[Artwork by BIGBOITHOMAS84]
Yesterday Mural Arts Program directer Jane Golden announced during a morning press conference at Headhouse Square that a mural of The Roots will be going up on South Street. The exact location remains TBA (somewhere between 3rd and 6th Streets) but the mural is expected to be completed by July of next year. The artist has yet to be selected and Golden encouraged interested parties to submit a proposal. A delighted Mayor Nutter was also in attendance, calling The Roots the “best band in America, if not the world,” and noting that he listens to them every morning when he wakes up and every night before he goes to bed. The Roots are long overdue for a mural, he said. Unfortunately, drummer Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson, who was scheduled to appear at the press conference, was sick and unable to attend. In his place was frontman Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter who said the mural was a “dream come true” for the band. The South Philly native confessed to having tagged his share of city walls back in the day, but he was happy to go legit. The Roots will release Undun, their 13th album since their founding in 1987, on December 6th. — TONY ABRAHAM