The Roots to Back Public Enemy Playing Nation of Millions at Philly Festival

(swiped from Pitchfork Media)

When Jimmy Fallon announced late last year that the venerable rap band the Roots would serve as the house band for his late night NBC talk show, he set off all sorts of alarm bells. The Roots arguably remain the most dependable live act in rap, and their last album, 2008's Rising Down, was a taught, simmering workout, a great sign that the band would remain adaptable in a changing rap climate. What, exactly, would they have to gain in playing backup for this giggling cheeseball?

Turns out we shouldn't have worried. Fallon's tenure on "Late Night" so far has been a bit awkward, but it's also been more consistently entertaining than anyone could've hoped, and the Roots are a huge part of the reason why. Fallon's found ways to integrate them completely into the fabric of the show, building bits around their limber chops. And when Ludacris stopped by the show, holy shit.

And even if the Roots aren't tearing up the road the way they did for years, it's not like they've put a stop to their regular activities. As we reported last month, they're still holding down a regular residency at New York's Highline Ballroom, bandleader ?uestlove has a regular DJ gig at (Le) Poisson Rouge, and, if ?uesto's Twitter is to be believed, they're also working on a new album called How I Got Over. If that wasn't enough, Billboard has just revealed the lineup of the band's second Roots Picnic festival, and it is no joke.

The Roots Picnic will go down on June 6 at Festival Pier in the band's native Philadelphia. The band will play two sets at the festival, opening and closing the festival. And as Billboard reports, along with Antibalas, they will also back Public Enemy-- another one of the greatest live rap groups ever-- as they do their masterpiece It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back in its entirety.

P.E. has done Nation of Millions straight through at a few previous shows, including last year's Pitchfork Music Festival, but they've never done it with the Roots playing behind them. Considering how hard both groups bring it live, it boggles the mind to think about what they'll be able to do together. At the very least, it'll be fun to see the Roots' human beatboxes replicate the Bomb Squad's siren noises.

As Billboard reports, on March 16, Public Enemy will also stop by "Late Night" to perform with the Roots, so we'll get some indication of how that'll sound.

The rest of the Picnic's lineup is also ridiculously strong. TV on the Radio, the Black Keys, and Santigold will all perform on the main stage. And as Billboard reports, so will the Pipes, a new band that apparently features both Lenny Kravitz's daughter Zoe and the great L.A. speed-rapper Busdriver. Should be weird! Two great old-school Philly DJs, Jazzy Jeff and Cash Money, will spin records between bands. There will also be a second stage with Asher Roth, Kid Cudi, Busdriver, Making Time, Back to Basics, and Writtenhouse.