Roots to play Olympia

Philadelphia band The Roots were one of the stars of Witnness 2003. Now, they bring their live hip-hop show to Dublin for a rare Irish date at The Olympia on Monday, August 30.

Last year saw The Roots perform Lose Yourself with Eminem at the Grammy Awards, and joined Jay-Z when he went live for his unplugged MTV special.

They won a Grammy for their collaboration with Erykah Badu, You Got Me, in 2000, and produced one of the most memorable hip hop albums of the last few years in Phrenology.

Now, they’re back with a brand new LP – their sixth studio album – The Tipping Point which went straight in at number four in the US Billboard charts upon its release last month.

The Tipping Point is named after the Malcolm Gladwell book of the same name. The album cover features the photo of then street thug Malcolm Little, later known as Malcolm X.

Speaking about making the album, drummer, producer and Philadelphia figurehead ?uestlove says: “This time we invited half the music world to join us.

“People who didn’t even make the record. Everyone from Pharrell and Chad (aka The Neptunes/NERD), to Bilal and Musiq were there to motivate us, and to have jam sessions to take the songs into different directions.

“For example, as a group of musicians playing together, sometimes you need a singer to direct you and, I tell you, Alma Horton (Philly-based singer on 4 Hero’s Hold It Down) was a great coach…”

Tickets for The Roots are €34.50 (including booking fee) and are available from Road, Soundcellar, Ticketmaster and usual outlets nationwide.