Jessie Ware on Fallon

Last night, emerging British singer Jessie Ware made her U.S. TV debut on always welcoming stage on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. Sitting in on "Wildest Moments" are the always helpful and probably really nice guys in general, The Roots.

Check out the performance below, and grab her 2012 debut Devotion this April for its official U.S. release.

Wu Tang Clan on Fallon

It's big. Most (unfortunately) dropped by Late Night With Jimmy Fallon last night to perform another stellar track from RZA's The Man With The Iron Fists soundtrack, "Six Directions Of Boxing." The Roots and Black Thought admirably filled the void of the members who weren't in attendance (Raekwon, Method Man), including in a special rendition of "Protect Ya Neck."

Watch both performances below, and grab the soundtrack to The Man With The Iron Fists today.

Kendrick Lamar on Fallon

The Kendrick Lamar hype machine just keeps on moving. Last night, the Compton rapper dropped by Late Night With Jimmy Fallon to perform one of his earlier 2012 hits "Swimming Pools (Drank)" alongside The Roots. Check out the performance below, and don't forget to grab good kid, m.A.A.d city October 22. You probably didn't forget.

A$AP Rocky performs "Goldie" on Fallon

Garbed in all white (and off white) and tan boots, A$AP Rocky made his late night television debut last night on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon to perform standout single "Goldie" alongside The Roots. The track comes from Rocky's long-awaited studio debut LongLiveA$AP, which is out September 11.

Bears and Bullets Albums of the Year: Pt. II

We'll continue today with our top 25 countdown with albums #20 through #16.

#20: Tom Waits - Bad As Me
If I told you that Bad As Me starts off like a "roaring train," you'd have every right to disregard whatever I have to say about it. Of course it sounds like a train - it's Tom Waits; the man who in his decades of work has become a physical manifestation of a midnight train and a misty back alley. From "Chicago" to "Hell Broke Luce," Bad As Me sounds in every way like Waits' machination: gritty, plunging yelps pacing an industrial pounce, making you wonder if the world is much worse than you ever thought.

#19: Big K.R.I.T. - Return of 4Eva
Justin Scott, the 25-year-old Mississippi rapper, hasn't totally made it. Building a reputation on free mixtapes, an all-the-more common internet era version of handing out your demo on the corner, Big K.R.I.T.'s biggest moments on Return of 4Eva skip the southern-rap regularity and shine through pitch-perfect sampling (also done by Scott). That being said, "Country Shit" with Ludacris is all too fun to ignore. There's a future here.

#18: Radiohead - The King of Limbs
There's a well-documented subsequent frustration with The King of Limbs. In all, it's hard to say it stacks up well against any of the landmark records the band has put out since their emergence with The Bends in 1995. Going back 16 years on a band that has become crowned the kings of the current era was certainly confounding for some who expect nothing less than titular perfection from the band of evolving (and aging) perfectionists. But for all its retractions (mull vocal styling, length, etc.), Radiohead have yet again pushed through something that doesn't totally replicate anything from their previous years. And once you get yourself past the fact that it's not an awe-inspiring mountain of perfection, there's definite value that goes over head.

#17: The Roots - Undun
The latest entrant in the list, The Roots have to be forgiven for what could be called a "tired" pass. Undun, the (almost) concept album of the morally righteous criminal drafted into a world where he doesn't want to belong. You have to forgive it because much like the rest of what the Philadelphia band has crafted since in the late 90s, it comes out too beautifully, too resonating. And those moments come collectively crashing with the band's final movement; a four-song lashing that makes you wonder if there's something more that The Roots can do.

#16: Real Estate - Days
Days  lingers. It comes off like an entrapped memory long distant in those teenage years - the forgetful moments where no one says a word because no one knows what to say. It's a lot to say from Real Estate, who may not come across as anything more than another member of the new class of indie bands worth your attention. The details of Days are hardly profound, but that's part of the backwards endearment. Call it toned-down fuzz rock for anyone who isn't apt to a predictable title, but it's still one of the finer products of 2011.



We'll continue our countdown tomorrow with albums #15-#11 ...

The Roots perform (for real) on Fallon

I imagine there had to be at least a few people in the crowd who were slightly disappointed when they heard the musical guest for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon was the band that's there every night anyway. Regardless, the Roots performed two songs from their new (and stellar) album Undun on the show, including part of an amazing "Redford" medley inspired by the Sufjan Stevens' song.

The Roots - Tip the Scale/Redford Medley (Live on Fallon)



The Roots - The OtherSide (Live on Fallon)

Thursday Bears: Raekwon on Fallon

Ex-Wu Tang member Raekwon followed up his landmark 1995 solo-debut Only Built 4 Cuban Linx with Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II, in one of the best albums of the year.

The NYC native performed "Catalina" from the aforementioned album alongside The Roots (featuring a nice portion from Black Thought) on the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon stage, further proving that all Wu Tang members are probably better at what they do than anyone else in the rap game.

Raekwon - Catalina (Live on Fallon)

Lonely Island on Fallon

Several nights ago, in case any one missed it, Andy Samberg and the rest of his Lonely Island grouped performed their T-Pain backed SNL digital short turned single "I'm on a Boat" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, marking the group's first live television performance.

The most well-known track off of Lonely Island's debut album Incredibad is missing T-Pain on the Late Night stage, but it really doesn't matter when Black Thought and the rest of The Roots just fill in. For those who've seen the original video before, you'll understand Jorma's noticable silence.

Lonely Island - I'm on a Boat (Live on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon)