10 Non-Hip-Hop Artists We'd Like To See The Roots Make An Album With

The Roots already have an album with Elvis Costello, we got to thinking about who else they could work with.

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Complex Original

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Few things in life are less surprising than the fact that The Roots once partnered with John Legend on an album. It was an musical pairing with all the adventurousness of ketchup-on-fries- experiment. Much more intriguing is the prospect of Wise Up Ghost, the collaborative album the world's premier rap band made with Elvis Costello, which drops today. Who knows what the hell this audio-Sharknado is going to sound like?

Sometimes the best kind of collaboration is an unlikely one. Think Afrika Bambaataa and Johnny Rotten on "World Destruction" or Thom Yorke and Flying Lotus on "… And The World Laughs With You." Of course, not all such stylistic collisions end up listenable—lest we forget the still-hilarious joke that is Chris Cornell and Timbaland's "Scream" or the Blade 2 soundtrack (which forced Ice Cube and Paul Oakenfold to sonically scissor each other.)

The Roots were on that soundtrack too, though, and they emerged unscathed because their song with electro producer BT is a testament to their mutability. Here are 10 other non hip-hop artists the venerable band should consider making albums with, to push the boundaries of their shape-shifting ever further.

Written by Joe Berkowitz (@JoeBerkowitz)

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