller get that out your pocket, fella
Sayin' a capella ain't a damn thing really changed
As far as I can tell it
Another soul with no name
The helicopters hunted
Look like a couple o' days
Before the doctor comin'
But that's my little cousin, watch him for me
I think the world try'na sock it to me
It kinda feel like everything is out of pocket for me
Who keep it a hundred when everythin is partial
Dignity and sanity is what the game cost you
Wake up to the battles on your chest
We had lost you
I'm just paintin' a picture like Kerry James Marshall
I'm just takin' a picture like Carrie Mae Weems
So smile and say cheese
We in 2018
In a pyramid scheme
Nightmares and day dreams
From the runaway slave
To a modern day king
The lyrics of Black Thought's song "Twofifteen" are reflective of his upbringing, the struggles and the streets of Philadelphia. The song opens with the mention of the "big wheel" turning and relates it to the cycle of life which "keeps turning like ice and animes". From there, Black Thought speaks about his childhood and mentions the Church kitchen hustle with fish dinners every Saturday. His mention of gravitating towards his favorite food from a styrofoam platter speaks to his simplicity and straightforward attitude, which represents the essence of the community he comes from.
He talks about his grandfather playing Donny Hathaway and hustling for everything they had until he died. Black Thought highlights how he has seen casualties in his life. That's why he understands that there is no better teacher than tribulation. His grandfather laughed every time he asked what path to take, saying that "no man is an island but I'm a castaway." Black Thought then reflects on how he has seen bizarre procedures carried out on the street and how his community had to hustle to survive. He talks about local R&B being as soulful as orthopedics but wishes that the truth be told eventually one day, out on the corner, where whatever everyone can sell is sold.
Throughout the song, Black Thought's lyrics touch on a range of subjects: from his community's struggles with violence and drugs to racial discrimination and being a father. He speaks out against the diversion of scams and corruption before Jim Crow and before they clapped Franz Ferdinand while the mainstream media focuses on gossip about celebrities like Jay and Beyonce or Kim and Kanye. He mentions the return of the Ichiban and asks "yo, where we get our rhythm from? Continuum, still swingin' like a pendulum" as he acknowledges his own and his community's resilience over the years.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Daniel Marcel Popp, Dwight Grant, Justin Gregory Smith, Leslie Pridgen, Patrick Douthit, Shawn C. Carter, Skip Scarborough, Tarik Trotter
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind