June 19, 2026 • 28 mins
Questlove sits down with Open Mike Eagle in-studio for a candid mini-conversation about aging in Hip-Hop, grief, and learning to accept flowers without guilt. Ahmir opens up about losing collaborators (and friends), navigating therapy, and trying to define what The Roots should sound like in 2026 without their longtime mentor Richard Nichols. They break down the tension between survival and artistry in Black music, what it means to grow with a group for nearly 40 years, and why so many artists struggle to feel they “deserve” love and acclaim.
Open Mike shares his own challenges working in a three-MC crew (Previous Industries) and maintaining friendships intact when the music does not always pay the bills. It’s a rare, vulnerable look at midlife, creativity, and the business of staying human while staying dope.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Quest Left show is a production of iHeart Radio. I'll
never forget it. Sorry forget it. Sorry, that was a
rough day. Okay, So what should we speak on? You
wanted to know about agis and well, not so much agism,
more like aging. Okay, like I was, I am.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Still like some part of me is still dealing with
like by power passing. Yeah, and yeah, for transparency's sake.
I mean, you know, you had given me his contact
and I had been talking to him about being the
next guest on what had happened, and like you said, he.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Was having me pitching on it. He was having me,
and it was tough. It was tough.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
He didn't want to talk about He felt like I
was asking him to tell other people's stories.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
No, he has his own story. That's and that's what
That's the conversation we were having. And of course he
passed away.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
And much like your platform, what it happened was was
really all about giving people their flowers. But obviously we're
not going to be able to give everybody their flowers.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
People don't want that half the time. But I don't
understand why that is. I know, for me, like I
used to see, now I'm to the point where I've
to even watched my words. I can't say I hate
D D, because then it'll happen. I think we are
trained to think and live small again, despite the primitive,
(01:33):
exotic package here. I hate attention, despite everything on my
outside beeing like look at me, look at me, I
have the things to get out of my hair and
a bunch of legover my heart, and you know, like,
but I think that maybe if we avoid compliments. You
heard this when you were a kid, Like I don't
(01:54):
want you to get big headed, or I don't want
you to get a big head. I think it's the
fear of separation or the idea of you being alienated
because your light shines a little brighter than someone.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
The trouble I have with wrapping my head around that
notion is the amount of ambition it takes to do
a lot of the stuff that we want to give
people flowers for. Like you're stepping up to the plate
to hit a home run, and you hit it, so
why would you not want to hear the people cheer?
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Sometimes I think people are from the ground wul double
or just a trip or getting walked.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
But usually people don't get flowers for getting walked. I
will tell you that I went through a four year
period where I was absolutely happy. Look Midsummer Soul maybe
seven months before the Oscar.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
I'm gonna see the point where I was having my
management contact Disney to take us out of the road
to the Oscars is paved with at least forty to
fifty other smaller well not smaller, some like you know
the Sundance thing, or if you went to can or
(03:16):
like other award things you have to do, film festivals
and whatnot, and you know coming out the gate first
of all, I mean timing is what really helped Summer Soul.
I had content when other people weren't prepared to have
their content because the world shut down. It just happens
(03:37):
that I finished my film right when the pandemic started.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
I mean, to a lesser degree, that was the same
kind of time and network for what had happened was
at the same timing.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
It just you just had something to entertained people. And
you know, again, had it been released at any other
time period, it would have just been like, oh that
was that was a nice little thing you did. Like
I've done three other things that didn't get that level frenzy,
but I understand the times that we were in and
when it was award time, an award season, I mean,
we just started drinking everybody's milkshake. And after like the
(04:11):
thirtieth plaque comes in my house or whatever, like I
started to feel like the Grinch that stole Christmas because
versus like, oh, and there's like request love, you know,
And then I started feeling bad, and you know, it
was to the point where I was just like, you know,
I've heard of situations before where people will take themselves
out of getting nominated or whatever because they don't want
(04:36):
to stand out or whatever. So and it took a
long time. So there's a whole other deserved this thing.
I don't think as humans we really have dealt with
do we deserve love?
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Which is an interesting question given how much you have
to fight through that same thought to make something like
It's not like it's not like you roll out a
and make a masterpiece album or a great documentary.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
It takes so much work. People are not honest. People
are not honest on what it is that they really want.
So one of the exercises I went through with therapy
is this writing exercise where I have to write the
twenty things that I went for my life right, and
wrote down the twenty things, turned it in, looks at it. Nope,
(05:28):
hey you what it's like? Those aren't real dreams? Like
do it again? All right? And this happened like seven
or eight times, and I was like, why do you
keep making me do this? And the person pointed out
of those twenty things, none of those things were for you.
You wanted to fix your moms sink. You wanted to
(05:50):
buy your banda da da da. You wanted to give
raises to all your staff. You wanted to da da
da da da da. She's like, it took you eight
drafts before you actually said the basic things like oh
I want to like myself better or love me. I
didn't even think about because I think we're just trained
to be so self sacrificing, so people aren't honest. Like
(06:11):
when people ask me like yo yo, I just want
to get your feedback or what you think. Sometimes I
have to just straight up ask them like okay, because
I don't like that whole Simon Cowell on the Spot,
you watch me as I do demo nod whenever you
do that, that then that means like oh, this is
(06:32):
a very awkward moment and yeah, let me hear whoa Okay, Okay,
Like when people start doing demo nod, it's not authentic
and so like I know there's an idea of the
quest love co sign. In my mind, I think it's
also a curse. Like if I say, like shied away
from doing that often because I don't want to jink
(06:52):
someone's project or whatever. If someone thinks like I'm tired
of seeing them, at least in my mind, I think
that's the thing that happens. I'm tired of seeing them thing.
So I mean, yeah, every day we wrestle with that.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Some of that seems to be about perception, I guess,
tudo right, Like you don't want to be perceived as
winning too much or perceived as getting too many And
I don't mean you specifically, but I mean a person
shying away from receiving compliments or accolades or awards for
their very real hard work.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
Yeah, but there's a lot that comes under that. Okay,
So where we are politically right now, I know, like
there's some I don't know if I should call them
political pundits or people that give commentary on what's happening now.
But you know, the general belief is that the and
the whole revenge of the nerds, like nerds versus jocks thing.
(07:50):
I think we're now realizing that, like everyone that's running
stuff now, we're definitely the nerds. And I definitely had
my moment where like, you know, oh, girl breaks your
heart and you're in the bathroom mirror like looking like
I'm gonna show them. Like literally, I willed this character
named Questlove Delight because of like some girl breaking your
(08:12):
heart and it didn't work out the way you wanted to.
I've done big stuff out of Spike, yeah right, and
literally like the whole joker way, they get a little
to me thing, Like I think the first four years
of The Roots was just based on that. And first
of all, I had to totally rework that whole thing
because if you don't rework that, I believe that what
(08:34):
ends up being made isn't as effective at the end
of the day, it won't resonate as much if it
comes from like this kind of broken and selfish place.
I think that reflects in the product. So the question,
I mean, obviously with your music, like your music is
so transparent and so of the moment of the present
(08:54):
of how it is that you feel like, I'll say
right now, like I as far as like my hip
hop consumption, Quelli, Chris, you of course a gene as well,
you know, some sort of whatever, the best of the rock, Marciano, Griselda, whatever, gritty, underground,
(09:17):
the drum less, the drumless period of what we're dealing
with hip hop, which you know, I mean, I'm very
selective in what I take in. I mean, for you though,
like you're the voice, You're definitely the voice in my head, Quelle.
Also for him as well, like a lot of that
(09:37):
what I deemed nerdy hip hop were kind of done
by voices that didn't look like me. So you know,
I'm finally, like, finally, like the people that I relate
to or who I see myself in are now speaking
for me. So that's the thing though, Like I believe
that at the end of the day, yes, this is
(09:59):
a business, you are surviving on it, but I know
for you that this is a therapeutic, healing, cathartic process
of just you as a human being. Right that to
me is authentic. I think that ninety five percent of
the participants in music now, especially in Black music, is
(10:22):
based on survival sick. But who am I to judge
that because I too used to live fifty second to
No Sage Avenue, dreaming of the day where I don't
have to look to the left, look to the right
outside my to make sure that you know, said bully
(10:42):
is not anywhere in proximity. I gotta get out of
here by hooker crook. So a lot of us are
are kind of in that survival still the residue of
survival or.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
But even even in that, right, I mean, I'm assuming
you're talking about even the early Roots album still having
that sort of energy of trying to get out of
your situation through making this music.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
Because of the pureness of how the Roots really started.
Of course, you know part one was just me lying
to a girl in school. Oh right, right, I'm in
agree with him, like that was the first seven years
was just you know, yeah, we're a group, just so
that we can we wanted to get girls phone numbers,
like you know, but just the whole the way that
(11:33):
the dominoes fell on, that whole college audition that led
to a girl thinking we were in a commercial that
we weren't in. Hey, let's try it. Like I'll put
it this way, I'm about to embark on a really
big presentation with jay Z for the Roots Picnic, and
(11:55):
the way that I'm sweating overthinking every song, every segue,
and the fact I'm very shocked that we did what
we did as a shrug. You got a bucket, Yeah,
I got a bucket. My grandma got a bucket. All right,
So what three thirty, I'll meet you in South Street? Cool?
Like it was so casual as a matter of fact,
(12:17):
it's no overthinking, no, none of that stuff. And that's
the level of what we need to get to. But like, who,
like do we even see this as an art or beauty?
Do we? Who's the we? It's participants? Like is it
a means to an end to get out of a situation?
(12:37):
To get see?
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Okay, So this is and this is kind of where
I'm getting at right cause you're asking that question. I
developed in the wake of your art. Do you know
what I'm saying? And you see the way I do it?
And I can sit here and tell you that part
of how I do what I do is inspired by
what y'all did, even though you were still asking that question.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
Well, you are now literally the back to the future plutonium. No,
I'm not lying to you, Like right now the main
people are asking what is the hold up? I want
to feel the way that I feel when I hear
your thing, Like right now, the beats are incredible, the
musicianships up there, Tarik is at ace level of game
(13:25):
spitting like all the parts are technically there. But I
still I still think that we lack we feel emotional
because so adapting Phyla's warribly kind of sense of rhythm
(13:46):
makes it feel human. I think that the frequencies from
certain patches we use the Fender roads like, it feels human,
So that is what gives the illusion of human this.
But I don't think that the roots have created much
in the way of Yeah, I relate to that because
(14:09):
a lot of it is rhyming for the sake of Riddomly, well,
am I breaking your art? Right? No? No, no, you're not,
You're not.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
But I'm like, I'm like, now, see, if these mics
were on, I would ask you a bunch of different
questions that I'm not going to ask right now.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
I ask questions, and the most diplomatic where you get ask,
I mean the most I could do is not answer.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
What it's got me thinking about is what do y'all
even think of the roots music in twenty twenty six
as trying to have a conversation about something?
Speaker 1 (14:46):
All right, this is what I do know, I think
because of my attempt to try to be all things
to all people, because this is what I'm thinking about
when I'm thinking about the roots today. What I'm thinking
about the roots today is Number one, everyone worth a
damn is dead. Anyone who's really worth a dam is dead.
(15:14):
So that's for starters. So let's say I already lost
half my collaborators that way. And I don't mean like,
oh the gods are dead. I mean people I actually know,
brilliant people. They're dead. So that's number one. Number two
is all right. So a plus for us was the
(15:35):
idea of being a band. But even for us to
be a band and get to where I am right now,
where I can sit here and talk to you, we
had to leave the United States to move to Europe
to live for four years just so that we could
survive as a band. So there's no bands. Were one
of few black bands with a deal. Well, I mean
(15:57):
having a deal now is not the same cachet as
well in the nineties. So being a black band that's
viable in today's society. The idea of a group, the
idea of more than one person presenting something. And then
just like you know, jamming, the idea of jamming, Like
(16:18):
there's four or five or six things that are passing
dangered species that's not left. So thus when we do
that two hour show, I'm thinking of all right, there's
people that neither backscratch for a classic hip hop that
they miss. There's people that neither backscratch for tarik'spitting lyrics.
There's people that miss dancing to music that's good that
(16:39):
doesn't feel like a wedding band, like to be a
good musician in a wedding band where I'm not overplaying
none of that shit. Like there's so much missing. I'm
so busy checking off the marks that maybe perhaps the
roots have lost their identity.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
Well, I mean cause the question and if you're checking
all of those boxes is much like the conversation you're
talking about having with your therapist. It's like, when does
it get to what you want? Like what music that
you want to be in the world.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
And this is why this is a ten year wrestling
match with this record, because one the most glaring part
is that Richard Nichols isn't here exactly. So this means
that Tarik and I have to really one as individuals grow.
(17:30):
So there's been a lot of therapy just individually between
he and I, but then also he and I have
to do our kind of level of couple's therapy or
that sort of thing. You know, this is thirty eight
years behind this, and so a little.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Bit right there, right, you're talking about a thirty eight
year relationship. To me, it seems like there's a ton
of conversations to be had about that, and you're talking
about not necessarily feeling like what's on the table right
now is relatable outside of the instrumentation, but it's like
that's where it would be.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
Right. So I came under you know a lot of
stuff I have to like, wait a minute, why am
I in therapy again? Wait a minute, I think this
is what our fan base was complaining about. Tell me
(18:32):
about Project Blude, Man, what the fuck I think? Watching
the way that my dad did business growing up, there's
(18:54):
always unsolicited advice that either a parent or uncle figure.
It gives you that this is always in your head.
And what I learned was if you build a business,
do not build it with your relatives or your friends.
And I think I had a fear that our friendship
(19:18):
issues would be key in the demands of the group.
And I think in my fight or flight mode, it
was what do I have to do to never return
home metaphorically home to West Philly, tail between my legs
and defeat. The group is over and now here I
(19:39):
am as a thirty eight year old without a degree.
I dropped out of Kylee to do this. What am
I going to do? Now? You know? And trust me
the amount of my hip hop peers that I now.
I mean, there's a hip hop hero of mine that
came up to me reaped like last month that was like, yo, dog,
(20:01):
let me tell you something. And I thought, like, you know,
a compliment was coming, like about my music or whatever.
And he's like, yo, man, you're the greatest. And I'm thinking, like, oh, wow,
he listens to my music or whatever. I said, Oh,
thank you, and I'm really shocked at like, oh, I
never thought you'd listened to the roots whatever. And he
was like, yo, man, you are when I tell you
(20:23):
you're one of the best uber eats tippers I've ever
had in my life. And I tried not to get
but no, it's real to feel like that. It's real.
Some of our heroes have to get sneaky, theay jobs whatever.
And that was kind of a Jacob Marley moment for me,
like that's my worst and again it's not me shaming
(20:45):
someone for doing that. Look, I'm still doctor nine jobs.
One of these jobs is being in the roots I do,
but you know those are my passions. But when he
said that, it instantly brought me back to man like, see,
this is why I got to keep business, business and
friendship separate. But you know, but I also know that
(21:07):
we need each other as humans. So we are slowly
when I mean slowly, trying to get back to the
space because I do envy when I watch Daylight Soul together.
Every time I ask pos, I'm like, damn, like you guys,
are you guys are really friends? Yeah? And they're looking
at me like are you shocked? Like I'm really Jimmy
(21:29):
jam and Terry Lewis, I asked them like, wait, why
are you guys still acting like you like each other
after fifty one years? Like not one argument, I have
to rewrite the narratives of I've learned that any relationship
where you don't argue, someone's not communicating right, and so
I just have to read to reprogram all those things,
(21:51):
which this is what I'm doing. So we are in
the very slow process of getting back to the same
fifteen year olds that loved hip hop back in eighty seven.
Speaker 2 (22:03):
I mean, I think these those conversations between y'all, those
conversations that would end up in the music even you know,
whatever conversations may come about the riffs, the challenges that
y'all have had to deal with over the course of
the years. Like again, like there's another generation coming behind us,
(22:24):
and there's no instruction manuals for any of this shit.
So it's like we need those lessons, like we need
those like we need to understand how to be in
high stakes organizations with people we don't necessarily agree with
but are both good at the thing.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
So this is why I am also just very meticulous
in terms of representing whatever creative moves come next. This
is why I'm doing the movies so that way that
you know this particular group means something for other reasons. Besides,
they were money makers and for us, I you know,
(23:05):
I really want to be exemplary in terms of walk
it like they talk it, show the growth. So yeah, man,
there's a lot of you know, we're both in our
mid fifties and there's just a lot of personal work.
We had to do a lot of partner work that
we had to do. And to do this in wake
(23:29):
of a two apocalypses, you know, are we depressed now?
Speaker 2 (23:34):
I mean, look, aging is a tough subject to talk about, Okay.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
Okay, So in your world, in your ecosystem, at one
point you came to this in form of a group. Now,
I don't know if you do collaboration projects just as
a one off or as a hey, let's let's keep
this a thing. Do you like working essentially by yourself or.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
I mean, I'm very comfortable working by myself, and I've
and I'm in a group now. I'm in a group
of previous industries right now, me Video, Dave, and steel
Rift and we work together every week. But it is
a different It touches on like a different part of
my creativity to try to filter my ideas through a
group of people because we're not always aligned on everything,
(24:23):
and these are and it's interesting too. Like Rift I
went to high school with, day If I went to
college with I've known these dudes twenty thirty years and
we have decided in the last five years to start
doing music together. And it's difficult.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Sometimes.
Speaker 2 (24:38):
It's difficult because we all see things a bunch of
different ways three MC's. I mean, you don't see a
lot of groups with three MC's ever, And this is
a part of why. It's because it's hard.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
To get three people to agree on anything. And I
enjoy it.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
But yeah, like when I do that, I've noticed working
on this group stuff, it ends up making me work
on my solo stuff faster.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
It's like, in.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
The process of generating creativity with the with the group thing,
it's like it makes my own ideas even clearer.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
How much time do you guys devote to non musical
things together or is it like outside out of mind
when you're like not working, you know, not not nearly enough.
But that's the thing too.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
I mean, we're all mid forties, we all got like
you all the same live in the same city, but
you know, in different different parts of the city, and
we all make a living different ways, and so the
vast majority of our time is devoted doing what we
got to do to eat because right now the group
isn't paying none of our bills, gotcha.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
You know.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
So it's that whole aspect to it too, where I
think we've certainly to have already been friends, we've gotten
closer doing this, but it's there's been some strife even
with the low stakes sort of sort of.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
An environment that we've been in. It's it's still it's
how they make decisions when they're this conflict, And what's
the typical conflict, like how many dates we can devote
the touring or I don't like this beat? Oh god,
I don't like this beat? Is the Oh my god,
I could.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
I could run through that wall just just thinking about
how many, how many difficult conversations we've had about trying
to agree on beats, and there is no there's no
compromise really on that, because like if somebody, if you
got three rappers and one of them does not like
(26:34):
a beat, do you know what they're gonna do on
that beat if they don't like it beat exactly, And
it's not even going to be out of spite. It's
just like if it's not making them feel the thing.
Then they're not going to bring that best to it.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
See, you gotta do the deal of method. Do you
know how they made fantastic Volume one? So what is it?
He just did drums high hat, just a high hat
and imagine what you think it gonna sound like, literally
a high hat. That's so wild. And they would just
round their ass off and then he would go and
add the music later. See that's the thing. We don't
have a musical genius in the group. So go backwards, man,
(27:08):
go backwards, go backwards. Well that is a mini hopefully
more to come, and I think eventually this will probably
wind up being its own platform, and you never know where.
We check in, check in with each other, starting open
open my Questions. There you go, there you go check
it with checking in with open my questions. All right,
(27:31):
see all that please question Up Show is a production
(27:53):
of iHeartRadio.
Quest Left show is a production of iHeart Radio. I'll
never forget it. Sorry forget it. Sorry, that was a
rough day. Okay, So what should we speak on? You
wanted to know about agis and well, not so much agism,
more like aging. Okay, like I was, I am.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Still like some part of me is still dealing with
like by power passing. Yeah, and yeah, for transparency's sake.
I mean, you know, you had given me his contact
and I had been talking to him about being the
next guest on what had happened, and like you said, he.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Was having me pitching on it. He was having me,
and it was tough. It was tough.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
He didn't want to talk about He felt like I
was asking him to tell other people's stories.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
No, he has his own story. That's and that's what
That's the conversation we were having. And of course he
passed away.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
And much like your platform, what it happened was was
really all about giving people their flowers. But obviously we're
not going to be able to give everybody their flowers.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
People don't want that half the time. But I don't
understand why that is. I know, for me, like I
used to see, now I'm to the point where I've
to even watched my words. I can't say I hate
D D, because then it'll happen. I think we are
trained to think and live small again, despite the primitive,
(01:33):
exotic package here. I hate attention, despite everything on my
outside beeing like look at me, look at me, I
have the things to get out of my hair and
a bunch of legover my heart, and you know, like,
but I think that maybe if we avoid compliments. You
heard this when you were a kid, Like I don't
(01:54):
want you to get big headed, or I don't want
you to get a big head. I think it's the
fear of separation or the idea of you being alienated
because your light shines a little brighter than someone.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
The trouble I have with wrapping my head around that
notion is the amount of ambition it takes to do
a lot of the stuff that we want to give
people flowers for. Like you're stepping up to the plate
to hit a home run, and you hit it, so
why would you not want to hear the people cheer?
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Sometimes I think people are from the ground wul double
or just a trip or getting walked.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
But usually people don't get flowers for getting walked. I
will tell you that I went through a four year
period where I was absolutely happy. Look Midsummer Soul maybe
seven months before the Oscar.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
I'm gonna see the point where I was having my
management contact Disney to take us out of the road
to the Oscars is paved with at least forty to
fifty other smaller well not smaller, some like you know
the Sundance thing, or if you went to can or
(03:16):
like other award things you have to do, film festivals
and whatnot, and you know coming out the gate first
of all, I mean timing is what really helped Summer Soul.
I had content when other people weren't prepared to have
their content because the world shut down. It just happens
(03:37):
that I finished my film right when the pandemic started.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
I mean, to a lesser degree, that was the same
kind of time and network for what had happened was
at the same timing.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
It just you just had something to entertained people. And
you know, again, had it been released at any other
time period, it would have just been like, oh that
was that was a nice little thing you did. Like
I've done three other things that didn't get that level frenzy,
but I understand the times that we were in and
when it was award time, an award season, I mean,
we just started drinking everybody's milkshake. And after like the
(04:11):
thirtieth plaque comes in my house or whatever, like I
started to feel like the Grinch that stole Christmas because
versus like, oh, and there's like request love, you know,
And then I started feeling bad, and you know, it
was to the point where I was just like, you know,
I've heard of situations before where people will take themselves
out of getting nominated or whatever because they don't want
(04:36):
to stand out or whatever. So and it took a
long time. So there's a whole other deserved this thing.
I don't think as humans we really have dealt with
do we deserve love?
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Which is an interesting question given how much you have
to fight through that same thought to make something like
It's not like it's not like you roll out a
and make a masterpiece album or a great documentary.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
It takes so much work. People are not honest. People
are not honest on what it is that they really want.
So one of the exercises I went through with therapy
is this writing exercise where I have to write the
twenty things that I went for my life right, and
wrote down the twenty things, turned it in, looks at it. Nope,
(05:28):
hey you what it's like? Those aren't real dreams? Like
do it again? All right? And this happened like seven
or eight times, and I was like, why do you
keep making me do this? And the person pointed out
of those twenty things, none of those things were for you.
You wanted to fix your moms sink. You wanted to
(05:50):
buy your banda da da da. You wanted to give
raises to all your staff. You wanted to da da
da da da da. She's like, it took you eight
drafts before you actually said the basic things like oh
I want to like myself better or love me. I
didn't even think about because I think we're just trained
to be so self sacrificing, so people aren't honest. Like
(06:11):
when people ask me like yo yo, I just want
to get your feedback or what you think. Sometimes I
have to just straight up ask them like okay, because
I don't like that whole Simon Cowell on the Spot,
you watch me as I do demo nod whenever you
do that, that then that means like oh, this is
(06:32):
a very awkward moment and yeah, let me hear whoa Okay, Okay,
Like when people start doing demo nod, it's not authentic
and so like I know there's an idea of the
quest love co sign. In my mind, I think it's
also a curse. Like if I say, like shied away
from doing that often because I don't want to jink
(06:52):
someone's project or whatever. If someone thinks like I'm tired
of seeing them, at least in my mind, I think
that's the thing that happens. I'm tired of seeing them thing.
So I mean, yeah, every day we wrestle with that.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Some of that seems to be about perception, I guess,
tudo right, Like you don't want to be perceived as
winning too much or perceived as getting too many And
I don't mean you specifically, but I mean a person
shying away from receiving compliments or accolades or awards for
their very real hard work.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
Yeah, but there's a lot that comes under that. Okay,
So where we are politically right now, I know, like
there's some I don't know if I should call them
political pundits or people that give commentary on what's happening now.
But you know, the general belief is that the and
the whole revenge of the nerds, like nerds versus jocks thing.
(07:50):
I think we're now realizing that, like everyone that's running
stuff now, we're definitely the nerds. And I definitely had
my moment where like, you know, oh, girl breaks your
heart and you're in the bathroom mirror like looking like
I'm gonna show them. Like literally, I willed this character
named Questlove Delight because of like some girl breaking your
(08:12):
heart and it didn't work out the way you wanted to.
I've done big stuff out of Spike, yeah right, and
literally like the whole joker way, they get a little
to me thing, Like I think the first four years
of The Roots was just based on that. And first
of all, I had to totally rework that whole thing
because if you don't rework that, I believe that what
(08:34):
ends up being made isn't as effective at the end
of the day, it won't resonate as much if it
comes from like this kind of broken and selfish place.
I think that reflects in the product. So the question,
I mean, obviously with your music, like your music is
so transparent and so of the moment of the present
(08:54):
of how it is that you feel like, I'll say
right now, like I as far as like my hip
hop consumption, Quelli, Chris, you of course a gene as well,
you know, some sort of whatever, the best of the rock, Marciano, Griselda, whatever, gritty, underground,
(09:17):
the drum less, the drumless period of what we're dealing
with hip hop, which you know, I mean, I'm very
selective in what I take in. I mean, for you though,
like you're the voice, You're definitely the voice in my head, Quelle.
Also for him as well, like a lot of that
(09:37):
what I deemed nerdy hip hop were kind of done
by voices that didn't look like me. So you know,
I'm finally, like, finally, like the people that I relate
to or who I see myself in are now speaking
for me. So that's the thing though, Like I believe
that at the end of the day, yes, this is
(09:59):
a business, you are surviving on it, but I know
for you that this is a therapeutic, healing, cathartic process
of just you as a human being. Right that to
me is authentic. I think that ninety five percent of
the participants in music now, especially in Black music, is
(10:22):
based on survival sick. But who am I to judge
that because I too used to live fifty second to
No Sage Avenue, dreaming of the day where I don't
have to look to the left, look to the right
outside my to make sure that you know, said bully
(10:42):
is not anywhere in proximity. I gotta get out of
here by hooker crook. So a lot of us are
are kind of in that survival still the residue of
survival or.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
But even even in that, right, I mean, I'm assuming
you're talking about even the early Roots album still having
that sort of energy of trying to get out of
your situation through making this music.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
Because of the pureness of how the Roots really started.
Of course, you know part one was just me lying
to a girl in school. Oh right, right, I'm in
agree with him, like that was the first seven years
was just you know, yeah, we're a group, just so
that we can we wanted to get girls phone numbers,
like you know, but just the whole the way that
(11:33):
the dominoes fell on, that whole college audition that led
to a girl thinking we were in a commercial that
we weren't in. Hey, let's try it. Like I'll put
it this way, I'm about to embark on a really
big presentation with jay Z for the Roots Picnic, and
(11:55):
the way that I'm sweating overthinking every song, every segue,
and the fact I'm very shocked that we did what
we did as a shrug. You got a bucket, Yeah,
I got a bucket. My grandma got a bucket. All right,
So what three thirty, I'll meet you in South Street? Cool?
Like it was so casual as a matter of fact,
(12:17):
it's no overthinking, no, none of that stuff. And that's
the level of what we need to get to. But like, who,
like do we even see this as an art or beauty?
Do we? Who's the we? It's participants? Like is it
a means to an end to get out of a situation?
(12:37):
To get see?
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Okay, So this is and this is kind of where
I'm getting at right cause you're asking that question. I
developed in the wake of your art. Do you know
what I'm saying? And you see the way I do it?
And I can sit here and tell you that part
of how I do what I do is inspired by
what y'all did, even though you were still asking that question.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
Well, you are now literally the back to the future plutonium. No,
I'm not lying to you, Like right now the main
people are asking what is the hold up? I want
to feel the way that I feel when I hear
your thing, Like right now, the beats are incredible, the
musicianships up there, Tarik is at ace level of game
(13:25):
spitting like all the parts are technically there. But I
still I still think that we lack we feel emotional
because so adapting Phyla's warribly kind of sense of rhythm
(13:46):
makes it feel human. I think that the frequencies from
certain patches we use the Fender roads like, it feels human,
So that is what gives the illusion of human this.
But I don't think that the roots have created much
in the way of Yeah, I relate to that because
(14:09):
a lot of it is rhyming for the sake of Riddomly, well,
am I breaking your art? Right? No? No, no, you're not,
You're not.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
But I'm like, I'm like, now, see, if these mics
were on, I would ask you a bunch of different
questions that I'm not going to ask right now.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
I ask questions, and the most diplomatic where you get ask,
I mean the most I could do is not answer.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
What it's got me thinking about is what do y'all
even think of the roots music in twenty twenty six
as trying to have a conversation about something?
Speaker 1 (14:46):
All right, this is what I do know, I think
because of my attempt to try to be all things
to all people, because this is what I'm thinking about
when I'm thinking about the roots today. What I'm thinking
about the roots today is Number one, everyone worth a
damn is dead. Anyone who's really worth a dam is dead.
(15:14):
So that's for starters. So let's say I already lost
half my collaborators that way. And I don't mean like,
oh the gods are dead. I mean people I actually know,
brilliant people. They're dead. So that's number one. Number two
is all right. So a plus for us was the
(15:35):
idea of being a band. But even for us to
be a band and get to where I am right now,
where I can sit here and talk to you, we
had to leave the United States to move to Europe
to live for four years just so that we could
survive as a band. So there's no bands. Were one
of few black bands with a deal. Well, I mean
(15:57):
having a deal now is not the same cachet as
well in the nineties. So being a black band that's
viable in today's society. The idea of a group, the
idea of more than one person presenting something. And then
just like you know, jamming, the idea of jamming, Like
(16:18):
there's four or five or six things that are passing
dangered species that's not left. So thus when we do
that two hour show, I'm thinking of all right, there's
people that neither backscratch for a classic hip hop that
they miss. There's people that neither backscratch for tarik'spitting lyrics.
There's people that miss dancing to music that's good that
(16:39):
doesn't feel like a wedding band, like to be a
good musician in a wedding band where I'm not overplaying
none of that shit. Like there's so much missing. I'm
so busy checking off the marks that maybe perhaps the
roots have lost their identity.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
Well, I mean cause the question and if you're checking
all of those boxes is much like the conversation you're
talking about having with your therapist. It's like, when does
it get to what you want? Like what music that
you want to be in the world.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
And this is why this is a ten year wrestling
match with this record, because one the most glaring part
is that Richard Nichols isn't here exactly. So this means
that Tarik and I have to really one as individuals grow.
(17:30):
So there's been a lot of therapy just individually between
he and I, but then also he and I have
to do our kind of level of couple's therapy or
that sort of thing. You know, this is thirty eight
years behind this, and so a little.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Bit right there, right, you're talking about a thirty eight
year relationship. To me, it seems like there's a ton
of conversations to be had about that, and you're talking
about not necessarily feeling like what's on the table right
now is relatable outside of the instrumentation, but it's like
that's where it would be.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
Right. So I came under you know a lot of
stuff I have to like, wait a minute, why am
I in therapy again? Wait a minute, I think this
is what our fan base was complaining about. Tell me
(18:32):
about Project Blude, Man, what the fuck I think? Watching
the way that my dad did business growing up, there's
(18:54):
always unsolicited advice that either a parent or uncle figure.
It gives you that this is always in your head.
And what I learned was if you build a business,
do not build it with your relatives or your friends.
And I think I had a fear that our friendship
(19:18):
issues would be key in the demands of the group.
And I think in my fight or flight mode, it
was what do I have to do to never return
home metaphorically home to West Philly, tail between my legs
and defeat. The group is over and now here I
(19:39):
am as a thirty eight year old without a degree.
I dropped out of Kylee to do this. What am
I going to do? Now? You know? And trust me
the amount of my hip hop peers that I now.
I mean, there's a hip hop hero of mine that
came up to me reaped like last month that was like, yo, dog,
(20:01):
let me tell you something. And I thought, like, you know,
a compliment was coming, like about my music or whatever.
And he's like, yo, man, you're the greatest. And I'm thinking, like, oh, wow,
he listens to my music or whatever. I said, Oh,
thank you, and I'm really shocked at like, oh, I
never thought you'd listened to the roots whatever. And he
was like, yo, man, you are when I tell you
(20:23):
you're one of the best uber eats tippers I've ever
had in my life. And I tried not to get
but no, it's real to feel like that. It's real.
Some of our heroes have to get sneaky, theay jobs whatever.
And that was kind of a Jacob Marley moment for me,
like that's my worst and again it's not me shaming
(20:45):
someone for doing that. Look, I'm still doctor nine jobs.
One of these jobs is being in the roots I do,
but you know those are my passions. But when he
said that, it instantly brought me back to man like, see,
this is why I got to keep business, business and
friendship separate. But you know, but I also know that
(21:07):
we need each other as humans. So we are slowly
when I mean slowly, trying to get back to the
space because I do envy when I watch Daylight Soul together.
Every time I ask pos, I'm like, damn, like you guys,
are you guys are really friends? Yeah? And they're looking
at me like are you shocked? Like I'm really Jimmy
(21:29):
jam and Terry Lewis, I asked them like, wait, why
are you guys still acting like you like each other
after fifty one years? Like not one argument, I have
to rewrite the narratives of I've learned that any relationship
where you don't argue, someone's not communicating right, and so
I just have to read to reprogram all those things,
(21:51):
which this is what I'm doing. So we are in
the very slow process of getting back to the same
fifteen year olds that loved hip hop back in eighty seven.
Speaker 2 (22:03):
I mean, I think these those conversations between y'all, those
conversations that would end up in the music even you know,
whatever conversations may come about the riffs, the challenges that
y'all have had to deal with over the course of
the years. Like again, like there's another generation coming behind us,
(22:24):
and there's no instruction manuals for any of this shit.
So it's like we need those lessons, like we need
those like we need to understand how to be in
high stakes organizations with people we don't necessarily agree with
but are both good at the thing.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
So this is why I am also just very meticulous
in terms of representing whatever creative moves come next. This
is why I'm doing the movies so that way that
you know this particular group means something for other reasons. Besides,
they were money makers and for us, I you know,
(23:05):
I really want to be exemplary in terms of walk
it like they talk it, show the growth. So yeah, man,
there's a lot of you know, we're both in our
mid fifties and there's just a lot of personal work.
We had to do a lot of partner work that
we had to do. And to do this in wake
(23:29):
of a two apocalypses, you know, are we depressed now?
Speaker 2 (23:34):
I mean, look, aging is a tough subject to talk about, Okay.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
Okay, So in your world, in your ecosystem, at one
point you came to this in form of a group. Now,
I don't know if you do collaboration projects just as
a one off or as a hey, let's let's keep
this a thing. Do you like working essentially by yourself or.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
I mean, I'm very comfortable working by myself, and I've
and I'm in a group now. I'm in a group
of previous industries right now, me Video, Dave, and steel
Rift and we work together every week. But it is
a different It touches on like a different part of
my creativity to try to filter my ideas through a
group of people because we're not always aligned on everything,
(24:23):
and these are and it's interesting too. Like Rift I
went to high school with, day If I went to
college with I've known these dudes twenty thirty years and
we have decided in the last five years to start
doing music together. And it's difficult.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Sometimes.
Speaker 2 (24:38):
It's difficult because we all see things a bunch of
different ways three MC's. I mean, you don't see a
lot of groups with three MC's ever, And this is
a part of why. It's because it's hard.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
To get three people to agree on anything. And I
enjoy it.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
But yeah, like when I do that, I've noticed working
on this group stuff, it ends up making me work
on my solo stuff faster.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
It's like, in.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
The process of generating creativity with the with the group thing,
it's like it makes my own ideas even clearer.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
How much time do you guys devote to non musical
things together or is it like outside out of mind
when you're like not working, you know, not not nearly enough.
But that's the thing too.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
I mean, we're all mid forties, we all got like
you all the same live in the same city, but
you know, in different different parts of the city, and
we all make a living different ways, and so the
vast majority of our time is devoted doing what we
got to do to eat because right now the group
isn't paying none of our bills, gotcha.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
You know.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
So it's that whole aspect to it too, where I
think we've certainly to have already been friends, we've gotten
closer doing this, but it's there's been some strife even
with the low stakes sort of sort of.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
An environment that we've been in. It's it's still it's
how they make decisions when they're this conflict, And what's
the typical conflict, like how many dates we can devote
the touring or I don't like this beat? Oh god,
I don't like this beat? Is the Oh my god,
I could.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
I could run through that wall just just thinking about
how many, how many difficult conversations we've had about trying
to agree on beats, and there is no there's no
compromise really on that, because like if somebody, if you
got three rappers and one of them does not like
(26:34):
a beat, do you know what they're gonna do on
that beat if they don't like it beat exactly, And
it's not even going to be out of spite. It's
just like if it's not making them feel the thing.
Then they're not going to bring that best to it.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
See, you gotta do the deal of method. Do you
know how they made fantastic Volume one? So what is it?
He just did drums high hat, just a high hat
and imagine what you think it gonna sound like, literally
a high hat. That's so wild. And they would just
round their ass off and then he would go and
add the music later. See that's the thing. We don't
have a musical genius in the group. So go backwards, man,
(27:08):
go backwards, go backwards. Well that is a mini hopefully
more to come, and I think eventually this will probably
wind up being its own platform, and you never know where.
We check in, check in with each other, starting open
open my Questions. There you go, there you go check
it with checking in with open my questions. All right,
(27:31):
see all that please question Up Show is a production
(27:53):
of iHeartRadio.
Hosts And Creators
Laiya St. Clair
Questlove
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