The Roots Picnic Reaches New Heights In Philadelphia

Summer Concert Series
The Roots Picnic Reaches New Heights In Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA — More than 13,000 hip-hop fans braved and heat the usual festival conditions at 8th Annual Roots Picnic, held at Philadelphia’s Penn Landing.

This year’s performance lineup included some of today’s most popular hip-artists, including A$AP Rocky, Rae Sremmurd, The Weeknd, and of course, The Roots, who were joined onstage by long-time collaborator Erykah Badu.

The festival’s popularity is at an all-time high, as the sold-out show added two smaller stages that featured more up-and-coming artists in addition to the main stage which featured the larger acts.

Rae Sremmurd hoped on stage in the early afternoon. Brothers Swae Lee and Slim Jimmy, rocking the crowd with hits from the debut album, including “No Type” and “Throw Sum Mo.”

A$AP Rocky greeted his legions of followers by bringing out the A$AP Mob, who joined him in performing “Hella Hoes,” from the group’s unreleased debut studio album L.O.R.D., and “Lord Pretty Flacko Jodye 2,” a single from A$AP Rocky’s last album, At.Long.Last.A$AP. A$AP Rocky’s electric performance featured a tribute to A$AP Mob founder, A$AP Yams, who died in March from an accidental drug overdose.

The Weeknd next took the stage as night began to come. It seemed like perfect timing, as The Weeknd bought on night with such cult favorites as “The Morning,” and “The Zone,” in addition to his popular hits, including “Remember You,” from his collaboration with Wiz Khalifa, “Wicked Games,” and “Crew Love,” from his collaboration with Drake. He later rejoined the crowd to perform “Earned It” with the Roots performing the track.

With night upon the crowd, The Roots were ready to give their hometown crowd a memorable show. They started up to “Peace of Light” and moved on to “Game Theory” and “Star” before bringing out the electric Erykah Badu, who took the crowd to another level when she came out to “Window Seat,” before transitioning to the ever-fun “Woo.”

One highlight of the Badu/Roots performance was their extended medley for Badu’s classic hit “Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop).” After performing the song throughout, Badu continued with the chorus before The Roots transitioned to other classic hip-hops, including Wu-Tang Clan’s C.R.E.A.M., Nas’ “Made You Look,” and Kanye West’s “Gold Digger.” On the next chorus, the crowd got a surprise as Philadelphia’s own Freeway joined the group to perform his verse from “Roc Da Mic,” and receiving some hometown love from the crowd in the process.

West Coast rapper YG also joined Badu and The Roots to perform his hit “My Ni****.” The crowd also went in an uproar when The Lox were brought out as well to perform “It’s All About the Benjamins,” and “Money, Power, Respect.”
The night was truly memorable for those in attendance, who left to a performance of Badu and The Roots performing their classic collaboration “You Got Me.”

The Weeknd Performs “Remember You”

A$AP Mob Performs “Hella Hoes”

Erykah Badu Performs “Woo”