JIMMY Fallon has hired hip-hop group The Roots as the house band for his new late-night show.

The Roots, a popular six-man band from Philadelphia, were named by Rolling Stone to its list of the top-20 live groups – and lend Fallon a bit of instant-cool simply by being part of the show.

Fallon will take over Conan O’Brien’s “Late Night” timeslot next year.