The Roots went all out to perform their new single, Dear God 2.0, with the help of Jim James and an orchestra last night on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.  Pretty epic performance right here.  How I Got Over is in stores this Tuesday, and on iTunes Sunday night at midnight.

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One of the highlights of this year’s The Roots Picnic festival was a rare performance by the MMJBz (Black Thought, STS, P.O.R.N., Truck North and Dice Raw).  In fact, this was only their 3rd performance as a collective ever, but they all performed as a well oiled machine.  MMJBz ripped it, with all 5 of them blacking out for 35 min and we even get a special appearance by Peedi Crakk at the end.  Here’s our exclusive recording of the set.

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John Legend’s new album, Wake Up, which is entirely produced and recorded with The Roots, is coming this September.  They have performed  together at a few shows this year and one of these occasions was this weekend in Philly, the night before The Roots Picnic at The World Cafe. In this epic set, JL and The Roots cover Roberta Flack, Curtis Mayfield, Teddy Pendergrass, Bill Withers and Donny Hathaway among others, with Black Thought adding in some rhymes.  Here’s a soundboard recording of the show.

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Amanda Diva headlined a show at Highline Ballroom this week and brought out some friends for a cipher on stage while her band played some classic hip-hop beats.  Miss Diva was joined by the young and talented Esso, Donny Goines, Skyzoo and Daytona, who all ripped the mic.  Next, Black Thought emerged on to the stage and absolutely smashed it.  Here is our exclusive audio of the cipher, plus Amanda Diva performing “SupaWoman” and “Devils” with Styles P from the show as well.  Also check out video of Amanda and Black Thought doing a rendition of “You Got Me”, all after the jump.

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Back in 2007, The Roots took the VH1 Hip Hop Honors on the road, with the help of Big Daddy Kane and MC Lyte.  It was one of my favorite tours from The Legendary as they did nothing but hip-hop classics all night long.  One of their covers was the Gang Starr staple, “Just To Get A Rep”.  The Roots crew nailed the beat and Black Thought brandished a slow flow that would have earned the respect of the master of the slow flow himself, Guru.  Here’s the flawless cover of a timeless hip-hop classic.

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Back in 2000, The Roots embarked on an Okayplayer Tour with Reflection Eternal, Slum Village, Bahamdia and Guru among others.  It was amazing to hear Guru perform backed by The Roots.  As we continue to honor the memory of Guru, here’s another great gem from the Okayplayer Tour 2000 stop in Phoenix, AZ.  Setlist and download after the jump.

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