The Roots Join the Revolution, Recruit Big Names for Upcoming Album

Just in time for Black History Month, Philadelphia-bred Roots crew jumped in the studio to record a track for the Danny Glover-produced documentary, 'Soundtrack for a Revolution.' The film will feature contemporary artists revamping popular Civil Rights Movement-themed protest songs. Soul singer Anthony Hamilton, jazz trio Soulive and the Blind Boys of Alabama also contributed to this project.

Although it's unknown which protest/freedom song the Roots reworked, we do know that the outfit's frontman Black Thought tried his hand at singing ... and sounded pretty darn good, according to Okayplayer.com.

In other Roots news, the collective have recruited some big names for their next project, entitled 'Rising Down,' which is due in April. Mos Def and Common are set to appear on the group's next project and rumors are swirling that Q-Tip and Lupe Fiasco may also appear on the project.