美国国家公共电台 NPR The Roots' Black Thought On How Art Saved His Life
时间：2019-01-17 作者：英语课 分类：2018年NPR美国国家公共电台9月
ROBERT GARCIA, HOST:
What's up, everybody? Peace. Just a heads up, there may be some strong language in this episode. Ooo (ph).
ADRIAN BARTOS, HOST:
Some bad words.
BLACK THOUGHT: Hey, what's up? This is Black Thought from the legendary 1 Roots crew. And you're checking out WHAT'S GOOD WITH STRETCH & BOBBITO on npr.org or wherever you buy your pancakes.
(SOUNDBITE OF JAMES BROWN'S "CHASE")
BARTOS: What's up, everybody? This is Stretch Armstrong.
GARCIA: Why do you always open up the show? Why don't we switch it up? Hey, everybody. My boy right here is Stretch Armstrong.
BARTOS: And my man to my left is Kool Bob Love, aka - wait, no, Bobbito Garcia, aka Kool Bob Love (laughter).
GARCIA: And this is WHAT'S GOOD WITH...
BARTOS: STRETCH & BOBBITO.
GARCIA: ...That's right. And today's guest is none other than Roots member, Grammy Award winning, "Tonight Show" - I mean...
BARTOS: Master mic-smith...
BARTOS AND GARCIA: Black Thought.
GARCIA: Yeah. And we've known him for quite some time. We crossed his paths as an unsigned artist, as an up-and-coming artist back in the '90s when we had our hip-hop show. And we both performed at the Roots picnic two years ago.
BARTOS: Right across the street.
GARCIA: Across the street from NPR studios. And, you know, he has been splashing as of late with, you know, fierce freestyles, new record releases.
BARTOS: It's really a beautiful thing. I mean, there are a number of artists that passed through our doors, you know, in the '90s from our - the show we had back then that have gone on to, you know, colossally 3 big things. You know, I'm talking about Eminem, Jay-Z, Nas, et cetera. But I got to think, for myself, that seeing the success that Black Thought has had warms my heart in a way that is unique because he's really the embodiment of the culture. He's had a really uncompromised approach to his work. He's never had those kind of missteps where we see artists that have tried to maybe cross over or...
GARCIA: Interesting.
BARTOS: ...Expand their...
GARCIA: Yeah.
BARTOS: ...Listenership by doing something that's sort of out of their wheelhouse. And he's super famous...
GARCIA: Yeah.
BARTOS: ...As, you know, someone you see nightly on "The Tonight Show."
GARCIA: Yeah.
BARTOS: I mean, it's incredible that he's been able to reach that amount of success and have the power to see his new projects come to fruition in a way that's also uncompromised.
GARCIA: I can't say anything more. Hold tight, people. Black Thought up next.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
BARTOS: And we're back in the presence of greatness. Tariq Trotter, aka Black Thought, welcome to WHAT'S GOOD WITH STRETCH & BOBBITO.
BLACK THOUGHT: Thank you. Thank you. Thanks so much. Thanks. You guys have, like, a catchphrase? Like, you got to start every joint 4 off with, like, so, what's good?
(LAUGHTER)
BARTOS: That was kind of it. I kind of felt like saying welcome back because we really do have a shared history when it comes to...
BLACK THOUGHT: Absolutely.
BARTOS: ...Radio. And it's amazing...
BLACK THOUGHT: Absolutely.
BARTOS: ...To have you here.
GARCIA: Yeah. It's like - we had Black Thought when we were on the air in the '90s, and now we have Black Thought in our current incarnation. So, you know, talking about the '90s, I used to work at Def Jam.
BLACK THOUGHT: I used to be a Def Jam artist. I was - I survived Def Jam.
(LAUGHTER)
GARCIA: So anyway, I used to send promos to AJ Shine (inaudible)...
BLACK THOUGHT: Wow.
GARCIA: ...Radio in Philadelphia.
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah, WKDU.
GARCIA: And Stretch and I - we had...
BARTOS: (Unintelligible).
BLACK THOUGHT: Yup.
GARCIA: ...We had a friendship with any college radio DJ around the world, really.
BLACK THOUGHT: Right.
GARCIA: Because, you know, we would send them our tapes, and they would send them - they would send us their tapes. And one demo that AJ sent us was "Organics," The Roots' very first album.
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah.
GARCIA: And, you know, we played a couple of tracks on the radio. And then come '94, we invited the crew up.
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah.
GARCIA: And, Stretch, you want to play him the little excerpt 5?
BARTOS: I do, in fact.
(LAUGHTER)
BARTOS: We have some audio prepared. This is actually the appearance you made on our show on September 8 in 1994.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING 6)
BLACK THOUGHT: (Rapping) Check - check it out. I get up over in my seat with all my rap energy. Leader of the black ministry 7, I got the chemistry to confuse. I amuse because I pay dues. Yo, I never take shots and never lose. Mad crews get ripped. Lyrics 8 from my lip is like quick, mad heavy. I get down like a Chevy and shit, ripping Cs to confetti or shreds 9. I go to your head and I got the dreads 10. Representing The Roots for Feds and papes (ph), niggas (ph) catch vapes. And yo, I make my way on fire escapes just like the Wu. I got to do what I got to do to represent the Roots crew. So who the hell are you? I'm stylin' a better telling when I'm lyrically excellin', rebellin'. Now I take my hands out my pocket just to get a wave and a flave. I can rock it, put you in your grave. Yes. On point, eternally. Mr. Black Thought, I'm burning the MCs that might want to battle, attack, or better battle the Black Thought, the black cat that talks (unintelligible).
OK. OK. OK.
(LAUGHTER)
BLACK THOUGHT: And on today's episode of cringe-worthy.
BARTOS: Yeah.
(LAUGHTER)
BLACK THOUGHT: No, man. That - it - I just - there was - I just had a visceral experience, man. I've never heard that audio, you know what I mean? Like, it's just crazy, man. It really took me back to, you know, traveling up to New York City from Philadelphia and just like - you know, like, we took that really, really seriously. Like, you know, there weren't that many rappers from Philly that got a chance to sort of represent, you know? So yeah, that really took me back.
GARCIA: So, you know, Questlove - he mentioned that you and him and the crew would get tapes of me and Stretch's show in Philadelphia and you would hear cats being like, yo, I want to kick this freestyle. Stretch and I talk about the terminology 11 a lot, right? So, like, you know, in New York, at the time, if you were going to kick a freestyle, it just meant a rhyme that wasn't on an album or a 12-inch.
BLACK THOUGHT: Right.
GARCIA: It didn't necessarily mean that it was off the top of the head.
BARTOS: Or a song - it just was lines - bars as they say now.
GARCIA: Unreleased. Unreleased. Unreleased.
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah. What it meant was it had to be fully 12 improvised 13. So it had to be off the top of the head, so to speak. I don't know if that was a rule, but so many people who came, you know, to rhyme with you guys rhymed off the top of the dome 14, so to speak. So yeah, that sort of became the standard. We would do entire Roots performances where my partner at the time, Malik B., and I would just freestyle the entire show the way we - like, it influenced our recording process in that, you know, we would get songs done relatively 15 fast. Like, we'd be in the lab doing, you know, two and three joints 16 per session just because, you know, we were freestyling, you know? So we, at that time, became super proficient 17. And it's super hard to determine whether it - you know, what the difference is, you know? So I sort of aspired 18 to that greatness at the time, you know? You guys are so super attentive 19 and just, like, quiet. Like, I'm not used...
(LAUGHTER)
BLACK THOUGHT: ...I don't know, like...
(LAUGHTER)
BLACK THOUGHT: ...Maybe the - this is how you guys do it now.
(LAUGHTER)
BARTOS: You know what? We're trying to make up for what we did in the '90s, which - I mean, what was that like? It was like, we don't want to ask him anything.
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah, like, damn...
BARTOS: We just want to...
BLACK THOUGHT: ...It's crazy. Like, you're not...
BARTOS: ...Shoot the crap and...
BLACK THOUGHT: ...There's no multi-tasking going on. Nothing, like...
BARTOS: ...Where's Bob? Oh, he's sleeping under the - yo, Bob...
BLACK THOUGHT: Where's Lord Sear, like...
BARTOS: ...Black Thought is here.
GARCIA: Right, right, right.
BLACK THOUGHT: ...There's nobody manning the phone lines. Got great memories.
BARTOS: It's a different animal.
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah. Yeah.
GARCIA: So in your experience - right? - in these - in this decade leading up to you coming to New York, what are these influences that you're collecting from, you know, early '80s to '90s that are Philly-specific?
BLACK THOUGHT: Philly DJs sort of always won battles and always won awards and stuff like that and were always super sharp. I remember there was a record. I forget the name of the artist, but it was a record called "It Ain't New York Because Philly's Stepping In." You remember that joint?
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "IT AIN'T NEW YORK")
MC BREEZE: (Rapping) With all due respect to New York City, yes, we're fly and we're saditty (ph). He's Hand Master Flash.
HAND MASTER FLASH: (Rapping) He's MC Breeze, the creator of the melodies.
MC BREEZE: (Reading) He's Hand Master Flash. He's the king of the cuts. And any human beatboxer nail yo butt 20 down below the ground. Boom is the sound you will hear when you're coming to Philly town.
HAND MASTER FLASH: (Rapping) But right about now, that's not the point. The point is that Philly's no slummy joint. So put on these sneakers and your underwear because the BF boys are finally here.
BLACK THOUGHT: It was, like, (singing) it ain't New York 'cause Philly is steppin' in.
GARCIA: I think the only - I think only - Lady B only played that. They didn't play it in New York.
BLACK THOUGHT: It was a Philly anthem 21. You know what I'm saying?
BARTOS: That's what they call rare rap and the 12-inch goes for $800. Money in Zurich, Switzerland, got the only copy.
BLACK THOUGHT: Straight up. But no - yeah. And my other - my influences were definitely Schoolly D, you know, who pioneered gangsta (ph) rap singlehandedly. Questlove and I - we were in high school with artists like Boyz II Men and Amel Larrieux...
BARTOS: Really?
GARCIA: Wow.
BLACK THOUGHT: ...And Christian 22 McBride - Joey DeFrancesco. Like, they were all sort of - we were coming of age together. But we were - Questlove and I were more interested in the stories that our friend Jay Ones would come in and tell us because Jay Ones was down with the Hilltop Hustlers. And he used to come and tell us stories about - yeah, you know, I was with Mimi Brown in the limo - you know what I'm saying? And he would sometimes get picked up in a limousine 23, you know, after school. And it's like, wow, he's going to do rap shit. You know what I mean?
(LAUGHTER)
BLACK THOUGHT: But it was - you know? We had Joe DeFrancesco, who was playing - he was playing keyboard - playing piano for Miles Davis at the time. And we didn't care - I didn't. I was, like, where's the dude that knows the rappers?
BARTOS: He was your classmate?
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah. Yeah. He was our classmate. And Christian McBride, Boyz II Men - all those people that I sort of named. So that was - it was definitely an influence as well. We went to sort of the LaGuardia of Philadelphia - you know, the high school for creative and performing arts.
BARTOS: And that's where The Roots were formed?
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah. yeah. That's...
BARTOS: When you were 14?
BLACK THOUGHT: ...Something like that. 1987 - so I was, like, 14, you know what I'm saying? Maybe about to be 15 or something.
BARTOS: At that point, where did you think you fit in talent-wise? Like, on the scale of, like, I'm just starting out to, yo, world supremacy 24.
BLACK THOUGHT: I thought I was, like, the greatest. Like, I thought I was the best.
GARCIA: Word?
BLACK THOUGHT: Even at 14. Yeah. I thought I was the best at 9, you know, when I first picked up the pen.
GARCIA: Do you remember a rhyme that you wrote when you were nine years old?
BLACK THOUGHT: My - the first rhyme I ever wrote is one of the speed joints - like super-rapping.
BARTOS: Wait. This is a milestone 25 because this is going to be the first time that Black Thought does a written on STRETCH & BOB.
BLACK THOUGHT: All right. It's like (rapping) I'm a hip-hopper never stopper rockin' all around the clock a double-T. You know it's me. I'm rockin' on the M-I-C. The money make a booty shake, a party rockin' non-stop, a girl take a heart break. Undercover super-lover debonair 26. I'm everywhere. Double-T, I can't be beat. Especially on the M-I-C, so if you want to challenge me, take the mic and I'ma be to rock you in a rocker. I ought to make you want to scream and shout. The beat is oh so fresh. DT, I'm oh so deaf. In the place to be and then a (unintelligible). My name should be double-T, but I also called myself DT rock back then, you know, so...
(LAUGHTER)
BARTOS: Sounded like young DT.
GARCIA: Beautiful, man.
BARTOS: Wow. Bob and I were talking about things that sparked a memory for us from Philly - pulled up a little Google action on a police bombing of the MOVE organization.
BLACK THOUGHT: Oh, MOVE. Yeah. Yeah.
BARTOS: MOVE was a black separatist, black power.
BLACK THOUGHT: Yes. Or, MOVE is.
BARTOS: Oh, still exists, OK. Basically, there was a lot of friction 27 between them and the neighbors. Police were constantly getting called. And eventually, there was a confrontation 28 in which the police dropped a firebomb on a rowhouse and the entire block was burnt down. And innocent people were actually shot as they were trying to escape the fire.
BLACK THOUGHT: Absolutely.
BARTOS: Correct?
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah. Yeah.
BARTOS: What did that mean to you - that whole event?
BLACK THOUGHT: I think 11 people died in that fire. You know, again, if I'm not mistaken, many of whom were children. There were only two survivors 29, you know? A child - a boy named Birdie. And a woman, Ramona Africa. As far as I recall, you know what I'm saying? Definitely a part of Philadelphia history that shaped my sort of conscious and my awareness 30 and just my understanding of propaganda, you know? And how it's, you know, perpetuate 32 - because I remember how - I remember what the news coverage 33 was and I remember how, like, the community was sort of made to feel. But Osage Avenue, where that took place - that's where - that's the street Questlove is from. Questlove is from Osage Avenue. He's from a few blocks down, but, you know, Philadelphia blocks are short, so he's basically from that street. And, yeah, it was definitely sort of the beginning of my consciousness, you know.
BARTOS: I had the pleasure of listening to, multiple times, the freestyle you dropped at Harvard.
BLACK THOUGHT: Oh, yeah. yeah.
BARTOS: I was really just intrigued 34 by - you know, you jump in really just eviscerating 35 politicians, like, from the first bar.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORING)
BLACK THOUGHT: Living in some times that's the craziest. They say these legislators are the laziest. Dedicated 36 religious figures have gone atheist 37. Each and everything must change, there's no escaping this. I'm on a block - post-apocalyptic smoke covers, coincidentally presented by the Koch brothers. The magnitude of this is bigger than the both of us. The attitude is trying to manage not to choke from it. Go and get the bolt cutters. Open the floodgate. Any relationship I've ever been in was love-hate. The city I was living in really never was safe. For some, a temporary resolution was duct tape. Now, I'ma probably be on the black list, but I don't give a fuck, so I'ma shrug 38 like Atlas 39.
BARTOS: Clearly, you are a voracious 40 reader of literature. You drop, you know, Shakespeare, Dostoyevsky, F. Scott Fitzgerald - it goes on and on and on. It's also apparent that you stay up on current events.
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah.
BARTOS: Has that been a part of you for your entire - the adolescence 41 through adult life, or is that something that more recently has become a little bit more urgent with where this country's been going?
BLACK THOUGHT: I've always sort of listened to news radio. Like, I grew up, you know, riding in the back seat of a Cadillac with my grandfather driving, you know, chain smoking Benson and Hedges Gold...
(LAUGHTER)
BLACK THOUGHT: ...And listening to news radio, so...
BARTOS: Listening to NPR.
(LAUGHTER)
BLACK THOUGHT: ...I mean, you know? So it's - like, that's what I do. I'm that, you know, dude who's like, could you please put on (unintelligible) - you know what I'm saying? I mean, I hear what's - what the news says is going on. So I have a more broad representation. I try and, you know, dial in deeper, you know, into world news and just, you know, get different opinions, you know what I mean? It's almost a responsibility as an artist. I'm able to inform the listener because I'm informed.
GARCIA: I'm just curious about the physicality of your performance. Like, clearly, you're embracing a lot of energy, a lot of history, a lot of reading, a lot of - but how does that manifest in, you know, the body of Black Thought when he's on the mic?
BLACK THOUGHT: Man.
GARCIA: I see you got the towel here like you're ready to go to the ring.
(LAUGHTER)
GARCIA: You came prepped. I guess you think we're going to ask you to rhyme.
BLACK THOUGHT: No, man. No. You know, I just - you know, I just try and do my best, bro, you know what I'm saying? I come out. The fact that I don't have a hype man, there's no DJ, you know, who also has a mic. There's Questlove, but more often than not, he's speaking into a mic that only we hear because he's - you know, he's band director, so he's giving us direction. So I'm up there with nobody to sort of back me up...
GARCIA: Yeah.
BLACK THOUGHT: ...But, you know, the way in which I resonate with the audience. So I try to make that connection. But then I'm also - I'm an introvert 42 too, so it's weird 43. It's - like, I try and make eye contact and connect with the audience, but sometimes I feel like too much of a connection and it's like, woah. It's like - yeah, it's overwhelming, and I got to, you know what I'm staying?
BARTOS: Stop. Stop staring at me.
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah.
BARTOS: You're on stage, what do you want?
BLACK THOUGHT: I know, it's a little bit of that. I don't know. I'm on stage, but I - you know, there are very many layers of the facade 44 - of protection for me, you know what I mean? There's the band. There's the - you know, the fact that there's other instrumentation that it's at a higher, more elevated level literally 45 than I am. So it's like, look at them. You know what I mean?
GARCIA: Are you stretching before you perform? Are you doing vocal 46, like - they trained us for this NPR (laughter).
BLACK THOUGHT: I used to do that sort of thing. But I don't do any of that anymore. There's...
GARCIA: (Imitating vocal stretching).
BLACK THOUGHT: ...There's no preparation that goes into a performance that I'm about to do aside from concentration and mental sort of focus.
BARTOS: Are some performances, though - do certain performances take you to a place that others don't?
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah.
BARTOS: All right, so, like, the Funk Flex 47 one?
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BLACK THOUGHT: (Rapping) I'm sorry for your loss. It's a body dead in the car, and it's probably one of yours. The writing all across the window and the walls...
BARTOS: I mean, you know, if you're playing basketball, you might be in that zone where you feel like you're not even pulling the trigger. It's just, like, God is guiding the ball into the hoop 48.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BLACK THOUGHT: ...(Rapping) I will not talk in class. Now it's pistols punishing people for talking fast. And all these innocent bystanders is hauling ass 2. I hate to say I told y'all, but I told y'all. Things fall apart when the center too weak to hold, y'all. I'm just collecting what you owed to my old jawn. You about to get swooped 49 down on and stoled (ph) on. Fools swear they wise, but wise men know they foolish. Well, we was...
Yeah, there are definitely some performances that I feel like God sort of takes the wheel. You know what I mean? And I do experience that blackout sort of thing. But as it pertained 50 to that Flex freestyle, that was - I mean, I blacked out, but it was not a blackout sort of, you know, moment. Preparation did go - much preparation went into that freestyle.
BARTOS: Right.
BLACK THOUGHT: Because it was, I mean, it was, like, my first Flex sort of - you know what I mean? - like, official freestyle.
BARTOS: Even though later on you said, yeah, it was just what I was thinking about that day (laughter).
BLACK THOUGHT: I mean, it was. It was all I was thinking about that day.
(LAUGHTER)
BARTOS: True, true. It's just what I was thinking about, nothing else.
BLACK THOUGHT: No, then I got there, and we did an interview. And I was like, shit, like, you know I mean? I'm losing my edge. Like, I came in ring ready. And - you know, and we charming it up. And he's like, yeah, man, some of my favorite Philly dudes - man, Philly. And I'm like, yo, like, when can you put the beat? So that's why as soon as you hear the beat, it's like, boom, and then I just start rapping immediately.
BARTOS: Yeah, amazing.
GARCIA: Boom, and it weights a ton.
BLACK THOUGHT: Yep. Yep. Yep.
BARTOS: Oh, man. You know, earlier you mentioned how the whole art of freestyling, how that made recording records more expedient 51.
BLACK THOUGHT: Yes.
BARTOS: Did that make them lyrically perhaps lighter 52, as to say you maybe didn't ruminate 53 on a topic and go deeper and craft it? Did you have to give up the gravitas for the expediency 54?
BLACK THOUGHT: I don't think so. I think, you know, at that stage of our career, like, we were way less removed from high school and college curriculum. A lot of that information was just still fresh, like, just information that I sort of had to retain. It was still there to be pulled from, you know what I'm saying? Like, now, you know, you sort of have to, you know, watch a documentary, read a book. It's like - I feel like I'm trying to refill the blanks - you know what I mean? - because over time they sort of get depleted 55.
Like, your lexicon 56, you know, it lessens 57 - you know what I'm saying? - unless you're, like, constantly sort of fueling the fire. And then also, both Malik B. And I, before we signed a deal, we would go out on tour with some of these jazz musicians like Steve Coleman, Greg Osby, Cassandra Wilson, different, you know, contemporary jazz artists of the day who we knew through our manager at the time, A. J. Shine's partner, Rich Nichols, who - he passed away a few years ago. But back then, he was a...
GARCIA: Rest in peace.
BLACK THOUGHT: ...Yeah, absolutely, rest in power. He was the jazz DJ at Temple University. So he forged a lot of these relationships. And he was able to, you know, before we secured a record deal get us out there as sort of working musicians making, you know, at least a couple dollars to go and, you know, do this quick gig in Austria with this saxophonist. But none of them will play in, you know, the 4/4 meter.
BARTOS: Right (laughter).
BLACK THOUGHT: So they would just play all this crazy end-based - crazy jazz. David Murray, you know, I mean, just streaming out over the place with sax. And then it's like, you know, you have to find a space within that to fit in, like, to rap. And it's freestyle. So coming from that to where you're going to play a breakbeat that, you know, is one of my favorite joints, and it's in 4/4, it's just, like, it's a huge relief. You know what I mean? It sort of returns from just regular old hip-hop. You know what I mean? So we were coming off of that, too.
BARTOS: Yeah.
GARCIA: I'm going to switch gears 'cause, I mean, clearly you're reading a lot. As a youth, what were you reading and being inspired by? Because I don't think you've arrived recently at being more politically active or socially conscious or - you know, I mean, you were talking about the MOVE incident in the '80s, and you were affected 58 by that. So what was the early - you know, was it comic books? Was it, you know, cats passing you books that they were reading as Five Percenters or - you know, what was going on in Philadelphia in the young Tariq Trotter's mind?
BLACK THOUGHT: I mean, you know, I was sort of - I was born into the Nation of Islam. You know, so there was - there's lots of information that I would sort of receive, I mean, I guess just because it's what I was being exposed to, you know, in the household, and, you know, speeches that I would hear and, you know, paper - newspapers and all that sort of thing, pamphlets that my mother would have when I was growing up. But then I also grew up around my grandmother, who was very active in the church and would take me, you know, to church with her. So I got some of my information, from there as well, but...
GARCIA: But were you reading the Quran and the Bible?
BLACK THOUGHT: I was reading the Quran. I was reading the Bible. I was always super into English, you know, lit. Like, I was - English and history, or, you know, at the time I guess social studies or whatever was like my - a couple of my favorite courses in school. I mean, besides - outside of visual art, you know? So I don't know. I really - I took to Shakespeare and the cadence 59 in which he would write sometimes. And when I saw rappers, you know, using that - you know, when I saw Big Daddy Kane and Kool G Rap and Rakim sort of rapping in iambic pentameter...
BARTOS: (Laughter).
BLACK THOUGHT: ...It's called, I was like, yo, this is dope. You know I'm saying? And it had a huge impact on me as a young writer. You know what I'm saying? I said, yo, this is dope. And it sort of opened up, you know, a world of, you know, just trying to - I try to navigate 60 - one of those Wu-Tang dudes said before that too much knowledge might break up the rhyme. You know what I'm saying?
And I think that rings true. Like, there's a such thing as, you know, just being too densely 61 packed with information for the listener to digest. You know, like so much that, you know, they shut down, and they're not receiving anything that you're trying to give them. So there's a delicate balance between, you know, keeping it street, keeping it hood 62 and then saying something that's going to, you know, make you want to go do a little bit of research. You know what I mean?
GARCIA: Well, I also think, you know, there's something to be said for layering, right?
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah. Yeah.
GARCIA: So, you know, we got to do Rakim for the season. And, you know, in doing our research, I was listening to certain rhymes. I was like, I heard that 30 years ago, and I'm just realizing...
BLACK THOUGHT: Right.
GARCIA: ...The meter for it now...
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah, that's crazy, man.
GARCIA: ...As many times as I've heard that.
BLACK THOUGHT: Yep.
GARCIA: Right?
BLACK THOUGHT: Yep.
GARCIA: And so, yeah, it's wonderful to, as hip-hop, appreciate it. And it's interesting, too, because I'm realizing that, like, you know, for the generation prior to ours - I'm born in '66 - you know, like, hip-hop for us was part of our education.
BLACK THOUGHT: Right.
GARCIA: Right? Like, whereas...
BLACK THOUGHT: A huge part for some of us.
GARCIA: My older brothers went to the...
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah.
GARCIA: ...Library. They went to bookshops.
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah.
GARCIA: For us, we were learning...
BLACK THOUGHT: Absolutely.
GARCIA: ...From what we were hearing...
BLACK THOUGHT: Yes.
GARCIA: ...In hip-hop.
BLACK THOUGHT: Yep, absolutely. You know, that was our window, you know, to the world. It was - and was the original sort of, you know, CNN, MSNBC for us. It was Melle Mel - you know what I'm saying? - and Grandmaster Caz and, you know, Kool Moe Dee. And then it was - I mean, it was Afrika Bambaataa and those dudes. And then it was, you know, the Chuck Ds and Rakim, Kane, G Rap - you know what I'm saying? - just a look into their world. For some of us, it wasn't just a part of our education. For some of us, that's the only education that we've had. You know what I mean?
BARTOS: It's also a huge value for me as a white kid.
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah.
BARTOS: The information that I garnered 63 from hip-hop...
BLACK THOUGHT: Right.
BARTOS: ...Was - I mean, you can't even measure it. You know, what I learned in school compared to what I learned from music...
BLACK THOUGHT: Exactly, right.
BARTOS: ...Are completely different things.
BLACK THOUGHT: I agree.
BARTOS: And, yeah, I wouldn't be the same person if it wasn't for hip-hop for sure.
BLACK THOUGHT: Likewise.
BARTOS: Are you - you know, I get it. You know, spirituality and religion are, you know, for a lot of people, very personal and private matters. I don't know if that's something you're comfortable talking about. But are you still a Muslim?
BLACK THOUGHT: I mean, I feel like, you know, I was born a Muslim, so I'm kind of, you know - that's what it is.
BARTOS: I mean, does that feel like a cultural identity, or is there an actual theological practice that goes with that? Or is your spirituality something else entirely 64?
BLACK THOUGHT: I mean, I think my spirituality is also ever-evolving. And, I mean, there's no - I mean, I've studied quite a few - I've studied religion from a few different perspectives, none of which I agree with, you know, 1,000 percent wholeheartedly. So that's sort of where I am with my spirituality, you know? But yeah, I mean, you know, I could go - I could quote, you know, verse and - chapter and verse with, you know, Christians 65 and, you know, Muslims as well.
I feel like that that adds to, you know, like, why my music sort of feels informed or as informed as it does. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. I don't know. You know, I study Buddhism 66, Daoism, Islam, Christianity, you know, just the religions and practices of the world. And I try and find that common thread, that common denominator. And that's what, you know, I tend to believe the most - you know what I mean? - you know, when there's a reoccurring theme.
GARCIA: Black Thought - MC, comedian 67, actor...
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah, yeah, fashion designer.
BARTOS: Artist.
GARCIA: ...Writer...
BLACK THOUGHT: Visual artist.
GARCIA: ...Sunglasses...
BLACK THOUGHT: Yep, yep.
GARCIA: ...And one role that we're missing is father. And, you know, as a parent myself, you know, the other day, I brought out my son to my basketball tournament that I produce. And yo, he grabbed the mic.
BLACK THOUGHT: Wow.
GARCIA: He had never seen me announce a game. I'm not an MC like you, but I'm saying, like, I announce basketball games.
BLACK THOUGHT: Right.
GARCIA: And he grabbed the mic, and he just started being like - started saying numbers.
BLACK THOUGHT: Wow.
GARCIA: So, you know, that's clearly - I don't push my son towards basketball. I don't push him towards hip-hop or...
BLACK THOUGHT: Right.
GARCIA: ...You know, nothing. Like - but he, in his DNA 68 strategy, he's got signals that are telling him, like, yo, basketball's cool.
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah.
GARCIA: Music is cool. I'm wondering. What type of relationship do you have or what do you see in your kids that is clearly reflected in your spirit that you're seeing come out of them?
BLACK THOUGHT: All of my children are artists, you know? Some of my children are visual artists. Some are musicians, you know? I have...
GARCIA: Wait. How many children do you have?
BLACK THOUGHT: I have six. I have five boys and one daughter.
GARCIA: Oh, wow.
BARTOS: Wow.
BLACK THOUGHT: Two of my boys are twins. My youngest, Tariq (ph), who's about to be 3, and then my oldest, Ahmir, who is 18 - and Ahmir is a musician. My son - my next son under him, Benjamin, is a visual artist. He's starting in a couple of weeks at University of the Arts in Philly.
GARCIA: Word.
BLACK THOUGHT: So - yeah. And Ahmir - you know, he's a singer. He plays piano. He plays guitar. You know, he aspires 69 to be - I don't know - a vocalist of some sort. But his focus isn't on rap. And he can rap a little bit, like - but it's a joke when he does it, you know? I don't mean, like, his bars are a joke.
(LAUGHTER)
BLACK THOUGHT: I mean, like, when he does it, he's just, like, messing around. He might hear this.
GARCIA: Dad, I want to battle you tonight.
BLACK THOUGHT: But, no - but what I - you know, I definitely - I try not to impress upon my children, you know, any sort of, you know, direction in that way either. I'm just there. I'm here, you know, to advise and for guidance if you sort of need it. But I don't want to ruin it for you by, you know, making it something that I'm super excited about and, you know, making you feel as if you have to sort of go - you know, follow in my footsteps or else, you know? My daughter, who's 12 years old, she's into film and documentary - taking, like, a filmmaking course right now. And...
BARTOS: How old is she?
BLACK THOUGHT: She's 12.
BARTOS: I mean, this is not fair.
BLACK THOUGHT: And like...
GARCIA: (Laughter).
BARTOS: No, I mean, this didn't happen when we were 12.
BLACK THOUGHT: Oh, yeah, tell me about it.
GARCIA: (Laughter).
BLACK THOUGHT: She - I don't know. I don't want to scare her away from her natural sort of, you know, wit. So I'm just going to - you know, I'm going to see how it pans out, you know, just let her do the documentary thing for a while. But, I mean, it's exciting when you sort of, you know, get even an inkling that your child might just genetically 70 have some part of your creativity. You know what I'm saying? You have to sort of nurture 71 it without affecting it - like, you know, messing up the space-time continuum. You know what I'm saying?
BARTOS: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
GARCIA: I think similarly, I experienced some trauma 72 as a kid. And being a parent, there are moments when my son does things that stirs up both for me and my wife trauma, you know, reminiscent of our own experiences.
BLACK THOUGHT: Right.
GARCIA: And it's like, whoa, where did that come from?
BLACK THOUGHT: Right.
GARCIA: Do you have those moments?
BLACK THOUGHT: I mean, I suffer from PTSD. You know, and it manifests itself just in different ways at - you know, at different times. You know what I'm saying? What was normal for me as a child I've grown to understand is not, you know, normal - just murder and being exposed to that sort of thing and understanding, you know, the concept of the taking of one's life, knowing people, seeing people murdered at such a young age and just, you know, gunshots and what Philadelphia was like when I was growing up. I mean, and it wasn't only this way.
But, you know, just many of the things that I saw as normal, I can't even articulate the effect that they've had on me. You know what I'm saying? It's an everyday sort of struggle, you know? That's just real. And, you know, I mean, I feel like very many of us suffer from undiagnosed mental health issues and, you know, traumatic stress, you know, issues just based on where - when and where we sort of, you know, grew up. You know what I mean?
BARTOS: You've spoken openly recently about the murder of your mother.
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah. Yeah.
BARTOS: In the wake of that, having to go through two trials...
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah. Yeah.
BARTOS: ...When they caught the perpetrator.
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah.
BARTOS: Having to live that twice - once is horrific enough. Twice - you said for a moment, you were sinking into a space of nihilism. I think you said you understood what a serial 73 killer 74 might...
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah.
BLACK THOUGHT: Yes.
BARTOS: But then something switched in you.
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah.
BARTOS: And you were able to use your mother as a source of inspiration...
BLACK THOUGHT: Absolutely.
BARTOS: ...Determination and perseverance 76.
BLACK THOUGHT: Absolutely.
BARTOS: I don't know if you'd like to share that.
BLACK THOUGHT: In a nutshell, that's it. You know, both my parents were murdered - my father when I was super young and my mother when I was in high school, like, around - you know, after Questlove and I had sort of been together for a year or so, I lost my mom. You know, I felt like the world might end. You know, like, my world - something within me was lost when I lost my mom.
But it sort of renewed a drive as well within myself that just made me more determined 77 to sort of make whatever it was that I was going to do pop. You know, and at the time, I didn't think I was going to become a professional musician really until after I lost my mom. That's when I really decided 78, like, you know, this is what I want to do. Like, this and only this is sort of what I want to do.
GARCIA: Did that focus help you move forward from the incident?
BLACK THOUGHT: I think so. I think that's what got - I think art is what sort of got me through. You know, I was surrounded with just, you know, a good team. And I just had - I had good friends. I had a good girlfriend at the time. Quest was there. His family stepped up. You know, my family stepped up. And we just were able to sort of get through it.
BARTOS: So being in The Roots was more than being in a band. It was...
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah, absolutely.
BARTOS: ...A community...
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The Roots...
BARTOS: ...Which, you know, if you had been a solo MC, your trajectory 79 may have been...
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah.
BARTOS: ...Very different.
BLACK THOUGHT: Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah, The Roots is a family. The Roots is a community. It's a, you know - or at least that we began as a family that grew into a community and now it's sort of an American institution.
(LAUGHTER)
BARTOS: Yes, indeed. Yes, indeed.
BLACK THOUGHT: I mean, a little bit, like, you know what I'm saying?
(LAUGHTER)
GARCIA: So when you get back off the road, you know, doing all these tours and all these passports and eating and, you know, the sneakers...
BLACK THOUGHT: Definitely eating.
(LAUGHTER)
BLACK THOUGHT: I may have eaten a few sneakers.
(LAUGHTER)
GARCIA: When you go - when you walk through the door, what's the first thing that Tariq tries to do as a ritual at the crib?
BLACK THOUGHT: At the crib - kiss my family, take my shoes off.
GARCIA: Word.
BLACK THOUGHT: Well, no, not in that order. Take my shoes off, kiss my family. It's weird. You know, as soon as I walk into the crib, my wife, she starts talking like - you know, I don't know - I mean, I guess this happens for a lot of guys. She starts talking immediately, like whether our eyes have met or not.
GARCIA: (Laughter).
BLACK THOUGHT: Like, she could be in a different room, upstairs, different section of the house. Once I open the door...
BARTOS: Yeah.
BLACK THOUGHT: ...She's going to start talking. So, I mean, it's just like - it's about preparing myself for that. Sometimes, you know, I'm standing 31 right outside the door just like, you know, doing a stretch, just like...
(LAUGHTER)
BLACK THOUGHT: You know what I mean? Just, like, getting that last, you know, inhalation in before - you know, because when I open the door, it's showtime, you know what I'm saying? It's on.
GARCIA: Well, I mean, she may not have seen you for a week or two weeks or even more, right?
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah. Yeah. I keep strange hours sometimes. And I mean - and the fact that, you know, "Tonight Show" takes up so much time. And I still try and maintain, you know, a presence as, you know, a solo artist, and we will still do stuff as The Roots. It's like - there's only so much time.
GARCIA: I feel like your sunglasses have become the equivalent of LL Cool J's kangol (laughter).
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah. Yep. Yep.
GARCIA: LL never - yo, he was at a wedding. And Pete Nice told me that LL took a shower...
BARTOS: (Laughter).
GARCIA: ...Before he got - went to the pool with his kangol on. Like, he just didn't take it off. So...
BLACK THOUGHT: Yo, that's crazy.
GARCIA: Your sunglasses are kind of, like, representative of similar...
BLACK THOUGHT: Absolutely.
GARCIA: Your sunglasses are becoming, like, mythic proportions at this point.
BLACK THOUGHT: I mean, it's part of my brand, you know what I mean? It's part of my...
BARTOS: You have a sunglass line, right?
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah, I do. I did a collaboration 80...
(LAUGHTER)
BLACK THOUGHT: I did a collaboration with...
BARTOS: Shameless plug.
BLACK THOUGHT: ...Moscot, who, you know, happens to be, you know, one of the oldest, if not the oldest, optician in New York City. You know, they've been around for over a hundred years. I think the year that we collaborated 81, which was a few years ago now, they were celebrating their 100th anniversary. And I did an amazing frame. It's called the Grunya, which is one of their classic frames. It's been around for years. And I took it and tweaked it and, you know, changed the colors and changed the size and freaked the lenses and, you know, put my signature on the inside, so that's a thing. Yeah.
BARTOS: So Tariq, my man, musically...
BLACK THOUGHT: Yes.
BARTOS: What's down the pipeline 82?
BLACK THOUGHT: You know, more volumes of "Streams Of Thought" are going to be coming out, you know, in relatively close sequence.
GARCIA: 9th producing again?
BLACK THOUGHT: I've got some more stuff on 9th, you know, that's unreleased, as well as with a whole slew 83 of other, you know, sort of like-minded producers that, you know, you might expect me...
GARCIA: Sure.
BLACK THOUGHT: ...To be working with. But then there's a couple of curveballs, like total surprises that people are going to be like, what? And some of that is, you know, the best stuff just because of the urgency. You know, a lot of these collaborations are done over two or three, you know, or four sessions. It's not like I'm spending weeks at a time, you know, like I'm in an album recording process. You know what I mean? It's - what "Streams Of Thought" is sort of about is what comes of a more brief sort of interaction. You know what I mean?
BARTOS: Let's take a quick break. We're going to come right back with Black Thought and the Impression Session.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
BARTOS: That means one thing. It's time for the Impression Session.
GARCIA: Here's how it works. We play you a track, you react - simple as that.
BARTOS: All right, Black?
(LAUGHTER)
BLACK THOUGHT: Back that. OK. All right. Let's do it. Let's do it. Let's do it.
BARTOS: Who's going first?
GARCIA: You go first.
BARTOS: All right.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MEN AT WORK")
DJ POLO: (Rapping) Yo G Rap, since we didn't make no records in a long time, why don't you show these rap sap suckers what kind of rhymes you got, money?
KOOL G RAP: (Rapping) Deadly rhymes...
BLACK THOUGHT: (Rapping) Here's the solution. Smoking so bad I'mma cause a pollution. With satisfaction, bad assassin, fatal attraction, chop you to an improper 84 fraction. Ill insanity 85, kill like "Amityville Horror" as I wipe out humanity. Won't leave a path, a track, a trail to trace. But when you're staring inside of a mirror, you see my face. And I'll terrify...
I thought it was an instrumental.
(LAUGHTER)
BLACK THOUGHT: (Rapping) A fox clever than ever. Silly ducks write rhymes with feathers, never no needles are needed to inject this dope cause I'm a death wish - not even Bob Hope's rhymes are rugged 86, soul flooded, cold blooded.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MEN AT WORK")
KOOL G RAP: (Rapping) You ain't better, you're butter.
BLACK THOUGHT: (Rapping) So just cut it.
He said you ain't better, you're butter...
BARTOS: (Laughter, clapping).
BLACK THOUGHT: ...So just cut it. Like, come on, man. And this is in 1987, yo.
GARCIA: Right, right, right, right, right.
BLACK THOUGHT: Crazy, man. Oh, OK. I'm sorry. So now, what's the next one?
GARCIA: (Laughter).
BARTOS: We're moving on.
GARCIA: Well, we got to - Stretch, you got to identify the record.
BARTOS: That is Kool G Rap, one of our favorites of all time. The song is called "Men At Work," and it's from his 1988 album "Road To The Riches."
BLACK THOUGHT: Yes, and it also inspired a Roots song called "Thought At Work," which we're going to...
GARCIA: Which you crush.
BARTOS: Yeah.
(LAUGHTER)
BARTOS: We can't play too much music on this show.
BLACK THOUGHT: Oh.
BARTOS: But I don't think more needs to be said...
GARCIA: Yeah.
BARTOS: ...Than that (laughter).
GARCIA: We'll go to - can you play please - let's go with track No. 1.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GOIN' ON A HOLIDAY")
PATTI LABELLE: (Singing) Goin' on a holiday, gonna make a sign, hang it on the doorknob of my mind. Goin' on a holiday, headed for the hills where I know I'm not the hunted prey 87.
BLACK THOUGHT: That's Patti.
GARCIA: Of course.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GOIN' ON A HOLIDAY")
LABELLE: (Singing) If you see me, look into my eyes and read...
BLACK THOUGHT: I mean, it's - yeah, this just makes me proud.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GOIN' ON A HOLIDAY")
LABELLE: (Singing) Get it out of here.
BLACK THOUGHT: (Vocalizing) Yeah, that just makes me proud - like, you know. Like, Patti - if there was a...
GARCIA: So that's LaBelle.
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah, that's LaBelle. You know, Patti - yes.
GARCIA: "Goin' On A Holiday" is the name of the track.
BLACK THOUGHT: Patti LaBelle makes me just super proud when I hear that. It's like if Philadelphia had a Statue of Liberty, then it would be Patti LaBelle.
GARCIA: She - you know, I had the great fortune - when I was at Lower Merion High School, I was part of an academic program. And she was involved...
BLACK THOUGHT: Oh, nice.
BLACK THOUGHT: Nice.
GARCIA: And I was selected to be the mentee. And I spent...
BLACK THOUGHT: That's crazy. Patti LaBelle - like, you're becoming more and more from, like, Philadelphia...
(LAUGHTER)
BLACK THOUGHT: Like, by the minute. Like, you - like...
GARCIA: Yo, she...
BLACK THOUGHT: You're about to be able to hold office.
GARCIA: She introduced me to tempura. This was, like, 1984.
BLACK THOUGHT: Wow.
GARCIA: I mean, I had never even heard of that. She used to make potatoes, just singing in the kitchen and all that. But yeah, I mean, of course, I wanted to play that for you because of the Philly component 89...
BLACK THOUGHT: Absolutely.
GARCIA: ...But also The Roots. I don't know that the crew gets the credit that it may for sort of the current of neo soul that comes out of the Philadelphia scene.
BLACK THOUGHT: Oh, yeah.
GARCIA: And your - it's like your members were participatory in that. But also you were having guest vocalists, you know, Jill Scott on "You Got Me," the live version, before Erykah gets on...
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah.
GARCIA: ...For the album version. And you're just kind of, like, grabbing all these talented people...
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah.
GARCIA: ...And pushing - Jaguar 90 Wright - you know, all these people forward.
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah - Jazmine Sullivan, Musiq Soulchild, you know, Bilal, John Legend, Kindred the Family Soul.
GARCIA: They're all part of this Roots...
BLACK THOUGHT: All...
GARCIA: ...Extended collective, right?
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah, part of a movement, an era, that, you know, was represented by jam sessions that we would hold. Everyone sort of came down, you know, to check that out, too. Like, you know, we'd be like, yo, Prince is in the house. Janet Jackson's here. You know, I mean, people would come down from New York and people would come out from LA to sort of see what was going on because it was magical, like, at that time. Yeah.
GARCIA: Crazy. I mean, one of my favorite records of all time by The Roots crew is the "You Got Me" live concert version...
BLACK THOUGHT: Oh, yeah.
GARCIA: ...When it's like, my name is J-I-L-L-S...
BLACK THOUGHT: Oh, yeah.
GARCIA: Oh, my God.
BLACK THOUGHT: Yep.
BARTOS: That was beautiful, Bob.
GARCIA: (Laughter).
BLACK THOUGHT: You should've just let him, you know, keep going.
(LAUGHTER)
BARTOS: I would never let him do that.
GARCIA: He didn't let me rhyme on a show back in the '90s and now he doesn't let me sing on our podcast. I don't know.
BARTOS: (Laughter).
GARCIA: You're holding me back. You're holding back my artistry.
BARTOS: There's a trend here.
GARCIA: (Laughter).
BLACK THOUGHT: Cool Bob Love.
GARCIA: That's right.
BLACK THOUGHT: Cucumber slice.
GARCIA: Yeah.
BARTOS: Tariq, my man, thank you for coming.
GARCIA: Do you prefer to be called Tariq...
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah.
GARCIA: ...Or Thought?
BLACK THOUGHT: I mean, you know, either-or. I mean, you know...
GARCIA: Interchangeable.
BLACK THOUGHT: Yeah, they are. They are. I mean, but on, you know, "The Tonight Show," I prefer to be called Tariq. But just in life, like, yeah - Tariq, Thought, whatever, you know?
BARTOS: We feel like we've known you a long time.
BLACK THOUGHT: Absolutely. You can call me Tariq. Like, you guys have known me long enough to call me 'Riq (ph).
(LAUGHTER)
BLACK THOUGHT: You know what I'm saying?
GARCIA: Yo, 'Riq.
(LAUGHTER)
BARTOS: Well, for real, for real, 'Riq, man...
(LAUGHTER)
BARTOS: Thank you.
GARCIA: It's been real.
BARTOS: And, you know, I know you hear it a lot, but we don't see you that often. Congratulations on...
BLACK THOUGHT: Oh, no, thank you.
BARTOS: ...The family, the success, everything, really.
BLACK THOUGHT: Thanks, bro. Thank you guys, man.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
BARTOS: That is our show. This podcast was produced by Michelle Lanz, edited by Jordana Hochman and N'Jeri Eaton. And our executive producer is Abby O'Neill, music by composer Eli Escobar and our own Robertino Garcia.
GARCIA: If you like the show, you can find more at npr.org or wherever you get your podcasts, including bonus video content on Spotify on Fridays. Thanks to Spotify for their support. While you're at it, please go to Apple podcasts and rate, review and subscribe 91. That's how we know you are listening.
BARTOS: You can follow us on Twitter - @stretchandbob - or Instagram - @stretchandbobbito.
GARCIA: Word up.
BARTOS: Peace.
- Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
- Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。
- He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。
- An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。
- After making all those colossally dumb loans, financial institutions are now punishing you for their sins. 在放出了那些数额巨大的愚蠢的贷款后，现在金融机构正在因为他们的过失而惩罚你。 来自互联网
- I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
- We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。
- This is an excerpt from a novel.这是一部小说的摘录。
- Can you excerpt something from the newspaper? 你能从报纸上选录些东西吗？
- How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
- I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
- They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
- We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。
- music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
- The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。
- Peel the carrots and cut them into shreds. 将胡罗卜削皮，切成丝。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- I want to take this diary and rip it into shreds. 我真想一赌气扯了这日记。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说
- The little boy dreads going to bed in the dark. 这孩子不敢在黑暗中睡觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- A burnt child dreads the fire. [谚]烧伤过的孩子怕火（惊弓之鸟，格外胆小）。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
- He particularly criticized the terminology in the document.他特别批评了文件中使用的术语。
- The article uses rather specialized musical terminology.这篇文章用了相当专业的音乐术语。
- The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
- They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
- He improvised a song about the football team's victory. 他即席创作了一首足球队胜利之歌。
- We improvised a tent out of two blankets and some long poles. 我们用两条毛毯和几根长竿搭成一个临时帐蓬。
- The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
- They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。
- The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
- The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。
- Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on gas mains. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在煤气的总管道上了。
- Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on steam pipes. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在蒸气管道上了。
- She is proficient at swimming.她精通游泳。
- I think I'm quite proficient in both written and spoken English.我认为我在英语读写方面相当熟练。
- She aspired to a scientific career. 她有志于科学事业。
- Britain,France,the United States and Japan all aspired to hegemony after the end of World War I. 第一次世界大战后，英、法、美、日都想争夺霸权。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- She was very attentive to her guests.她对客人招待得十分周到。
- The speaker likes to have an attentive audience.演讲者喜欢注意力集中的听众。
- The water butt catches the overflow from this pipe.大水桶盛接管子里流出的东西。
- He was the butt of their jokes.他是他们的笑柄。
- All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
- As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。
- They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
- His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。
- A chauffeur opened the door of the limousine for the grand lady.司机为这个高贵的女士打开了豪华轿车的车门。
- We arrived in fine style in a hired limousine.我们很气派地乘坐出租的豪华汽车到达那里。
- No one could challenge her supremacy in gymnastics.她是最优秀的体操运动员，无人能胜过她。
- Theoretically,she holds supremacy as the head of the state.从理论上说，她作为国家的最高元首拥有至高无上的权力。
- The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
- I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。
- He strolled about,look very debonair in his elegant new suit.他穿了一身讲究的新衣服逛来逛去，显得颇为惬意。
- He was a handsome,debonair,death-defying racing-driver.他是一位英俊潇洒、风流倜傥、敢于挑战死神的赛车手。
- When Joan returned to work,the friction between them increased.琼回来工作后，他们之间的摩擦加剧了。
- Friction acts on moving bodies and brings them to a stop.摩擦力作用于运动着的物体，并使其停止。
- We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
- After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。
- The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
- survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者
- There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
- Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。
- After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
- They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
- This monument was built to perpetuate the memory of the national hero.这个纪念碑建造的意义在于纪念民族英雄永垂不朽。
- We must perpetuate the system.我们必须将此制度永久保持。
- There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
- This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。
- You've really intrigued me—tell me more! 你说的真有意思—再给我讲一些吧！
- He was intrigued by her story. 他被她的故事迷住了。
- Dark also end up eviscerating Marauders in a ruthless fashion. 黑暗圣堂无情的把掠夺者切成几块。 来自互联网
- He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
- His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。
- She was an atheist but now she says she's seen the light.她本来是个无神论者，可是现在她说自己的信仰改变了。
- He is admittedly an atheist.他被公认是位无神论者。
- With a shrug,he went out of the room.他耸一下肩，走出了房间。
- I admire the way she is able to shrug off unfair criticism.我很佩服她能对错误的批评意见不予理会。
- He reached down the atlas from the top shelf.他从书架顶层取下地图集。
- The atlas contains forty maps,including three of Great Britain.这本地图集有40幅地图，其中包括3幅英国地图。
- She's a voracious reader of all kinds of love stories.什么样的爱情故事她都百看不厌。
- Joseph Smith was a voracious book collector.约瑟夫·史密斯是个如饥似渴的藏书家。
- Adolescence is the process of going from childhood to maturity.青春期是从少年到成年的过渡期。
- The film is about the trials and tribulations of adolescence.这部电影讲述了青春期的麻烦和苦恼。
- You are very much an introvert.你是一位地道的内向性格者。
- The same conversation that energizes the extravert also drains the introvert.同样的交谈能让外向者荣光焕发，却让内向者精神颓靡。
- From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
- His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。
- The entrance facade consists of a large full height glass door.入口正面有一大型全高度玻璃门。
- If you look carefully,you can see through Bob's facade.如果你仔细观察，你就能看穿鲍勃的外表。
- He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
- Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。
- The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
- Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。
- We wound off a couple of yards of wire for a new lamp flex.我们解开几码电线作为新的电灯花线。
- He gave his biceps a flex to impress the ladies.他收缩他的肱二头肌以吸引那些女士们的目光。
- The child was rolling a hoop.那个孩子在滚铁环。
- The wooden tub is fitted with the iron hoop.木盆都用铁箍箍紧。
- The aircraft swooped down over the buildings. 飞机俯冲到那些建筑物上方。
- The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it. 鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来，并把它杀死。
- These are the privileges that pertained only to the wealthier class. 这些是属于富有阶级独享的特权。
- And did you feel it, in your heart, it pertained to everything? 而你是否感受到，在你心里，它如何和谐于万物？
- The government found it expedient to relax censorship a little.政府发现略微放宽审查是可取的。
- Every kind of expedient was devised by our friends.我们的朋友想出了各种各样的应急办法。
- The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
- The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。
- It is worth while to ruminate over his remarks.他的话值得玩味。
- The cow began to ruminate after eating up grass.牛吃完草后开始反刍。
- The government is torn between principle and expediency. 政府在原则与权宜之间难于抉择。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- It was difficult to strike the right balance between justice and expediency. 在公正与私利之间很难两全。 来自辞典例句
- Chocolate equals sin in most people's lexicon.巧克力在大多数人的字典里等同于罪恶。
- Silent earthquakes are only just beginning to enter the public lexicon.无声地震才刚开始要成为众所周知的语汇。
- Eating a good diet significantly lessens the risk of heart disease. 良好的饮食习惯能大大减少患心脏病的机率。
- Alcohol lessens resistance to diseases. 含有酒精的饮料会减弱对疾病的抵抗力。
- She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
- His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
- He delivered his words in slow,measured cadences.他讲话缓慢而抑扬顿挫、把握有度。
- He liked the relaxed cadence of his retired life.他喜欢退休生活的悠闲的节奏。
- He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
- Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。
- A grove of trees shadowed the house densely. 树丛把这幢房子遮蔽得很密实。
- We passed through miles of densely wooded country. 我们穿过好几英里茂密的林地。
- She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
- The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。
- Mr. Smith gradually garnered a national reputation as a financial expert. 史密斯先生逐渐赢得全国金融专家的声誉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- He has garnered extensive support for his proposals. 他的提议得到了广泛的支持。 来自辞典例句
- The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
- His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
- Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
- His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。
- Buddhism was introduced into China about 67 AD.佛教是在公元67年左右传入中国的。
- Many people willingly converted to Buddhism.很多人情愿皈依佛教。
- The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
- The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。
- DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
- Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。
- The fame to which he aspires was beyond his reach. 他追求的名誉乃是他所不能及的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- An old steed in the stable still aspires to gallop a thousand li. 老骥伏枥，志在千里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
- Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物
- The tree grows well in his nurture.在他的培育下这棵树长得很好。
- The two sisters had received very different nurture.这俩个姊妹接受过极不同的教育。
- Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
- The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。
- A new serial is starting on television tonight.今晚电视开播一部新的电视连续剧。
- Can you account for the serial failures in our experiment?你能解释我们实验屡屡失败的原因吗？
- Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
- The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。
- He has many years'experience of the criminal mentality.他研究犯罪心理有多年经验。
- Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.经营企业所要求具备的心态和上班族的心态截然不同。
- It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
- Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。
- I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
- He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。
- This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
- There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
- It is not difficult to sketch the subsequent trajectory.很容易描绘出它们最终的轨迹。
- The path followed by a projectile is called its trajectory.抛物体所循的路径称为它的轨道。
- The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
- He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。
- We have collaborated on many projects over the years. 这些年来我们合作搞了许多项目。
- We have collaborated closely with the university on this project. 我们与大学在这个专案上紧密合作。
- The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
- A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。
- He slewed the car against the side of the building.他的车滑到了大楼的一侧，抵住了。
- They dealt with a slew of other issues.他们处理了大量的其他问题。
- Short trousers are improper at a dance.舞会上穿短裤不成体统。
- Laughing and joking are improper at a funeral.葬礼时大笑和开玩笑是不合适的。
- In his defense he alleged temporary insanity.他伪称一时精神错乱，为自己辩解。
- He remained in his cell,and this visit only increased the belief in his insanity.他依旧还是住在他的地牢里，这次视察只是更加使人相信他是个疯子了。
- Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
- The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。
- Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
- The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。
- He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
- He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。
- Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
- Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。
- He was green with envy when he saw my new Jaguar car.看见我那辆美洲虎牌新车，他非常妒忌。
- Should you meet a jaguar in the jungle,just turn slowly,walk away.But slowly,never look back.你在丛林中若碰上美洲虎，就慢慢转身走开，可一定要慢，切莫回头看。