Black Thought Wants the Right Sneaker Collab for the Right Reason

Image via Reebok

I was doing some research on the original Human Rights Now! concert and the history of it. I noticed that they did a stop in Philadelphia in September of 1988. Do you have any memories of that?

I vaguely remember when the Human Rights Now! concert came through Philly. I just remember there were some big names, Bruce Springsteen and Sting, and artists of that caliber of the day. It was compelling to see the artists collectively come together in the name of what they saw as their civic duty and responsibility as artists and responsibility as role models. The power and influence they recognized put them in a really unique position. I feel like this is part of a trend that, it didn’t begin in the ‘80s, but I first noticed as a young person in the ‘80s. People coming together, artists coming together for one sort of common cause, à la “We Are the World,” and stuff like that.

One thing I noticed about the campaign is that a lot of the themes and a lot of the things that it’s pushing, they feel like they’re just as relevant and important today as they were back in the ‘80s. I wanted to kind of get your view on the way some things have progressed in a good way since then and some of the aspects that you think still need the most work.

I think what’s good is that we are still here. Society is still here. The people are sort of are still here and pressing on. The sad truth, the hard truth is that before we were in the midst of this global COVID pandemic, there were all sorts of other global pandemics that existed: ongoing crisis poverty, police violence, overmilitarization, and the list goes on and on. That’s the sad truth of it.

I feel like very much has changed, much more has not. That’s why organizations like Human Rights Now! and RISE and so many for-profit and nonprofit organizations that exist still have so much important work to do.

Absolutely. I’ve been listening to The Roots’ music probably since the mid-’90s. I know one thing that sticks out to me [in the music] is there’s always those themes of social and racial justice. When you seek out a collaborative partner or when someone comes to you with a pitch, is it important that their mission statement and their values align with what you do?

It depends. For me, it’s a delicate balance. Though I want to be held in the same regard and sort of seen in the same light as like-minded activists and artists who were cut from a certain cloth, I also want to lend dimension and range to what it is that I do. I don’t only want to be sort of pigeonholed into only making music that is “conscious” or that is informative in that way. Though very much of my body of work has spoken to the current state of the nation and of the world, and whatever sort of space I’m moving in at that point in time, there’s also an element that is just a homage to the foundation, or the principles of hip-hop and sort of that from which it came. There’s an element of that.

Some of the people that I work with, I work with because they inspire me and my career. Or there’s some parallels, there’s some common grain that we share as artists or in the creative process. There’s also people who, it just feels natural to work with, and I’ll work with those artists as well. Whoever I work with, I like for it to happen in an organic manner. I don’t really [like] contrived, sort of thrown-together relationships specifically for the sake of trying to figure out that hit record or whatever. I’m always able to sort of see right through it.

You would say you have that approach when it comes to dealing with brands as well, like in the footwear and the fashion space?

I do. I try to. Again, it boils down to that delicate balance. We have families to feed. So, I’m definitely looking for the work. There’s very much to be taken into consideration when we’re thinking about the partnership with a brand, or a collaboration between The Roots brand or Black Thought brand and someone else. Yeah, it’s important. What their agenda is, what it has been, what it’s become, what’s the purpose of whatever it is that’s being done. It’s all important to me.

For sure. I want to end things on a little bit of a lighter note. Could we expect a Black Thought x Reebok sneaker? What would that look like if there was one?

I’m not sure what it would look like. You could expect it. Who’s to say? Never say never. I’d be open to working with Reebok in that way. Again, in an organic manner. It’s got to be the right shoe and for the right reason.

I’ve got one more for you, an of-the-moment question. How much of a problem do you think The Roots would be in a Verzuz battle, and do you have any ideal opponent?

I don’t know, man. I don’t think there’s any ideal opponent for The Roots. I think we covered so much ground, just creatively and musically. There’s just elements of everything that exist in The Roots. So, it’s weird. I don’t know. I can’t really see ourselves doing a Verzuz against any artists of the day, or even from our graduating class [and] on. It’s just super specific what it is that we do.

As far as being a problem, I think yes, we will be a problem in any competition, any sort of sound clash, be it Verzuz or whatever you want to call it. I think the musicians in The Roots are pretty much at the top of their field, like Questlove. From Questlove to Ray Angry, James Poyser, Kirk Douglas, Mark Kelley, Stro Elliot, everybody. These are all the best guys at what they do. I’m also one of the best, a top-tier artist for what it is that I do. No matter what you call the competition or any sort of a battle of the bands, that has something to do with The Roots, we would be problematic.