Roots, Amazon Developing Two New Children’s Shows
The Roots have partnered with Amazon to develop two new children’s series, Deadline reports. The hip-hop group and their company Passyunk Productions are prepping an animated show, tentatively titled South Street Sounds, as well as a live-action series.
The Roots recorded music for South Street Sounds, while acclaimed kid’s programming screenwriter Becky Friedman wrote the show. South Street Sounds follows three friends – Zora, Nick and Tyson – who form a band called South Street. Episodes will find the group preparing for a gig and navigating a neighborhood so filled with music, “every shop-keeper, pizza-maker and crossing guard dance perfectly in time, and having a bad day means literally singing the blues,” Amazon said in a release.
“Our love for music started as young kids, and we hope to inspire a generation of future artists, musicians and music fans through the stories we tell and the music they hear on these shows,” said Roots MC Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter.
A premiere date for South Street Sounds has yet to be announced. The Roots and Amazon also did not reveal any details about the live-action series.
Previously, Trotter and Roots drummer Amir “Questlove” Thompson produced the VH1 music series, Soundclash, in 2014. The band has also served as Jimmy Fallon’s house band on Late Night and, currently, The Tonight Show. Last October, Questlove posted videos to Instagram that showed the band working on their 17th album, tentatively titled End Game.