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Rockin' Around D.C. With The Roots On Their Holiday Run [Recap + Gallery]
The two kings, Black Thought + Questlove, do it for the culture. | Photo taken by Vickey Ford of Sneakshot for Okayplayer.
Photo Credit: Vickey Ford of Sneakshot for Okayplayer

The Roots Will Debut a Basketball Musical at NBA All-Star Weekend

Rockin' Around D.C. With The Roots On Their Holiday Run [Recap + Gallery] Photo by Vickey Ford of Sneakshot for Okayplayer

Seems like every NBA All-Star Weekend, the league calls upon The Roots crew for some sort of collaborative gesture. Last year it took two forms. The first a fitting and hard-hitting anthem in "Champion," not to mention helping George "The Ice Man" Gervin stay cool in an ice cold ad spot.

This year the gesture will play off the Illa Fifth's newfound taste for theatrics, as Billboard reports the crew will debut a new musical ahead of this year's All-Star game. The Evolution of Greatness tracks the game's lineage from the "granny shot" 1950s all the way up to the "casual half-courter" present-day, starring DJ Jazzy Jeff, Michael B. Jordan, Darryl "DMC" McDaniels, Jidenna and Hamilton: The Musical's own, Daveed Diggs.

That would be enough for most palettes on the planet, but All-Star weekend is a recurring blowout affair, and this year's procession will also feature performances from DJ Khaled, DNCE, and Jon Batiste, who will sing both the Canadian and U.S. national anthems at the start of the game. Tune in Saturday at 8pm for the full gamut of requisite three-point and dunk contests. The game itself will be played Sunday night at 8pm.