Loading details…
Artist
The Roots feat. Maimouna Youssef
12+ albums
Hip-Hop
about
The Roots, also known as The Legendary Roots Crew, The Fifth Dynasty, The Square Roots and The Foundation, are an influential, Grammy winning hip hop group based out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, famed for a heavily jazzy sound and live instrumentation. Inspired by the “hip-hop band” concept pioneered by Stetsasonic, the Roots themselves have garnered critical acclaim and influenced later hip-hop and R&B acts. Maimouna,Though raised on jazz and soul music, Youssef discovered hip-hop at an early age. "I used to have to MC so I could play with my older brother and his friends," she says. "They'd sit outside freestyling and beat-boxing, and I wasn't allowed outside because I was younger. I was 8 and he was 11, so I would practice rhyming so I could go outside and sit on the steps with them." Her basic education was as diverse as her musical one. She was homeschooled by her mother and aunt for most of her life, first in Baltimore and later in Virginia, where her family moved in 1997. She entered Washington's Duke Ellington School of the Arts two years later to hone her vocals. She graduated last June and spent the summer dabbling in filmmaking at the New York Film Academy, where she directed her first short film and music video. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
why this is interesting
# Why This Collaboration Warrants Your Attention This pairing represents a genuine meeting of minds rather than a commercial formula. The Roots' commitment to live musicianship aligns naturally with Youssef's jazz-rooted sensibility, creating space for lyrical exploration beyond typical genre boundaries. What distinguishes this work is its unhurried approach—the group allows ideas to develop across intricate instrumental arrangements while Youssef's voice becomes another instrument in conversation with the band. Rather than chasing trends, the project invites listeners into a deliberate creative process where hip-hop's narrative tradition merges with jazz's improvisational logic. The result feels both contemporary and timeless, suggesting how genre categories
top songs
1
Don't Feel Right
4,4702Don’t Feel Right
2293It Don't Feel Right
634Dont Feel Right
105Don't Feel Right [feat. Maimouna Youssef] [Explicit]
86Don't Feel Right (explicit) (full length)
37Don't Feel Right [Explicit] [feat. Maimouna Youssef]
28Don't Feel Right (Feat. Maimouna Youssef)
29Don't Feel Right (Prod. The Roots & Tahir Jamal)
210+
1albums
Game Theory
▥
Game Theory [Bonus Track]
▥
Hip Hop Dock Trine: The Official Boondocks Mixtape
▥
Def Jam 25th Anniversary (CD5_ 2004-2008)
▥
Bravo Black Hits, Vol.16
▥
Def Jam Recordings: 25th Anniversary
▥
Def Jam Recordings 25th Anniversary
▥
Game Theory [Explicit]
▥
18th Blues Fest 2007
▥
Def Jam 25: 2004-2008
▥
Def Jam Recordings 25th Anniversary [Disc Five: 2004//2008] (Ltd. Ed. 5 CD Box Set)
▥
Hip-Hop Dock-Trine: The Official Boondocks Mixtape