| Artist: | The Roots |
| Studio: | 14 |
| Singles: | 18 |
| Compilation: | 3 |
| Ep: | 2 |
| Live: | 2 |
| Music Videos: | 24 |
The discography of the Roots, an American hip hop band, consists of fourteen studio albums (including three collaborative studio albums), three compilation albums, two extended plays, and two live albums. The Roots began performing in 1989 as the Square Roots with rapper Black Thought and drummer Questlove. Rapper Malik B., and bassist Leonard Hubbard joined the band in 1991.[1] Over its history, Questlove and Black Thought have always remained with the Roots while their lineup of backing musicians has changed.
In 1993, the Roots debuted with independently released album Organix, and signed to DGC Records (later MCA Records) that same year. The Roots' debuted on Geffen with Do You Want More?!!!??!, an album that was unique in hip hop for using no sampling, and being embraced more by fans of alternative rock than fans of hip hop.[2] Do You Want More?!!!??! peaked at only number 104 on the Billboard 200 chart in the US. Illadelph Halflife, the third album by the Roots, peaked at number twenty-one on the Billboard 200. In 1999, the Roots' fourth album Things Fall Apart became the band's biggest success. The album was certified gold in the US,[3] and its single "You Got Me" peaked at number thirty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100, and number nineteen on the Hot Rap Tracks chart. "You Got Me" won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 2000.[4] In 2002, The Roots released Phrenology, which contained the band's second single to chart on the Hot 100. "Break You Off", which featured Musiq Soulchild, peaked at number ninety-nine.
The Roots founded the company Okayplayer, and released The Tipping Point in 2004.[2] In 2006, the Roots signed to Def Jam, and released Game Theory under Def Jam and Rising Down in 2008; the band's album How I Got Over was released in 2010. The Roots released two live concert albums, the first being The Roots Come Alive in 2000, and the next The Roots Present in 2005. In 2009, the Roots became the house band for the late-night show Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and in 2014, upon Fallon's take over of The Tonight Show, the Roots moved to that series.
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [5] | US R&B | AUS [6] | CAN | FIN [7] | FRA [8] | GER [9] | NLD [10] | NOR [11] | SWE [12] | SWI [13] | UK [14] | |||||
| 1993 | Organix
| — | 93 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1995 | Do You Want More?!!!??!
| 104 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 87 | — | — |
Gold[15] | ||
| 1996 | Illadelph Halflife
| 21 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 56 | — | — | |||
| 1999 | Things Fall Apart
| 4 | 2 | — | 7 | — | 41 | 64 | 92 | — | — | 40 | 84 |
Gold[16] Silver[17] | ||
| 2002 | Phrenology
| 28 | 11 | — | — | 14 | 117 | — | 54 | — | — | 57 | 112 |
Silver | ||
| 2004 | The Tipping Point
| 4 | 2 | — | — | 22 | 35 | 44 | 44 | 20 | 37 | 3 | 71 | |||
| 2006 | Game Theory
| 9 | 5 | — | — | 36 | 69 | 95 | 78 | 26 | — | 7 | 76 | |||
| 2008 | Rising Down
| 6 | 3 | 100 | 14 | — | 95 | — | — | 34 | — | 10 | 95 | |||
| 2010 | How I Got Over
| 6 | 3 | 71 | 14 | — | 117 | 70 | 33 | — | — | 3 | 111 | |||
| Wake Up! (with John Legend)
| 8 | 3 | 42 | 16 | — | 95 | 69 | 6 | — | 29 | 15 | 26 | ||||
| 2011 | (with Betty Wright)
| 197 | 27 | — | — | — | — | — | 44 | — | — | — | — | |||
Undun
| 17 | 4 | 66 | 20 | — | — | 87 | — | 91 | — | 30 | 178 | ||||
| 2013 | Wise Up Ghost (with Elvis Costello)
| 16 | — | 40 | — | — | 131 | 29 | 35 | 26 | — | 12 | 28 | |||
| 2014 | ...And Then You Shoot Your Cousin
| 11 | 3 | 34 | 20 | — | 127 | 79 | 63 | — | — | 9 | 111 | |||
| "—" denotes a release that did not chart. | ||||||||||||||||
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B<br /> | |||
| 2005 | Home Grown | The Beginners Guide to Understanding The Roots, Vol. 1
| 161 | 41 |
| Home Grown | The Beginners Guide to Understanding The Roots, Vol. 2
| 187 | 46 | |
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B<br /> | |||||||||
| 1999 | The Roots Come Alive
| 50 | 12 | |||||||
| 2004 | Nagoya Blue Note: Live In Japan – September 7, 2004
| — | — | |||||||
| "—" denotes a release that did not chart. | ||||||||||
| Year | Album details | |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | From the Ground Up
| |
| 1999 | The Legendary
|
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [19] | US R&B | US Rap | AUS | FRA | GER | NLD | NZL [20] | SWI | UK | |||||
| 1994 | "Distortion to Static" | — | 96 | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Do You Want More? | !?? | |
| 1995 | "Proceed" | 123 | 79 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Silent Treatment" | — | 105 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1996 | "Clones" | 101 | 62 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Illadelph Halflife | ||
| "What They Do" (featuring Raphael Saadiq) | 34 | 21 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 49 | ||||
| 1997 | "Concerto of the Desperado" | 71 | 57 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1998 | "Adrenaline!" | — | 73 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Things Fall Apart | ||
| "You Got Me" (featuring Erykah Badu and Eve) | 39 | 11 | 19 | — | 28 | 25 | 46 | 37 | 15 | 31 | ||||
| 1999 | "The Next Movement" (featuring DJ Jazzy Jeff and Jazzyfatnastees) | — | 103 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "What You Want" | — | 82 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | The Best Man (soundtrack)/The Roots Come Alive | |||
| 2001 | "Glitches (The Skin You're In)" (featuring Amel Larrieux) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Down to Earth (soundtrack) | ||
| 2002 | "Break You Off" (featuring Musiq Soulchild) | 99 | 55 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 59 | Phrenology | ||
| 2003 | "The Seed (2.0)" (featuring Cody ChesnuTT) | — | — | — | 78 | — | 67 | 31 | — | 22 | 33 | |||
| 2004 | "Don't Say Nuthin'" | — | 66 | — | — | — | 66 | — | — | 27 | 92 | The Tipping Point | ||
| "I Don't Care" (featuring Dom) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 54 | 97 | ||||
| "Stay Cool" | 53 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 2006 | "Don't Feel Right" (featuring Maimouna Youssef) | — | 48 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 200 | Game Theory | ||
| align=center rowspan=2 | 2008 | "Birthday Girl" (featuring Patrick Stump) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | align=left rowspan=2 | Rising Down |
| "Rising Up" (featuring Chrisette Michele and Wale) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 2009 | "How I Got Over" (featuring Dice Raw) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | How I Got Over | ||
| 2010 | "Dear God 2.0" (featuring Monsters of Folk) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "The Fire" (featuring John Legend) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Wake Up Everybody" (with John Legend featuring Common & Melanie Fiona) | — | 53 | — | — | — | — | 21 | — | 62 | 179 | Wake Up | |||
| "Hard Times" (with John Legend) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 2011 | "Shine" (with John Legend) | — | 64 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Make My" (featuring Big K.R.I.T.) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Undun | |||
| "Tip the Scale" (featuring Dice Raw) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 2014 | "Understand" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ...And Then You Shoot Your Cousin | ||
| "When the People Cheer" | ||||||||||||||
| "—" denotes a release that did not chart. | ||||||||||||||
| Year | Song | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | "The Good, The Bad and The Desolate" | High School High: The Soundtrack |
| "Da Jawn" (with Bahamadia) | Kollage | |
| 1997 | "The 'Notic" (with D'Angelo) | |
| "The Show" | In Tha Beginning...There Was Rap[22] | |
| 1998 | "Why?" (with Eric Benét) | Ride (soundtrack) |
| 1999 | "Ya' All Know Who!" | The Wood (soundtrack) |
| "Suga Sista"(Rahzel featuring The Roots and Aaron Hall) | Make the Music 2000 | |
| 2000 | "Hurricane" (with Common, Mos Def, Jazzyfatnastees, Dice Raw and Flo Brown) | Hurricane (soundtrack) |
| "Burned Hollywood Burned" (with Chuck D and Zack de la Rocha) | Bamboozled (soundtrack) | |
| "Lift Your Fist"(Guru featuring The Roots) | ||
| "Work" (with Alechia James) | Bait (soundtrack) | |
| 2002 | "Act Too (Love of My Life) [Remix]" | Brown Sugar (soundtrack) |
| "Tao of the Machine" (with BT) | Blade II (soundtrack)/ Emotional Technology | |
| 2006 | "Boom! (Live Album Version)" (with Kool G Rap and Big Daddy Kane) | Dave Chapelle's Block Party |
| 2010 | "I'll Stand by You" (with Shakira) "Hard Times Come Again No More" (with Mary J. Blige) "Let It Be" (with Jennifer Hudson) | Hope For Haiti Now |
| 2012 | "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Round" | Soundtrack for a Revolution (soundtrack)[23] |
| "Twice"(Robert Glasper featuring The Roots and Solange) | Black Radio Rediscovered: The Remix EP | |
| 2016 | "No John Trumbull (Intro)" "My Shot (Rise Up Remix)" (with Busta Rhymes, Joell Ortiz and Nate Ruess) "You'll Be Back" (with Jimmy Fallon) "Who Tells Your Story" (with Common and Ingrid Michaelson) | The Hamilton Mixtape |
| 2017 | "It Ain't Fair" (with Bilal) | Detroit (soundtrack) |