We got some good news from hip hop luminaries The Roots this week (December 9th). The multi-platinum, Grammy-winning group announced their return to the iconic Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, CA, with A Roots Picnic Experience: Class of ’95, hosted by Live Nation Urban and the LA Phil. Taking place on Sunday, June 8th, the one-night-only concert special will feature a lineup of A-list talent who made 1995 a year to remember in hip-hop history including Method Man & Redman, Lil’ Kim, E-40, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Raekwon, DJ Quik, Goodie Mob, Havoc of Mobb Deep and more. The Roots will headline A Roots Picnic Experience: Class of ’95 and serve as the backing band for all guest performances. Continue reading to check out a gallery of the biggest hits from this year’s performers.
A Roots Picnic Experience: Class of ’95 follows last summer’s sold-out Roots Picnic: Hip-Hop is the Love of My Life at Hollywood Bowl, which saw the band bring their iconic Roots Picnic experience and curation of artists to the West Coast for the first time. Roots Picnic: Hip-Hop is the Love of My Life featured special performances by The Roots, Queen Latifah, Common, Digable Planets, Arrested Development and more iconic acts that have helped define the genre over the last half century. The upcoming Roots Picnic Experience: Class of ’95 continues to build upon the renowned music festival, which Rolling Stone hails as “Hip-Hop’s Greatest Festival,” promising show stopping performances, The Roots’ signature jam sessions and surprises throughout the evening.
On A Roots Picnic Experience: Class of ’95, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson commented, “Well: 1995 was our true arrival. Nineteen eighty-seven was the Year of the Creative Adhesive, the year that tied together Tariq’s world and my world in high school, and 1991 was the Year of the Green Light, the year we gave ourselves permission to take our resources and passion and pursue our dream. But 1995? That was the Year It All Came Together, the year when our first major release, “Do You Want More?!!!??!” was sent into the world. Hip-hop was an entirely new ballgame back then, on an entirely new playing field. Those were the days when there were still things like mainstream terrestrial radio, bloated video budgets, and creativity at both the regional and the global levels. Those were the days that produced classic album after classic album, unleashing countless new ideas about art. Those were the days when the world was our oyster. This is the story of those days.”
Since launching in 2007, The Roots Picnic has stood at the crossroads of music and culture, entertaining, engaging and enlightening millions of fans along the way. Its dynamic lineups have included everyone from The Weeknd, Pharrell, Snoop Dogg, Usher, Nas, A$AP Rocky, Sexxy Red and Future to Vampire Weekend, Phantogram, The War On Drugs, Jill Scott, Gary Clark, Jr., Solange, Diplo, Gnarls Barkley and much more. “Roots Picnic” isn’t just a cornerstone of the group’s career, but a cornerstone of the culture. Curated by The Roots co-founders Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, A Roots Picnic Experience: Class of ’95 once again expands The Roots and Live Nation Urban’s collective production efforts to the West Coast’s hallowed Hollywood Bowl.
Tickets go on sale Wednesday, December 11th at 10 am PT at hollywoodbowl.com. Stay tuned for more news and announcements about A Roots Picnic Experience: Class of ’95 and The Roots! Check out a gallery highlighting this year’s performers with some of their biggest hits!
1. The Roots – What They Do
Source:The Roots
2. The Roots ft. Erykah Badu – You Got Me
Source:The Roots
3. Lil Kim & 50 Cent – Magic Stick
Source:Real Hip Hop Lyrics
4. Keyshia Cole ft. Missy Elliott & Lil Kim – Let It Go
Source:keyshiacole
5. Lil Kim ft. Missy Elliott, Da Brat, Left Eye, Angie Martinez – Not Tonight (Ladies Night Remix)
Source:UPROXX
6. Lil Kim – The Jumpoff
Source:Atlantic Records
7. Christina Aguilera, Lil Kim, Mya & Pink – Lady Marmalade
Source:Christina Aguilera
8. Lil Kim – Lighters Up
Source:Atlantic Records
9. Mobb Deep – Got It Twisted
Source:Mobb Deep
10. 50 Cent ft. Mobb Deep – Outta Control
Source:50 Cent
11. Mobb Deep – Shook Ones Part II
Source:Mobb Deep
12. Raekwon – Incarcerated Scarfaces/Ice Cream
Source:Raekwon
13. Raekwon ft. Ghostface Killah, Method Man, Cappadonna – Ice Cream
Source:Raekwon
14. Raekwon – Glaciers Of Ice
Source:Raekwon
15. Raekwon – Crimonology
Source:Raekwon
16. E-40 – Tell Me When To Go
Source:Warner Records
17. E-40 ft. T-Pain & Kandi Girl – U And Dat
Source:Warner Records
18. Lil Jon ft. E-40 & Sean Paul of the Youngbloodz – Snap Yo Fingers
Source:Radial by The Orchard
19. Big Sean ft. E-40 – I Don’t F*ck With You
Source:Big Sean
20. Goodie Mob – Cell Therapy
Source:Goodie Mob
21. Goodie Mob – Soul Food
Source:Goodie Mob
22. Goodie Mob ft. Outkast – Black Ice (Sky High)
Source:Goodie Mob
23. DJ Quik – Tonite
Source:djquik
24. DJ Quik – Pitch In On A Party
Source:djquik
25. DJ Quik – Dollaz + Sense
Source:djquik
26. DJ Quik – Safe + Sound
Source:djquik
27. DJ Quik – Jus Lyke Compton
Source:djquik
28. Redman & Method Man – How High
Source:UPROXX
29. Redman & Method Man – How High Part II
Source:UPROXX
30. D’Angelo ft. Redman & Method Man – Left & Right
Source:D’Angelo
31. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony ft. Akon – I Tried
Source:BoneThugsMusic
32. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony – Look Into My Eyes
Source:Brain Ghost
33. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony – Tha Crossroads
Source:BoneThugsMusic
34. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony – 1st Of Tha Month
Source:BoneThugsMusic
35. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony – Thuggish Ruggish Bone
Source:BoneThugsMusic