Tariq ‘Black Thought’ Trotter’s perfect Philly day: Dalessandro’s, block parties, and more
Trotter's 2023 hardcover, 'The Upcycled Self: A Memoir on the Art of Becoming Who We Are' is this year's One Book, One Philadelphia.
Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, frontman for The Roots, goes wherever the wind takes him when he’s visiting his hometown Philadelphia.
On Friday, he drifted into the main lobby of Parkway Central Library where president of the Free Library Kelly Richards revealed that Trotter’s 2023 hardcover, The Upcycled Self: A Memoir of Becoming Who We Are, is this year’s One Book, One Philadelphia selection.
Since Trotter will be spending so much time in Philly the next few months, we asked him to describe a perfect Philly day. Trotter, 51, is a nostalgic cat so his ideal day includes the sounds and scenes of Philly’s past and present, his mother’s memory always wafting through the breeze.
3 a.m. to 4 a.m.
“I’d wake up to an empty house. I’d have the crib to myself and be able to move as so I desired upon rising.”
4 a.m. to 6 a.m.
“This is the time when I meditate. I also get some writing in. I’m always working on a project, a new album, a concept. This is the time when I really let those ideas bubble, percolate.”
Breakfast
“I’m not a super huge breakfast person, but when I was going hard in the morning, there was this place in the Italian Market … D’Angelo’s butcher shop where I would get any one of their sandwiches. I went there all through high school when I was at the [Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts] with Ahmir [“Questlove” Thompson].
Mid-morningish
“When I’m in Philly, I go to Made Barber Parlor. My barber’s name is Darien Hilliard, and I meet up with him in Sherman Mills. When I’m not in Philly, he comes to us twice a week. But I’m on hiatus this week. Who knows? I might swing by.”
After 5 p.m.
“Music is everywhere in Philly. And on a perfect Philly day there is a block party or backyard get together to hit up. Impromptu, with makeshift tables and milk crates full of records. The speakers would be outside. That’s real. That’s a beautiful end to a perfect Philly day.”
Before he bounces
“I go to Dalessandro’s Steaks and I bring steaks up to The Tonight Show. It’s a production: regular steaks, chicken cheese steaks. We bring them to work and everybody digs in. It’s one of the ways my city is always with me.”
One Book, One Philadelphia
One Book is the annual Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation and city-sponsored program that encourages Philly readers to dive into and discuss the same book. Last year’s book was Ambler writer Sara Nović‘s bestseller True Biz. One Book is in its 23rd year.
“I’m very proud, very excited, it’s an honor,” Trotter said Thursday morning on his way to teach the Art of the Emcee at New York University’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music. “When people consider your work important, select it, and recognize its artistic contribution, it’s not something to take lightly.”
In The Upcycled Self, Trotter poignantly recounts how he survived trauma: accidentally setting his childhood home on fire, the murder of his father, and the loss of his mother to crack.
The upcycled self, Trotter writes, is understanding “scarcity and lack can be alchemized into expressive joy where chaos is a classroom and love is found in the calm.”
Trotter will return to the city on April 11 for One Book’s official kickoff where he will be in conversation about The Upcycled Self. Trotter will squeeze in a few more One Book appearances over the next seven weeks as he prepares for The Roots Picnic. This year’s line up, which includes performances by Meek Mill and Lenny Kravitz, was announced earlier in the week.
Whose perfect Philly day would you like to read next? Tell us!