Review: Jill Scott shines on Day 1 of a sold-out Roots Picnic in a glorious day in Fairmount Park

The Roots Picnic is such a smashing success — such a central part of the cultural life of Philadelphia — that now, 16 years after its inception, politicians and elected officials are hurrying to be a part of it.

On Saturday night on the expanded campus of the Mann Center for the Performing Arts — after the sun had set on a sold-out crowd of 30,000 in the first of two days of the hip-hop-and-more festival — Gov. Josh Shapiro came on stage in between sets by Nas and Funkmaster Flex.

Flanked by The Roots’ Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, Shapiro presented the Picnic founders with a proclamation “recognizing the incredible contributions they’ve made to our arts and culture.”

» READ MORE: Q&A: Questlove on Philly’s music, food, and the El

But the governor was just an opening act for Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, who came on shortly after on the Fairmount Park stage to deliver an effusive introduction for day one headliner Jill Scott.

“Ain’t no party like a Philly Roots party, ‘cause a Philly Roots party don’t stop!” the mayor declared, and shouted out Black Lily, the early ‘00s Old City talent incubator where Scott honed her craft. And most enthusiastically, she thanked Jilly from North Philly for repping her hometown wherever she goes.

The set that followed by Scott — a first-time Picnic headliner — connected with the crowd with the generosity of spirit that animates everything she does.

“It feels so good to be home,” she said, looking luminous in an orange print dress and fronting an eight-piece, richly rhythmic band on a stage filled with flowers and foliage. “It feels so good to be loved.” Her set stretched to 90 minutes, including a delayed multi-song encore that played out after much of the crowd had started for the exits.

» READ MORE: Jill Scott visits Girls' High, tells Philly students to 'go ahead and be weird'

She rumbled low and soared high in “The Way,” showed off her operatic range in “He Loves Me (Lyzel In E Flat),” and in a day of many unannounced cameos, delivered two.

The first was a thrill, if not a shock: Black Thought coming out to rap on “You Got Me,” The Roots’ 1999 single whose hook was written by Scott (though it was sung by Erykah Badu, then a bigger name).

More intriguing was an unbilled appearance by Tierra Whack, with Scott rhyming with her fellow North Philly native in a new, unreleased collaboration that seemed to be called … wait for it … “Norf Philly.”

Scott’s performance ended 10-plus hours after the fest got underway, with DJ Diamond Kuts keeping the crowd engaged by spinning hip-hop hits on the Fairmount Park stage, as she did between acts all night long.

The first set to galvanize the gathering crowd was the J. Period Live Mixtape, in which the titular DJ and Roots collaborator Stro Elliot backed up Black Thought and his guests, announced as weed-loving buddies Method Man (of the Wu-Tang Clan) and his running partner Redman.

» READ MORE: Black Thought on why the Roots Picnic is the Philly music festival that endures

They’re both charismatic, practiced showmen, and instantly had the crowd in their grip. If there was a roof, it would have been blown off when Black Thought joined them on the Wu-Tang classic “Protect Ya Neck.” He acknowledged Redman rules Jersey City before asking: “Whose city is this?” The crowd knew the answer.

From there, it got nutty with a plethora of guests. Philly rapper Freeway was first, announcing his own festival at the Navy Yard on Aug. 3. Then Common appeared, upping the energy further. Followed by Amir Ali and Reecee, two young Philly rappers with promise. And finally, A$AP Ferg, who became verklempt and had to stop the music to tell Black Thought how much he meant to him. It got emotional.

The day was full of noteworthy highlights. Nas brought out the Wu-Tang’s Ghostface Killah during his set, which pulled heavily from his 1994 classic Illmatic, whose “New York State of Mind” was transformed into “Illadelph State of Mind.”

In the Picnic’s configuration of the Mann, the city-owned venue is opened up into a 22-acre festival site, with the larger Fairmount Park stage set up on an inclined field normally used for parking. The TD Pavilion — the amphitheater people commonly think of as “the Mann” — becomes a smaller venue within the venue, known as the Presser Stage for the weekend. It’s where André 3000 will play his flute on Sunday.

With protection from the sun, it was a popular place on a cloudless day. Philly rocker Chioke was a force, making the most of her 20-minute set as she prowled the stage energetically despite appearing to be pregnant. Indeed she was, she revealed: “Twin boys!” are on the way.

Chioke was followed by an artist who specializes in baby-making music: October London, the suave crooner signed by Snoop Dogg to Death Row Records, fashions himself after Marvin Gaye and contemporary retro love men like Maxwell. He was the best-dressed man at the Picnic, elegant in a suit and tie, with his backup singers, the Shindellas, in evening gowns.

But much of the fun happens not on stage, but around the grounds. Double Dutch experts Philly Girls Jump encouraged Picnic goers to try their feet at skipping rope. Near the Centennial Stage — home to DJ acts like R&B Only and podcasters such as Million Dollaz Worth of Game — there was a Beanie Sigel sighting, where the Philly rapper was competing in a World Series of Spades tournament.

Dunkin’ gave out free coffee samples, and there are plenty of other corporate activations, from Jack Daniels to Grand Marnier to Shea Moisture, with the most amusing from Charmin. Fest goers posed sitting on a throne-like fake toilet and danced with a fuzzy Charmin bear while DJ Problem got her groove on.

New this year is a roller rink, under a tent on top of the hill in the Skyline Stage area that’s converted to a quiet chill-out space far from the madding crowd. On Saturday afternoon, a smattering of skaters rolled around as Siger and Freeway’s “What We Do” rocked the house in view of the Philadelphia skyline.

In many ways, the Roots Picnic is a grown folks festival, a gathering of the Black community and lucky Philly music lovers that feel like a family reunion built around rhythms that are full of feeling.

But it also pulls in a younger audience with red-hot starting acts. The prime example on Saturday was Sexyy Red, a risque rhymer with a ribald sense of humor and knack for super-catchy songs.

You might have thought that Picnic goers included a sizable contingent of Trump supporters based on the popularity of red ball caps in the crowd. But they were not MAGA but MASA hats, as in Make America Sexyy Again.

The St. Louis rapper performed with a giant replica of that cap on stage, while a crowd a decade or two younger than the Jill Scott audience a short walk away absolutely lost its collective mind during hits like “Pound Town” and “SkeeYee.” It was bananas.