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The Roots are being honored with their own Philly street

The 600 block of Passyunk Avenue is being dedicated to Philly hip-hop act.

The Roots have been honored with their own Philly street: The 600 block of E. Passyunk Ave is being renamed "Avenue of the Roots."
The Roots have been honored with their own Philly street: The 600 block of E. Passyunk Ave is being renamed "Avenue of the Roots."Read moreCHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer

Legendary Philadelphia musicians like Boyz II Men, Patti LaBelle, and Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff have been celebrated with their own stretches of city roadways, and now, another group is joining that list of honorees.

The 600 block of Passyunk Avenue is being dedicated to Philly hip-hop act the Roots, thanks to a City Council resolution introduced Thursday by Councilmember Mark Squilla. The area, located between South and Bainbridge Streets, will receive the moniker “Avenue of the Roots.”

“The Roots started their performance experience by busking on the streets of Philadelphia,” the resolution states. “East Passyunk Avenue and South Street was one of their main locations.”

Councilmembers Kenyatta Johnson, Maria Quiñones-Sánchez, and Cindy Bass co-sponsored the resolution. Brooklyn resident and activist Leroy McCarthy, who is behind similar honors in other cities for artists like the Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur, first reached out to Squilla’s office about the dedication, WHYY reported.

The “Avenue of the Roots” addition was quick-moving, with new signage going up on the Queen Village block by Friday morning, according to Billy Penn. An official dedication ceremony will reportedly take place in May — the same month the 13th-annual Roots Picnic is held across town at the Mann Center.

Roots percussionist Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson reacted to the news on social media Friday, calling a broadcast of the City Council meeting in which the resolution was introduced a “hell of a way to find out” about the honor.

"Does this mean what I think it means,” he wrote.

“My favorite historical landmark is Fifth and South Street,” Roots emcee Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter said of the block in 2017. “It’s where the Roots first started.”

The Roots have become one of the most recognizable hip-hop acts, and joined The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon as the house band in 2009.

“The Roots have taken Philadelphia with them on television nightly and to audiences worldwide,” the resolution states. “But the Roots are and will always be appreciated as a talented band from the streets of Philadelphia.”