South Philly to Shanghai

Questlove, Black Thought, Kamal, Hub, Knuckles, and Captain Kirk aka The Legendary Roots Crew are heading to China to play 2 shows (hat tip to That's Beijing blog). While Jay-Z claims he "does not lose," he lost when it came to Chinese censors who gave Jigga his 100th problem (since he's already burdened with 99, get it? get it? okay, too cheesy!). Hopefully The Roots won't face similar programs. The shows will be April 16th in Shanghai and the 17th in Beijing. If you are lucky enough to be in either of those cities, definitely check out these shows. Even if you aren't a hip hop fan, The Roots are amazing performers and you'll come away having gotten your money's worth.

Spanning hip hop, rock, jazz, reggae, The Roots are true showmen. Here's a sample from a BBC performance (I believe?) from a few years back: