Here's some interesting news: 9th Wonder and Salaam Remi are working on the new album by The Roots.

According to XXL, some of the music will also be crafted by Karriem Riggins and Stro Elliot, which is a definite change of course since drummer Questlove typically handles most of the band's production.

"Last October we had a writers' retreat at Electric Lady Studios in New York City for about a week or so, and within that time we got about a good deal of the groundwork of what's to come for the record End Game," Black Thought explained. "I've been working, writing and recording it since then."

The Roots' frontman also said the group isn't confined to a certain release date, so they won't make any promises as to when the album will be out. At the same time, however, they won't drop it as a surprise, which is pretty fashionable in hip-hop nowadays.

"I think what people do nowadays is to catch people off guard and take the industry by storm," said Black Thought. "I think our campaign will be unlike that new sort of wave. We will announce it when it's done, and it will come out when it comes out. We're not under any constraints of this is the date where the album must be completed and submitted. That's not us anymore. We're free agents now. We're our own band. Our own label. When the joints are done, we're just going to put it out."

As we reported, The Roots' longtime manager Richard Nichols passed away in July 2014 after battling leukemia, and Black Thought said End Game was made with him in mind.

"This is going to be our first record since the untimely passing of our long term mentor and manager and executive producer Richard Nichols," he stated. "So this record is going to be a testimonial to The Roots' creative power."

25 Striking Hip-Hop Album Covers That Will Make You Appreciate a Rapper's Creative Side
 

More From TheBoombox