Photograph by Platon

I rarely listen to rap or hip hop or whatever you kids are calling genres these days. These two genres tend to be very beat driven and I am more of a rhythm kind of girl. I still appreciate good rap and hip hop, don't get me wrong. I just don't really seek it out or sit and listen to whole albums.

The Roots might be an exception for me.

I've listened to them a few times in the past. Coworkers have turned on one of their songs, I watch Jimmy Fallon, etc. I remember always enjoying their music and thinking I should listen to them more but I never did.

The other day I was reading an interview with the Roots' drummer, Ahmir Khalib Thompson (or Questlove for short) in one of my favorite magazines, Vanity Fair. (Maybe you've heard of it?) It was a great interview and at the end, he said something really interesting.

"... I think when it scares parents it's doing something right. Frank Zappa scared parents. If it's not scaring parents, then I don't think it's worth anything."

That really intrigued me. Made me think. What's scaring parents right now? Is it scaring me? Is it actually good, then? So many questions.

Then I had to listen to them. So I got on Spotify and listened to their new albums. Guys, it's great. You should all listen to the Roots. They have a fantastic way of melding rock and hip hop. We could all learn something from the Roots.