Jimmy Fallon Stalked the Roots Until They Agreed to Be His House Band

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While other late-night shows have changed bands over time, The Roots have been Jimmy Fallon’s house band since he started hosting Late Night in 2009, and they continued when he moved to The Tonight Show in 2014. The band, including Questlove and Black Thought, are known for their playful presence on the show. Black Thought recently told Rolling Stone that Fallon specifically wanted The Roots, citing his love of music and the Beastie Boys, who first brought the band on tour and helped them learn the ropes.

So, apparently Jimmy Fallon was really keen on having The Roots as his house band way before The Late Night Show even premiered – like, a full year before! I read in Rolling Stone that he kept approaching Black Thought, initially we all thought he was just messing around. But he was persistent. Seriously, he’d show up at random gigs, just pop into our dressing room and reiterate how serious he was about wanting us on the show. Black Thought said he was incredibly dedicated, constantly pitching the idea. It was a weird time for us, right after working on Dave Chappelle’s show, and things felt uncertain, so the idea of a steady gig was appealing. We just didn’t want it to mean the end of The Roots as we knew it. Redman pointed out it was a huge win for hip-hop and our culture, which I totally agree with. Though, honestly, the best part would’ve been if we were allowed to throw in one totally off-the-wall question at the end of every show!

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2025-10-21 20:53