Questlove, drummer and co-founder of grammy-winning hip-hop group The Roots, has announced that they will now stream live content on Youtube, Monday through Friday. The live streams include individual DJ performances by Questlove himself, as well as collaborative programs with guests.
With shows canceled and band members practicing social distancing, Questlove and friends got creative. Instead of live performances, shows moved to their Youtube channel to reach audiences. Questlove’s sessions are both entertaining and educational, as he touches upon different eras and genres and provides personal and historical anecdotes.
Questlove’s talent has caught the attention of more than just his devoted fanbase. In late March, while DJing a special set of Stevie Wonder songs, Questlove received a call from Stevie Wonder himself, who was so impressed that he called in just to say hello.
The Roots have earned three Grammys and two NAACP Awards already, producing award-winning music while doubling as the house band for Jimmy Fallon on Late Night and The Tonight Show.
Questlove’s Musical Family
Questlove, real name Ahmir Khalib Thompson, was born in Philadelphia in 1971. He came from a family of musicians: his father led a doo-wop quintet, his grandfather sang with a gospel group, and his mother sang with a soul group. Thompson recalls how he grew up in backstages of their shows. By the age of seven, he began drumming on stage.
“My dad (Lee Andrews) taught me everything I know about the music business,” says Questlove. “But if you’re talking about who I look to and worship in my daily life, the Father is Don Cornelius, the Son is Prince and the Holy Ghost is Michael Jackson.”
Thompson later enrolled at the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing arts, and that’s where he founded The Roots with his friend Tariq Trotter, a.k.a Black Thought in 1987.
From a Local Philly Band to National Acclaim
The band, known for their jazzy sound and live instrumentation, rose to prominence in the mid-90s, with albums like Do You Want More?!!!??! and Illadelph Halflife. Later, these were followed by their breakthrough record Things Fall Apart, which earned them a Grammy award in 2000. Among their other prominent works are conceptual albums like Undun and …And Then You Shoot Your Cousin.
Since 2009, The Roots have also been featured in Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and The Tonight Show, serving as the shows’ house band, while earning multiple Grammy awards in 2011.
The Roots Offer Youtube Entertainment in Lockdown
Questlove started live performing various late-night sets, ranging from 2.5 to 5 hours, in March. The Roots soon announced that they would be offering a variety of scheduled programs on their channel. Many of these programs feature fellow band members James Poyser, “Captain” Kirk Douglas, and Black Thought, among others.
The first episodes focused on the works of Mariah Carey and Bruce Springsteen. Each weekday, the channel offers various programs, such as “Behind the Keys,” “Guitar Stories,” “Streams of Thought” and podcasts, followed by a DJ performance by Questlove at night.
The idea for shifting the band’s activities to their Youtube channel, obviously, emerged due to the unexpected circumstances caused by the Coronavirus pandemic. Usually around this time of the year, the band is busy with making arrangements for their annual The Roots Picnic. Band manager Shawn Gee explained in a statement that “there was a major creative void” after they had to make the decision to postpone the picnic. “We built this idea for a content rich channel after seeing the immediate success of Questlove’s virtual DJ sets,” says Gee.
Questlove himself calls this new idea the “new normal” and a “paradigm shift.”
“While we are daily trying to figure out ways for us to play as a group while practicing social distancing, we are always thinking of new ways to be creative and leaving our comfort zone. We just hope people will follow and subscribe and we will keep the treats coming.”
Based on the reactions of fans, it seems that a broad audience, including Stevie Wonder himself, are thoroughly enjoying this new idea and the content offered.
Catch the band’s next performance or set here: youtube.com/theroots.
