Expect young hood nikkas to give a fukk about The Roots, brehs
I’m willing to bet even back during their heyday in the 90’s, young hood nikkas in Philly weren’t even checking for The Roots like that aside from prolly Black Thought himself. Most of them hood and street dudes in Philly were prolly more into the likes of Mobb Deep, Wu-Tang, Heltah Skeltah, Smif-n-Wessen, M.O.P., Showbiz & AG, 2Pac, Nas, Biggie, rising local underground talent such as Beanie Siegel and Memphis Bleek, etc.
The Roots were prolly more appreciated by the type of crowd who were more into Afrocentric/blipster/artsy/bohemian/alternative kind of Hip Hop such as A Tribe Called Quest, Souls of Mischief, De La Soul, Common, Bahamadia, The Pharcyde, Arrested Development, etc.