Black Thought was born Tarik Luqmaan Trotter, to Thomas and Cassandra Trotter, both members of the Nation of Islam.
13 Facts About Black Thought
2.
Black Thought's father was murdered when Trotter was one year old, and his mother was murdered when he was in high school.
3.
Black Thought spent time tagging "DT" or "Double T" with graffiti around Philadelphia.
4.
Black Thought sold crack cocaine briefly, and was sent to live with family in Detroit for a few months in high school.
5.
In high school, Black Thought became interested in the lessons of the Nation of Gods and Earths.
6.
Black Thought recorded a solo album, titled Masterpiece Theatre and intended for a 2001 release, but the project was scrapped after he learned that the album would not count toward the Roots' contractual commitments.
7.
In February 2016, Black Thought joined forces with Fashawn, Murs, and Del the Funky Homosapien to record a new track called "Rise Up" for the video game Street Fighter V Capcom released a music video for the song that included appearances by Black Thought and his fellow collaborators.
8.
In December 2017, Black Thought appeared on HOT 97 with Funkmaster Flex and performed a 10-minute freestyle over "The Learning " instrumental by Mobb Deep.
9.
Black Thought starred in films such as Bamboozled, and the 2001 films Perfume, Love Rome, and Brooklyn Babylon.
10.
Black Thought made his stage debut in January 2022, playing Dr Junius Crookman in the musical Black No More; he wrote the lyrics and co-wrote the music for the production.
11.
In 2013, Black Thought began work on a memoir with journalist and music critic Jeff Chang and filmmaker Maori Karmael Holmes.
12.
Black Thought is "widely recognized as one of the most skilled, incisive, and prolific rappers of his time", according to AllMusic critic Andy Kellman.
13.
Black Thought has influenced several hip hop artists, including Logic, Joey Badass, Rapsody, k-os, and Shad.