Drummers - ?uestlove
Ahmir Khalib Thompson (born on January 20, 1971), known
professionally as ?uestlove or Questlove, is an American drummer, DJ,
music journalist and record producer. He is best known as the drummer
for hip hop band The Roots and has produced for artists such as Common,
D'Angelo, and more recently, Al Green. He is a member of the production
teams the Soulquarians, the Grand Negaz, and The Grand Wizzards. He is
also known for his big Afro and comb stuck inside of it.
Biography
Early years
Thompson was born in Philadelphia on January 20, 1971. His father was
Lee Andrews of Lee Andrews & the Hearts, one of the great 50s doo-wop
groups. His parents did not want to leave him with babysitters, so they
took him on tour with them. He grew up in backstages of doo-wop shows,
and began drumming at the age of two. By the age of seven, Thompson
began drumming on stage at shows, and by 13, had become a musical
director.
As a teenager, ?uestlove's parents enrolled him at the Philadelphia High
School for the Creative and Performing Arts. By the time he graduated,
he had founded a band called The Square Roots (later dropping the word
"square") with his friend Tariq Trotter (Black Thought). ?uestlove's
classmates at the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and
Performing Arts included Boyz II Men, jazz bassist Christian McBride,
and jazz organist Joey DeFrancesco.
?uestlove began performing on South Street (akin to Greenwich Village
and Haight Ashbury) in Philadelphia using drums, while Tariq rhymed over
his beats and rhythms.
Professional music career
The Roots' roster was soon completed, with ?uestlove on percussion,
Tariq Trotter and Malik B on vocals, Josh Abrams (Rubber Band) on bass
(who was replaced by Leonard Hubbard in 1994), and Scott Storch on
keyboards. While the group was performing a show in Germany, they
recorded an album entitled Organix, released by Relativity Records in
1993.
The group continued recording, releasing two critically acclaimed
records in 1995 and 1996, Do You Want More?!!!??! and Illadelph Halflife,
respectively. In 1999, The Roots entered mainstream pop consciousness
with "You Got Me" (featuring Erykah Badu); a song which would earn the
band the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for
2000. ?uestlove shines in the final minute of this song as he unleashes
a massive drum n' bass groove over the last chorus. The song helped fuel
the success of their Things Fall Apart album which has since been hailed
as a classic, eventually selling platinum. The group went the
experimental route and returned in 2002 with the rock-influenced
Phrenology, which went gold. Two years later, The Roots released The
Tipping Point, which contained a more mainstream sound, due to demands
from Geffen records. The album sold modestly (400,000 copies), and ?uestlove
shines in the bonus track remake of George Kranz's "Din Da Da."
Besides being the drummer for The Roots, ?uestlove has also lent his
talents to other artists, projects, and productions.
He was the drummer for The Philadelphia Experiment, a collaborative
instrumental jazz album featuring musicians from Philadelphia, released
on Rope-a-Dope Records in 2001 and the DJ of the compilation ?uestlove
Presents: Babies Making Babies, released on Urban Theory Records in
2002. He also served as executive producer for D'Angelo's 2000 album
Voodoo, Slum Village's album Fantastic, Vol. 2 and Common's albums Like
Water for Chocolate and Electric Circus. Besides the aforementioned
albums, he has also contributed as a drummer or producer to Erykah
Badu's Baduizm and Mama's Gun, Dilated Peoples Expansion Team,
Blackalicious's Blazing Arrow, Bilal's 1st Born Second, N*E*R*D's Fly Or
Die, Joshua Redman's Momentum, and Zap Mama's Ancestry In Progress,
Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine, among others.
Played drums on Christina Aguilera's song "Loving Me 4 Me" for her 2002
album "Stripped". His drum skills were also featured in Joss Stone's
cover of the White Stripes' Fell in Love with a Boy.
In 2004, ?uestlove appeared in Jay-Z's Fade to Black documentary. In
addition to appearing in the documentary portion of the film, ?uestlove
also was drummer for the entire show.
In 2005, ?uestlove appeared, along with such luminaries as Madonna, Iggy
Pop, Bootsy Collins, and Little Richard, in a television commercial for
the Motorola ROKR phone.
In 2006, ?uestlove appeared as himself in the film Dave Chappelle's
Block Party, as well as a couple of skits on The Dave Chappelle Show
(incl. the Tupac skit on The Dave Chappelle Show: The Lost Episodes, and
a skit also featuring John Mayer, where ?uestlove performs in a barber
shop, inducing the occupants to dance and rap. With the exception of The
Fugees, ?uestlove served as the drummer for nearly every performer at
the 2004 Brooklyn street concert.
?uestlove was given an Esky for Best Scribe in Esquire magazine's 2006
Esky Music Awards in the April issue.
?uestlove was one of a handful of musicians hand-picked by Little Steve
Van Zandt to back Hank Williams Jr. on a new version of "All My Rowdy
Friends Are Coming Over Tonight" for the season premiere (and formal
ESPN debut) of Monday Night Football. Along with his fellow Motorola
ROKR commercial co-stars Bootsy Collins and Little Richard, ?uestlove's
bandmates included Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick), Joe Perry (Aerosmith),
Charlie Daniels, and Bernie Worrell.
From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%3Fuestlove
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