Watch The Roots and Bilal's Fiery, Funky 'Tiny Desk Concert' Performance
Tiny Desk never felt this big
I always assumed that The Roots never made way to a Tiny Desk Concert simply based on the scale of their crew. A dozen-plus players would have hard time tucking behind Bob Boilen's venerable desk at NPR HQ.
WATCH: Lin-Manuel Miranda Freestyle with The Roots on The Tonight Show
No strangers to making the impossible seam at least feasible, the Philly legends made at least this writer rescind the notion, storming the makeshift stage in the latest installment of NPR's beloved performance series. With a 12-piece horn section in tow and Bilal holding down the hook, The Roots made their Tiny Desk debut an unforgettable moment for those on either end of the screen.
WATCH: The Roots and The Dallas POPS Orchestra's Night of Symphonic Hip-Hop Concert in Full
Questlove leads the meaty horn section to the stage, prepping the crowd with a very JBs warm-up ("Gimme Some More" circa '72 at The Apollo.) After five or so minutes of vamping, Bilal and Black Thought join to perform a soaring and spirited take on their latest collaboration "It Ain't Fair," off the soundtrack to the 2017 film, Detroit.
Watch The Roots and Bilal conquer Tiny Desk above and hit the link below to scoop your copy of the Detroit soundtrack, featuring appearances from Marvin Gaye, The Dramatics, Martha Reeves, John Coltraneand more.