Black Thought’s incisive skill penning bars has helped make his group, The Roots, a defining force in hip-hop, and has cemented him as a rap legend. Born Tarik Trotter in 1951, his penchant for multisyllabic rhyming and metaphysical symbolism made him a fixture of peak boom bap. Turns on songs like “The Next Movement", from The Roots’ 1999 album Things Fall Apart, made him an icon of the style, and the Philadelphia native became synonymous with classic notions of lyricism. He’s adapted those skills to working with younger technicians like Joey Bada$$ (“Because”) and Benny the Butcher (“Crowns for Kings”). Regardless of who he raps with, Black Thought flaunts a level of craftsmanship that slices through the ’90s, 2000s, 2010s and beyond.