Trying to Dial Back the “King of Yes” Photo by Christian Germoso In 30 years, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson has evolved from a drummer to an influential drummer and bandleader, to part of the music establishment, to now becoming a respected spokesman for and an innovator in music. This progression has come in the form of numerous influential recordings, multiple Grammy’s, Oscars, best-selling books, and becoming the bandleader on The Tonight Show. There was no clearer evidence of his influence than during last year’s year-long celebration of Hip-Hop’s 50th Anniversary when Questlove became the (reluctant) de-facto “spokesman” for hip-hop. And truth be told, he didn’t seem really comfortable with the process of explaining the importance of hip-hop in edited down three-and four-minute sound bites. He now has a new book called Hip-Hop is History, an amazing new record with Bilal called Live at Glasshaus, and is completing a soon to be […]

July 2024 Issue