The Roots were bestowed with a street in their hometown.
are being honored in Philadelphia in a major way as the legendary hip-hop group and Philly natives are set to be honored with a stretch of East Passyunk in the city of Brotherly Love, officially earning them what is now Avenue Of The Roots.
Per the Philadelphia Inquirer, the red signage was already placed at the 600 Block of Passyunk on Friday. A dedication ceremony to commemorate the moment and honor their legacy will take place during the last week of May 2020, coinciding with the timeline of this year's Roots Picnic.
“….does this mean WHAT I THINK IT MEANS!!!???!!!???” de facto frontman penned in a caption on Instagram. “[H]ell of a way to find out!!!! WOW!!!!!”
The legislation was originally proposed by activist Leroy McCarthy, the same individual allegedly behind moves to have streets named after the likes of , , and Tupac Shakur. It was Philadelphia City Council legislator Mark Squilla who officially introduced the resolution that led to the establishment of Avenue of the Roots.
“I am happy that Avenue of the Roots is getting done, happy for hip-hop, happy for Philly and beyond. Plus, this is Black History Month in the making,” McCarthy said in a statement. “Congrats to The Roots and Team Roots for putting in the work over the years. This honor is well deserved. It took hard work to get this done, and the overall efforts for hip-hop recognition, but this is bigger than me — doing it for the culture, and hip-hop don’t stop. I’m looking forward to the street dedication in May 2020.”