The Roots co-founder Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter says art has been his saving grace: "My salvation"

Tariq Trotter is best known by his rap name, Black Thought. But before the lead emcee for The Roots made music, he studied art, taking classes at Fleisher Art Memorial in South Philadelphia.

Attending his first school of the arts as a child, Trotter said the environment "was otherworldly for me. It always felt sort of like a sanctuary, a hidden gem."

In his new memoir, "The Upcycled Self: A Memoir on the Art of Becoming Who We Are," Trotter writes that art saved his life. "Art, you know, has been my saving grace, my salvation, absolutely," he said.