The Roots, Tiny Masters of Today, The Black Keys, N.A.S.A

The Roots
Though popular success has largely eluded the Roots, the Philadelphia group showed the way for live rap, building on Stetsasonic's "hip-hop band" philosophy of the mid-'80s by focusing on live instrumentation at their concerts and in the studio.

The Black Keys
The two-man duo comprising the Black Keys, singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney, were in their early twenties when their debut, The Big Come Up, was issued in 2002. From Akron, OH, they play close-to-the-bone, raw blues-rock, the only instrumentation being Auerbach's...