Tough to see this unfold like this.


https://www.google.com/amp/nypost.com/2017/08/17/ex-roots-drummer-sues-questlove-black-thought-over-unpaid-royalties/amp/

The Roots have apparently forgotten their roots.

A longtime member of the legendary “Tonight Show” house band is suing founders Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter — claiming they refused to pay him properly and then gave him the boot as a way to shut him up.

“They simply kicked him out of The Roots and presumed he would forget about almost two decades of hard work, dedication, and effort he put into ,” reads a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Federal Court on Thursday by former percussionist Frank “Knuckles” Walker.

The drummer alleges that Thompson and Trotter, along with manager Shawn Gee, paid him “unfair compensation” and used his image to promote their performances after giving him the ax back in May.

“I’ve been a member of the roots for 17 years and there has been a lot of bad paper work and bad business,” Walker told The Post. “This is definitely a pattern with these Roots guys.”

While the Philly-based hip-hop group has been very successful — scoring three Grammys and a slew of nominations — they have an alleged history of not paying their bandmembers.

In January 2016, former bassist Leonard “Hub” Hubbard sued Thompson, Trotter and Gee — claiming that they failed to pay him as a co-owner following his departure, which was required in his contract.

Hubbard was forced to leave the band in 2007 after being diagnosed with blood cancer, but the other members apparently agreed to keep compensating him. He alleged in his suit that while he did get paid, it was only a small portion of their profits.

“There was a lot of bad dealings,” Walker said of his time in The Roots.

The award-winning musician is ultimately looking to get royalties from Thompson, Trotter and Gee for the promotional materials that he claims to still be featured on — and wants to “protect the public from being duped” into believing that he is still a member of the group.

“Defendants made no efforts to come to an agreement regarding past and future royalties, compensation and profits for ,” his suit says. “Though the defendants and remaining band members have essentially expelled Walker from The Roots and sought to exclude him from any future band income, Defendants have unlawfully continued to use Walker’s likeness and images in concert posters promoting their live performances, during their live performances, on their website, and on their Facebook and Instagram pages without Walker’s permission and authorization.”

Walker has been with the Philly-based hip-hop group since 2002 and can be heard on a number of their hit albums, including the Grammy Award-winning “Wake Up!” collab with John Legend.

“Walker has become intimately associated with all of the original hit songs and best-selling albums of The Roots, and the music of The Roots has become intimately associated with Walker,” his suit says. “By misappropriating Walker’s likeness to promote their band, Defendants have converted Walker into an involuntary spokesperson for the band and have created the false impression that Walker sponsors, endorses or is otherwise associated with the band when nothing could be further from the truth.”

Walker claims his bandmates subjected him to “cruel and unjust hardship in conscious disregard” of his rights — and that said acts were done “willfully, maliciously, and oppressively.”

He and his lawyer, Mark Shirian, are seeking monetary damages “in an amount sufficient to punish Defendants and to deter Defendants from committing such acts in the future.”

Thompson, Trotter and Gee could not be reached for comment on Thursday.