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

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!







