Questlove is an American musician, rapper, record producer, music journalist, multi-instrumentalist, disc-jockey, and author, best known as the drummer and frontman of the hip hop group The Roots alongside Black Thought. As part of the group, he collaborated on 11 studio albums – Organix (1993), Do You Want More?!!!??! (1995), Illadelph Halflife (1996), Things Fall Apart (1999), Phrenology (2002), The Tipping Point (2004), Game Theory (2006), Rising Down (2008), How I Got Over (2010), Undun (2011), and …And Then You Shoot Your Cousin (2014). The group also became a house band for the TV talk-shows Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (2009-2014), and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon beginning in 2014. Questlove is also an accomplished author, having released 4 books as of April 2019: Mo’ Meta Blues: The World According to Questlove (2013), Soul Train: The Music, Dance, and Style of a Generation (2013), Something To Food About: Exploring Creativity with Innovative Chefs (2016), and Creative Quest (2018).
Sun Sign
Aquarius
Residence
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
- New York City, New York, United States
Nationality
Education
Questlove attended Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
After graduation, he enrolled in Settlement Music School in the vicinity of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, where he studied jazz and composition.
Manager
Questlove is represented by –
- Maverick Management (Manager) in Los Angeles, California, United States
- Donovan Public Relations (Publicist) in New York City, New York, New York, United States
Genre
Hip Hop, Rap, Neo-Soul, Alternative Hip Hop
Instruments
Vocals, Drums, Bass, Guitar, Percussion, Keyboards, Turntables
Labels
- Okayplayer
- Def Jam Recordings
Distinctive Features
- Long afro hair
- Full beard
- Often wear glasses
- High-pitched laugh
- Tall height
Brand Endorsements
Questlove has endorsed his own brands –
- Food catering business Quest Loves Food
- The Pocket Kit, a drummer kit for kids between ages 4 and 10
Questlove has appeared in TV commercials for –
- Motorola ROKR phone (2005) alongside , Bootsy Collins, Little Richard, and
- Microsoft Kin mobile phone (2010)
Best Known For
- Being a drummer and frontman of the hip hop group The Roots, and being credited on 11 studio albums between 1993 and 2014
- Being a part of the home band for the Late Night with TV talk-show between 2009 and 2014, and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon starting in 2014
- His acting roles in movies Bamboozled (2000), Brooklyn Babylon (2001), and Boy Band (2018)
- Working with the most prominent rappers, musicians, and singers such as , D’Angelo, Christian McBride, , , and others
First Album
Questlove, as the drummer and joint frontman of the hip hop group The Roots, released his first independent studio album on May 19, 1993, under the name Organix. The album consisted of 17 tracks, and the most prominent were I’m Out Deah, Good Music, Grits, Popcorn Revised, The Anti-Circle, and Pass the Popcorn. In 1998, Cargo Records recording label picked up the album and re-released it.
First Film
Questlove made his first theatrical film appearance as Alabama Porch Monkeys: Levi – Musical Director in a comedy, drama Bamboozled in 2000. His hip hop group member, , also starred in the movie alongside and .
First TV Show
Questlove made his first TV show appearance as himself in the 2nd episode of the 1st season of the comedy talk-show The Show in 1997.
Questlove Favorite Things
- Interests – Cooking, Politics, Writing, DJing, Watching TV
- Actor –
- Singer –
Source – , , ,
Questlove Facts
- He comes from a musical family.
- His father was the frontman of the doo-wop group Lee Lee Andrews & the Hearts in the 1950s. Their single Try The Impossible peaked at number 70 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1958.
- Questlove’s mother was a member of the soul group Congress Alley alongside his father, while his grandmother sang with the gospel group The Dixie Hummingbirds.
- He started drumming when he was 2 years old. His parents didn’t trust babysitters, which forced them to take Questlove along on their tours.
- By the age of 8, Questlove became very accustomed and knowledgeable of the musician’s life on the road. He knew how to place microphones and lights, and quickly became responsible for the technological part of his parents’ musical performances.
- While he was still very young, he had the change to jump in to be a drummer for his father’s group because the original drummer couldn’t make it in time.
- These experiences led to him landing his 1st official musical gig at the age of 13, in Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, United States.
- He met Black Thought when they both attended Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA). In 1987, they started The Square Roots, which later simply turned into The Roots before they released their 1st album in 1993.
- After Questlove graduated high school, he got a spot at the Juilliard School in New York, United States. It was one of the most prestigious schools for music but he couldn’t afford the tuition.
- Questlove appeared in the documentary film Fade to Black about ‘s career in 2004.
- In 2006, he had a notable appearance in the movie ‘s Block Party and did a skit titled The Lost Episodes about .
- He wrote material for the 2nd album of the well-known singer Duffy in 2010.
- In 2011, he was hired as a DJ for the Brooklyn Bowl event, and the Halloween party organized by model .
- Questlove, alongside The Roots‘ bassist Owen Biddle, helped the music duo Karmin cover the song Super Bass in 2011, originally performed by .
- In the Readers Pick section of the Rolling Stone magazine, he was placed 8th on the list of “Best Drummers of All Time”.
- He became an adjunct instructor at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, a part of New York University in New York, United States.
- When he started his own business in form of a catering company Quest Loves Food, he had the idea of having at least 15 food trucks that would go to the well-known festivals and events across the United States.
- Questlove took part in the PBS TV series Finding Your Roots in 2017, where he found out that his great-great-great-grandparents were Charles and Maggie Lewis. They were slaves who were sold in the large port of the land that is now the African Republic of Benin and illegally smuggled to Alabama, the United States in 1860.
- He planned to collaborate with , and he and rapper Mos Def were only waiting on her visa to be approved to start the project. However, Amy’s untimely death in July 2011 rendered their plans impossible.
- Questlove appeared in a documentary about Amy Winehouse titled Amy in 2015.
- In 2015, he played ‘s brother named Levondrious in the well-known TV series Parks and Recreation also starring , , , , , and others.
- He started a weekly podcast on the Pandora Radio titled Questlove Supreme in September 2016. Some of the notable guests were Solange Knowles, Chris Rock, Pete Rock, and .
- Questlove curated the music collection titled The Michelle Obama Musiaqualogy in 2018. The soundtrack accompanies ‘s memoir Becoming that was released the same year. It included more than 300 tracks from artists , , , , Erykah Badu, and many others.
- Follow him on , , , and .
Featured Image by Joe Mabel / / CC BY-SA 3.0
Facts of Ahmir Khalib Thompson
- Gender Male
- full nameAhmir Khalib Thompson
- nicknamesQuestlove, Questlove Gomez, Questo, ?uestlove, BROther ?uestion, Brother Question, Qlove, Questlove De La Rose
- birthplacePhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
- Date of Birth January 20, 1971
- Age 53 years 11 months
- Horoscope Aquarius
- Lucky Number 3
- Lucky Stone Amethyst
- Lucky Color Turquoise
- Best Match for Marriage Aquarius, Gemini, Sagittarius
- ethnicity / ethnic backgroundAfrican-American
- nationalityAmerican
- net worth$18 million
- professionMusician, Rapper, Record Producer, Author, Music Journalist, Multi-Instrumentalist, Disc-Jockey
- weight93 kg or 205 lbs
- height6 ft 1.5 in or 186.5 cm
- hair colorBlack
- eye colorDark Brown
- body type / buildAverage
- high schoolPhiladelphia High School
- motherJacquelin Thompson
- fatherArthur Lee Andrews Thompson
- sistersDonn Thompson