The Roots' Black Thought Judges a Sandwich by Its Bread

"Since then, food has developed into a love language. This past Monday, he brought homemade lunch to 30 Rock for his fellow bandmates to enjoy before prepping for The Tonight Show, where they've been the longtime backing band. He does this once every other month as a morale booster - though most recently, it was by request. The menu included six half jerk chickens and jerk wings, cedar-plank salmon, some snapper filets, crab legs, plantains and rice and peas, whipped up that morning."

"But there's a lot that he can only say with food. "The need to create carries over and transcends medium," he says. "Sometimes I want to paint a picture with words, or write a song, or tell a story with my outfit. And other times, it manifests itself onto the plate.""

"Tuesday, April 28I wake up and train around 5:30 a.m. Right now, I'm working out daily. It's going to be a long, hot, exhausting summer with the annual Roots Picnic music festival, and I don't want to also be in terrible shape and feeling bad. I follow my workout with three tablespoons of soursop sea-moss gel. I'm more likely to be health- and spirituality-conscious on a Monday or a Tuesday than I am on a Friday or Saturday."

"Soon after, I have two hard-boiled eggs and a tin of Fishwife tuna. Maybe two Fridays ago, I decided I was going to try and re-create this Asian tuna salad that my wife and I used to get from the café at Life Time back when we'd go out to the gym."

Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter is known for early pretzel-selling and now uses homemade meals to support bandmates before major performances. He brings lunch to 30 Rock about every other month, sometimes by request, with a menu featuring jerk chicken and wings, cedar-plank salmon, snapper, crab legs, plantains, and rice and peas, plus additional delivered sides. He also connects creativity across mediums, saying he can express ideas through words, songs, outfits, or directly through food. He maintains a demanding summer fitness routine, trains around 5:30 a.m., and follows workouts with soursop sea-moss gel. He eats hard-boiled eggs and Fishwife tuna, including efforts to recreate a tuna salad from a past gym café.

Read at Grub Street