The Roots Treat Fans To Relaunch Of YouTube Channel Featuring Exclusive Weekly Content

Questlove and Black Thought of The Roots
Jack Plunkett / Invision / AP – Questlove and Black Thought of The Roots
The Roots’ Questlove and Black Thought perform at 800 Congress during SXSW in Austin, Texas, March 18.

With the touring industry on hold because of COVID-19, including The Roots’ Picnic postponed from May 30 to Aug. 1, the band members have used the downtime to cook up something else special to entertain fans who are sheltering in place at home. The Roots announced April 6 a lineup of custom content on its YouTube channel, with content created by the group and produced by their production company, TwoOne Five Entertainment, in partnership with Live Nation Urban. 

“Call it new normal. Call it paradigm shift. Up until 3 weeks ago I didn’t even know we had an active @Youtube community like that lol—-welp….here it is the official YOUTUBE re-launching of @TheRoots channel,” Questlove posted on Instagram Monday. 
He added in a statement, “While we are daily trying to figure out ways for us to play as a group while practicing social distancing, we are always thinking of new ways to be creative and leaving our comfort zone. This week we are featuring gems from my Questove Supreme Podcast, Black Thought, James Poyser and Kirk Douglas. We just hope people will follow and subscribe and we will keep the treats coming.”   
This week’s schedule kicks off Monday, April 6 featuring “Behind The Keys with James Poyser” (Episode 1: Mariah Carey); “Guitar Stories With Captain Kirk” (Episode 1: Bruce Springstreen) and Questlove Supreme Podcast Archive: Team Supreme. Each day this week will wrap with a live DJ set from Questlove at 6 pm PST / 9 pm EST, with April 6’s edition called “Mish Mosh Music Mondays.” 
The DJ and drummer extraordinaire is encouraging listeners to donate to Food Hub, which is providing meals to New York City-based students who depend on assistance and who no longer have access because of the impact of coronavirus. 
“Let’s party. But let’s also help our fellow man. ANY AMOUNT can help,” The Roots’ YouTube page notes.  

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Content on The Roots’ YouTube page during this time will include short form storytelling, live conversations, performances and podcasts focused around The Roots’ members. In the weeks to come, the group will add content featuring other influential artists, authors and creatives. 
“After we made the decision to postpone The Roots Picnic, there was a major creative void as usually we spend the months of April and May on phone calls and in countless meetings planning the various aspects of the event. We built this idea for a content rich channel after seeing the immediate success of Questlove’s virtual DJ sets,” said Shawn Gee, Roots manager and President of Live Nation Urban. 
“Our goal is to build a variety of content across our channel, curated through our lens, initially focused on the members of the band, but eventually opening it up to the larger creative community.”

Visit The Roots’ YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbZwpdul2Oa5Fl6hxllcSzA