I like your question. I think the one thing that artists like The Roots, Common, Talib Kweli, Mos Def etc have in common are the types of audiences they attract. Now I'm not a hater because I listen to everything but they attract the "thinkers". A generation of psychologically sound brothers and sisters that need intense content in their music. It's deeper than a head nodding beat or a contagious chant for them...for us.

As long as these artists continue to explore our minds as well as their own they'll always have that special support. To me the only reason that they are now making it to mainstream is because our support has been unwavering for them in spite of all the "Jay-Z's" or "DMX's" out there. We're not taking no for an answer. Play the positive, sometimes revolutionary ish on the radio too. Let the world know that the black man and woman are thinkers with solutions. The harder mainstream pushed the "accepted hip-hop artists", the more solid we stood in what we wanted to hear. I think it got to the point we couldn't be ignored. If true hip-hop hedz are feeling "Things Fall Apart"(LP), "Like Water For Chocolate", or 'Respiration' and they're pumpin' it in their cars, their jeeps, SUV's, bikes, whatever then as far as we're concerned it's already a hit. Everyone else has to catch up. Lauryn Hill is a perfect example! We loved her straight onto the cover of TIME magazine.

My feeling is that as long as The Roots show us they care about what we think and are making positive additions to our thought processes then them and any artist remotely like them will be superstars to us with or without a biased media.