Tariq Luqmaan Trotter was born on the 3rd October 1971, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA, and is a musician as well as an occasional actor who, as Tariq Trotter or Black Thought, is most famous for being a co-founder and the leading MC of the hip hop band named The Roots.
Have you ever wondered how much wealth this hip hop artist and performer has accumulated so far? How rich Tariq Trotter is? According to sources, it is estimated that the total of Tariq Trotter’s net worth, as of mid-2017, revolves around the sum of $12 million, acquired largely through his career in the music industry which has been active since 1987.
Tariq Trotter Net Worth $12 million
Tariq is the younger of two sons in the Muslim family of Cassandra and Thomas Trotter, and besides being American, originates also from Senegal and Sierra Leone. He suffered quite a traumatic childhood – when Tariq was only three years old, his father, who was a member of Islamic group Black Brothers Inc. was murdered. At his age of 17, his mother was killed too, while his older brother ended up imprisoned, and spent half of his life in jail. However, Black Thought has managed to snatch out and make a name for himself in the world of music.
Tariq went to Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts, after which he enrolled at Millersville University of Pennsylvania where he majored in journalism. In 1987, Tariq met Ahmir Thompson, who later adopted the stage name Questlove, with whom he formed a hip hop duo and performed on the streets of Philadelphia, and soon after they began playing gigs under the name The Square Roots. In 1992, after adding several more members to the group, they rebranded as The Roots, and in 1993 independently released their debut studio album entitled “Organix”. This was followed by their second album, “Do You Want More?!!!??!”, released in January 1995; with its unique sound, a mixture of hip hop and jazz, the album peaked at No. 2 on the US Top Heatseekers Albums chart, quickly earning The Roots many fans and positive critics’ reviews. All these achievements provided the basis for Tariq Trotter’s nowadays quite impressive net worth.
In 1999, The Roots led by Black Thought released their “Things Fall Apart” album which featured the hit single “You Got Me”. This song earned Tariq and his band mates the prestigious Grammy Award for the Best Rap Performance. Since then Tariq’s The Roots have released eight more studio albums, 12 in total, as well as two EPs and three collaborative albums of which “Wake Up”, released in 2010 and featuring John Legend, won NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Album as well as Grammy Award for the Best R&B album. It is certain that all these accomplishments have helped Tariq Trotter alias Black Thought to add a significant sum to the total of his net worth.
Besides music, Tariq has also made some efforts towards acting – so far, he has appeared in over a dozen motion pictures including the 2000 comedy “Bamboozled”, 2001 musical drama “Brooklyn Babylon” as well as “Love Rome” (2004), “Night Catches Us” (2010) and “Get on Up” (2014). In his now three-decades-long career in the entertainment industry, Tariq has collaborated with numerous big names such as Jay Z, Snoop Dogg, Mos Def and also Spike Lee, Tom Cruise and plenty of others.
When it comes to Black Thought’s personal life, he has managed to keep it mostly private. Since 2010, he has been married to Opal with whom he has welcomed one child. From previous relationships, Tariq has another two children. With his family, he currently resides in New Jersey.
As a passionate “fashionisto” and sunglasses collector, Tariq Trotter has released a limited edition of 300 luxurious black tortoise sunglasses in collaboration with MOSCOT, all featuring Tariq’s signature. He is also a partner and sponsor of GrassROOTS Community Foundation focused on promoting obesity awareness.
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