"M-illitant" The Lyrical Reformer

By Brian Salkowski (Commentary #229)

Malik joined The Roots in its earliest days. Before The Roots went on to score three Grammy awards and become the official house band on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the group started out as a small hip-hop group between Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter and Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1987. Malik came on-board (in addition to bass player Leonard “Hub” Hubbard) before The Roots released its debut studio album, Organix, in 1993. Malik wasn’t the flashiest verbal technician in the Roots; that was always Tariq Trotter, a.k.a. Black Thought, a boundless lyrical dynamo whose freestyle abilities were legendary from Day One. Nor was he the group’s most magnetic public personality; that was often drummer Ahmir Thompson, a.k.a. Questlove. But Malik brought something crucial to the group on their first four albums in the Nineties. He kept the Roots grounded, giving their jazzy, free-wheeling explorations a firm footing in the Northeastern rap canon of that era. He was the member of the Roots you could most easily imagine running into on any city block, the guy whose warm, human presence balanced out his friends’ musical chops.

He and Black Thought had an easygoing bond on those early Roots albums, trading verses with an obvious affection for each other. “Mellow My Man,” one of the smoothest grooves from the Roots’ 1995 major-label debut, Do You Want More?!!!?!, begins with an invocation of their friendship: “Yes, the Roots laying back, relaxin’/Cooling out with my man, Malik B, we call him Slaxon,” Black Thought raps. The rest of the song is almost entirely about their laid-back connection, with some classic Nineties-rap punchlines from Malik thrown in (“Change my name to Saran or Reynolds, then I wrap ‘em”). Malik holds his own on the whole album, his verses standing out as much as those of Black Thought. “I Remain Calm” (rhymes with “lyrically, I got the bomb”) includes some of his coolest talk: “I write an anthem, throw a tantrum, and remain handsome/Mysterious vibes, like I was the Phantom.”

Their paths diverged on the albums that followed, and Malik was increasingly absent at the live shows that grew the Roots’ renown. By 1999’s breakthrough Things Fall Apart, Black Thought was clearly the frontman — but Malik B remained formidable. “People wanna know where Malik? He right next to me,” Black Thought defiantly offered on the fan favorite “100% Dundee.” Malik gave one of his best verses ever to that song, nimbly narrating a rhythmic robbery: “Smash ’n’ grab, snatch the ice, crush your mental device/Thought twice, shoulda thought once, got played for the dunce.” He shone on “Adrenaline,” too, rhyming “Knots Landing” with “Ralph Kramden.” On his solo showcase “The Spark,” Malik spoke movingly about his devout Muslim faith and his struggles to stay on the straight and narrow: “Might act up, but I can still pass Da’wah…I didn’t make Hajj yet, but that’s my next project.”

Those struggles led him to leave the group before 2002’s Phrenology. Black Thought dedicated a full song, “Water,” to Malik, recounting their history from meeting as students at Millersville University circa 1991 to their first tastes of success to the drug problems that increasingly consumed him. “You gotta walk straight, master your high/Son, you’re missing out on what’s passing you by,” Black Thought pleads in the chorus. Later, he makes his feelings even clearer: “I’m far from a hater/And I don’t say I love you, ‘cause the way I feel is greater/M-illa, you a poet, son, a born creator.” It’s a masterpiece of grieving for a lost bandmate, every bit as powerful as Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here.”

Malik B came back into the fold around the time the Roots signed to Def Jam and restarted their career with 2006’s Game Theory, but he was credited as a featured artist on his handful of appearances. Even so, fans loved hearing him trade lyrics with Black Thought again. Some of us hoped that, should the Roots make it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame some day — they’ve been eligible since 2018 we’d see the two old friends perform together. Instead, we can listen to the records Malik B made with the Roots and remember the humble power of his voice.

The Roots, as a collective group, is one of the most immersive groups in hip hop history. For Philadelphians, it's especially evocative. There famous concerts and festivals throughout the city became a staple for Philly hip hop. seeing them live is truly an experience that covers multiple layers in the music macro verse. From deep bass produced performance, human beat boxing, lyrical gallantry by black thought and Malik B in the early days; the band was the definition of hip hop and Philadelphia.

regrettably, on July 29th 2020 Malik died. With any death, rumors quickly swarmed around the ruinous news. There was no secret that he struggled throughout he life with substance abuse. At the end of the day a great talent is gone way too soon at the young, delicate age of 47. It has always been my policy not to speak about the dead unless necessary and subsequently all should follow suit. In the days end months following the news people close to him express their sympathy & heartache.

It is worth noting that black thought took this especially hard and expressed the following:

“Your steel sharpened my steel as I watched you create cadences from the ether and set them free into the universe to become poetic law, making the English language your bitch. I always wanted to change you, to somehow sophisticate your outlook and make you see that there were far more options than the streets, only to realize that you and the streets were one… and there was no way to separate a man from his true self.” -Black Thought