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The Roots are (allegedly) stiffing members out of their pay? Frank “Knuckles” Walker, a longtime drummer for the Roots, is suing Questlove and Black Thought for unpaid royalties.

Reports Page Six:

A longtime member of the legendary “Tonight Show” house band is suing founders Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter — claiming they refused to pay him properly and then gave him the boot as a way to shut him up.

“They simply kicked him out of The Roots and presumed he would forget about almost two decades of hard work, dedication, and effort he put into [the group],” reads a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Federal Court on Thursday by former percussionist Frank “Knuckles” Walker.

The drummer alleges that Thompson and Trotter, along with manager Shawn Gee, paid him “unfair compensation” and used his image to promote their performances after giving him the ax back in May.

“I’ve been a member of the roots for 17 years and there has been a lot of bad paper work and bad business,” Walker told The Post. “This is definitely a pattern with these Roots guys.”

Walker is looking for his proper compensation as well as monetary damages.

We gotta hear both sides.

Photo: WENN.com