Questlove facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Questlove
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Questlove in 2011
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Ahmir K. Thompson
January 20, 1971 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
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| Years active | 1987–present |
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Ahmir K. Thompson (born January 20, 1971), known as Questlove (stylized as ?uestlove), is an American musician, producer, DJ, filmmaker, writer, and actor. He is famous as the drummer and a leader of the hip-hop band the Roots. The Roots have been the main band for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon since 2014. Before that, they played on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
Questlove also helped produce the 2015 cast album for the Broadway musical Hamilton. He co-founded the websites Okayplayer and OkayAfrica. In 2016, he became a professor at New York University. He also hosts a popular podcast called Questlove Supreme. Questlove has produced music for many artists like Common, D'Angelo, and John Legend. He has won many awards, including an Academy Award, six Grammy Awards, and a BAFTA Award.
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Growing Up
Ahmir Khalib Thompson was born in Philadelphia on January 20, 1971. He came from a very musical family. His father, Arthur Lee Andrews Thompson, was the lead singer of a 1950s doo-wop group called Lee Andrews & the Hearts. His mother, Jacquelin Thompson, also sang in a soul group with his father.
Because his parents were often on tour, they took Ahmir with them instead of leaving him with babysitters. He grew up backstage at music shows. By age seven, he was already drumming on stage. By 13, he was leading musical performances.
Questlove went to the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts. There, he started a band called the Square Roots with his friend Tariq Trotter, who is now known as Black Thought. They later dropped "Square" from the name. Many of his classmates also became famous musicians, including the group Boyz II Men. After high school, he studied jazz music.
Thompson started performing on South Street in Philadelphia. He would play drums while Tariq rapped. He and a childhood friend, Jay Lonick, were known for their drum battles using plastic buckets and shopping carts. This street style influenced how Questlove sets up his drum kit today.
In 2011, Questlove had his DNA tested to learn about his family history. The tests showed he has West African roots, especially from the Mende people in Sierra Leone. In 2017, on the TV show Finding Your Roots, he learned that some of his ancestors were brought to America illegally on the last known slave ship, the Clotilda, in 1860.
His Music Journey
Starting with The Roots
The band, now called The Roots, soon had its full lineup. Questlove played drums, Tariq Trotter and Malik B were vocalists, Josh Abrams played bass (later replaced by Leonard Hubbard), and Scott Storch played keyboards. In 1993, while performing in Germany, they recorded their first album, Organix.
The group kept making music. They released two popular albums, Do You Want More?!!!??! in 1995 and Illadelph Halflife in 1996.
Big Success and New Projects
In 1999, The Roots became very popular with their song "You Got Me," which featured Erykah Badu. This song won them a Grammy Award in 2000. It also helped their album Things Fall Apart become a huge hit, selling over a million copies.
Questlove also became a producer for other artists. He worked on albums for D'Angelo, Slum Village, and Common. He played drums or produced for many other famous musicians, including Erykah Badu, Jay-Z, and Fiona Apple.
In 2001, he played drums for The Philadelphia Experiment, a jazz album. In 2002, The Roots released Phrenology, which also sold very well. In 2003, he played drums on John Mayer's song "Clarity."
Continued Work and TV Appearances
In 2004, The Roots released The Tipping Point. Questlove also appeared in Jay-Z's film Fade to Black, where he was the drummer and music director for the live band parts. In 2005, he was in a TV commercial for the Motorola ROKR phone with other music legends like Madonna and Little Richard.
In 2006, Questlove was in the film Dave Chappelle's Block Party and some skits on Chappelle's Show. He was also chosen by musician Steve Van Zandt to play drums for a new version of a Hank Williams Jr. song for Monday Night Football.
On March 2, 2009, Questlove and The Roots started their job as the house band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. They continued this role when Jimmy Fallon moved to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Questlove sometimes does special drum solos on the show, mixing video clips and music.
In 2009, Questlove became a producer for the Broadway play Fela!. He helped bring Jay-Z and Will Smith on board as producers too. In 2010, he worked on music with British singer Duffy. He also appeared in a music video for the song "Barbra Streisand" by Duck Sauce.
In 2011, Rolling Stone magazine named Questlove one of the top tweeters in music. He also ranked 8th in a Rolling Stone readers' poll for Best Drummers of all Time.
In September 2016, Questlove started his weekly radio show on Pandora called Questlove Supreme. It later moved to iHeart Radio and has won many awards, including "Best Music Podcast" in 2023.
In 2019, Questlove and Black Thought produced a documentary series called Hip-Hop: The Songs That Shook America. They also signed a deal with Universal Television to create more shows. Questlove was the music director and DJ for the 2021 Academy Awards ceremony.
In 2021, Questlove directed his first film, Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised). This documentary was about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, which featured many famous soul, jazz, and gospel artists. The film won major awards, including the US Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. It also won Best Documentary at the 75th British Academy Film Awards, Best Documentary Feature at the 94th Academy Awards, and Best Music Film at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.
In 2022, it was announced that Questlove would produce a documentary about music producer J Dilla called Dilla Time. He also produced Descendant, a documentary about the discovery of the Clotilda slave ship. In 2023, Disney announced that Questlove would direct a live-action version of the animated film The Aristocats.
Writing Books
Questlove is also a successful author. In 2013, he released his memoir, Mo' Meta Blues: The World According to Questlove. Later that year, he published Soul Train: The Music, Dance, and Style of a Generation.
In 2016, he released Something to Food About: Exploring Creativity with Innovative Chefs, a book about food and creativity. In 2018, he published Creative Quest, which explores how creativity works. He also released a cookbook called Mixtape Potluck in 2019.
In 2021, his book Music Is History came out. It looks at popular music and how it connects to American history over the last 50 years. In 2023, he started his own publishing company, Auwa Books.
Awards and Achievements
Questlove has received many awards for his work in music and film.
- Academy Awards:
- 2022: Won Best Documentary Feature Film for Summer of Soul
- BAFTA Awards:
- 2022: Won Best Documentary for Summer of Soul
- Grammy Awards:
- 2000: Won Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "You Got Me" (with Erykah Badu)
- 2011: Won Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for "Hang On in There" (with John Legend)
- 2011: Won Best R&B Album for Wake Up! (with John Legend)
- 2012: Won Best Pop Instrumental Album for The Road from Memphis
- 2016: Won Best Musical Theater Album for Hamilton
- 2022: Won Best Music Film for Summer of Soul
- NAACP Image Awards:
- 2007: Won Outstanding Duo or Group (with The Roots)
- 2011: Won Outstanding Collaboration for Wake Up!
- 2011: Won Outstanding Album for Wake Up!
Other notable achievements:
- The Roots were the first hip-hop group to perform at Lincoln Center in 2002.
- Rolling Stone magazine named The Roots one of the "Twenty Greatest Live Acts in the World" in 2003.
Images for kids
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Questlove in 2011
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Questlove's signature
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Questlove at a New York book signing, 2013
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The Roots after a show in Germany, 1999
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Questlove performing with The Roots at the 2011 Ottawa Bluesfest
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Questlove at a book signing, 2013
See also
In Spanish: Questlove para niños
