The Roots Announce Plans for New Album

Assuming that the world is ready for an orchestral rap album, The Roots are planning to deliver.

Pushing the boundaries for decades now, the Philly-based musicians have never been apprehensive when it comes to trying their hands at a variety of genres —incorporating everything from pop collaborations to a variety of brass into their organic version of soulful hip-hop.

In the spirit of experimentation, the band, who is currently providing backing tunes nightly on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, has announced that their latest project will be their first full-fledged concept album, complete with beat-infused chamber music that drummer ?uestlove says was inspired by his work earlier this year with 18 classical musicians.

The Roots will be calling for assistance from a wide variety of musicians in order to craft the record, which ?uestlove explains to Billboard is a challenging departure from the collective’s previous albums, “It’s going to be a challenge to figure out how to get from point A to B — or in this case, point B to point A and have it seem natural.”

Both the album title and release date for the project are currently under wraps, and as for any hints regarding the timeline, ?uestlove says, “I don’t know, but hopefully it’s gonna be in a timely fashion.”

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