Ravinia 2024 Issue 5

THE ROOTS Originating as the duo of rapper and MC Black Thought and drummer Questlove, The Roots became a major underground attraction in their native Philadelphia. As the group expanded, so did its reach, earning an invite to play across Eu- rope. The Roots cut a disc dubbed Organix to sell at these shows, and soon the buzz led to a re- cord deal with the DGC arm of Universal. Their first disc, 1995’s Do You Want More?!!!??! , quick- ly reached a broad audience, and The Roots cracked Billboard ’s top 40 with 1996’s Illadelph Halflife , which included their first top-40 sin- gle, “What They Do,” featuring Raphael Saadiq. Things heated up again with 1999’s Things Fall Apart , the top-five, platinum-selling hit that fea- tured Grammy winner “You Got Me,” co-writ- ten with Jill Scott and featuring Erykah Badu and Eve. Phrenology followed in 2002, earning a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album like its predecessor. A series of jam sessions formed 2004’s The Tipping Point , which featured the Grammy-nominated tracks “Star” and “Don’t Say Nuthin’.” A new deal with Def Jam resulted in the politically conscious albums Game Theory (2006) and Rising Down (2008), both of which were readily embraced. In 2009, The Roots be- came the house band for Jimmy Fallon’s late- night show, but the new, regular gig didn’t eat into their creative energy. How I Got Over (2010) retained the political overtones of the previous records but was more subdued, a reflection of the recent change in leadership. Their collab- orative disc with John Legend, Wake Up! , was similarly motivated, featuring mostly covers of lesser-known classic soul music, including their Grammy-winning rendition of “Hang On In There” by Mike James Kirkland. The Roots then worked with Miami soul legend Betty Wright on Betty Wright: The Movie (2011) and released the concept album Undun , telling a story of (unsuc- cessful) redemption. The pattern repeated with Wise Up Ghost , a duet project with Elvis Costel- lo, arriving in 2013 and the self-destruction con- cept album ...And Then You Shoot Your Cousin following in 2014, the same year the followed Fallon to The Tonight Show . Recently, Questlove and Black Thought were executive producers of the acclaimed AMC docu-series Hip-Hop: The Songs That Shook America . The Roots previously appeared at Ravinia in 2018 and 2021. DIGABLE PLANETS Digable Planets burst onto the music scene in 1993 with their Grammy-winning single “Re- birth of Slick (Cool Like Dat).” Made up of Ish- mael Butler (“Butterfly”), Craig Irving (“Doo- dlebug”), and Mary Ann Vieira (“Ladybug Mecca”), the trio carved out a unique style of jazz-informed hip-hop. Shortly after, Digable Planets followed up with their debut album, Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space) , an ambitious offering that Pitchfork praised as “a world within a world, complete with its own language and monuments.” The group celebrat- ed the 30th anniversary of Reachin’ in 2023. Melding jazz samples and complex rhymes that touched on everything from the nuances of city life (“Where I’m From”) to abortion rights (“La Femme Fetal”), Reachin’ was a rich and vibrant artistic statement as well as a huge commercial success, notching RIAA Gold-certified sales. Digable Planets immediately followed up with Blowout Comb in 1994, a bold and colorful med- itation on Black liberation. While the album did not initially reach the immediate commercial successes of Reachin’ , the album has aged beau- tifully, influencing future generations of hip-hop heads, young jazz musicians, and Afrofutur- ists. The trio spent the 2000s establishing their own individual creative voices between But- ler’s Cherrywine and Shabazz Palaces projects, Mecca’s work with BROOKZILL!, and Irving as “Cee Knowledge” leading Cee Knowledge & The Cosmic Funk Orchestra. In 2015, the group embarked upon a string of wildly successful live shows and has been very active as a tight tour- ing unit ever since. In 2017, they released Di- gable Planets Live , a live album that showcases many gems from the group’s catalog as well as the trio’s skill at rocking the crowd with a live band. A pioneering act that continues to cast a wide-ranging, genre-bending influence, Digable Planets have left an indelible mark on music. More than 30 years after their debut, their mu- sic still shines, and the iconic group continues to bring their celebrated stage show to excited crowds around the world. Digable Planets are making their Ravinia debut. ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT It’s been 30 years since the world of hip-hop, then dominated by the rapid growth of gangsta rap, was delivered an antidote of defiant lyrics of hope from the Southern style of Arrested Devel- opment and their landmark 1992 debut album, 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life of… . Everything about the record seemingly struck a nerve, as the group became the first (and still only) hip hop artist to be awarded Best New Art- ist honors at the Grammys, additionally being named Band of the Year by Rolling Stone maga- zine, as well as recognized with an NAACP Im- age Award, a Soul Train Music Award, and two MTV awards. The four-times platinum album was a top-10 smash hit on multiple Billboard charts and internationally, also yielding three gold-selling, top-10 singles, including “People Everyday.” The anthemic, prayer-like song “Ten- nessee” earned the Grammy Award for Best Rap Single and has since been named among the 500 songs that shaped rock music by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Arrested Development high- lighted issues of homelessness with the single “Mr. Wendal,” and the group ultimately donated half of their royalty earnings from the track to the National Coalition for the Homeless. Just a few months after the album’s release, Spike Lee asked Arrested Development to write a song (“Revolution”) for his biopic about Malcom X. In 1994, the group followed up with Zingalama- duni , which garnered another Grammy nomi- nation, but mainstream hip hop surged against their peaceful brand, and they went into hiatus. Revitalized with a new lineup, Arrested Devel- opment returned in 2000 with Heroes of the Har- vest and regularly expanded their discography with Among the Trees (2004), Since the Last Time (2006), Strong (2010), Standing at the Crossroads (2012), Changing the Narrative (2016), This Was Never Home (2016), and Craft & Optics (2018) until the passing of longtime member Baba Oje in 2018. That same year, group founder and lead vocalist Speech released two documentaries: the miniseries Hoodwinked ( The Ni#@a Factory ) and 16 Bars . Following Don’t Fight Your Demons (2020), Arrested Development returned with For The FKN Love (2021), featuring Big Daddy Kane, The Sugar Hill Gang, and more in guest spots. Arrested Development is making its Ra- vinia debut. RAVINIA.ORG  • RAVINIAMAGAZINE 69 TODD&SARAMCPHETRIDGE(ARRESTED)