Prince, Crack, and the Secret History of Hip-Hop

1. 0:00 – 0:30

   Cold open: “You’re a rule follower…”

   1. TNTrevor Noah0:00

      [upbeat music] Okey-dokey. You ready? We good?

   2. QUQuestlove0:11

      We're rolling.

   3. TNTrevor Noah0:12

      Okay. If we're rolling, then we're rolling.

   4. QUQuestlove0:14

      So your reputation is you, you are a rule follower. [laughs]

   5. TNTrevor Noah0:21

      [laughs]

   6. QUQuestlove0:22

      Yo, Michael Che, I don't know what happened at, at the table with you, Michael Che. So oftentimes, it- Uno-

   7. TNTrevor Noah0:29

      Oh,

2. 0:30 – 1:48

   Welcome Questlove: Hip-hop, good times & DC

   1. TNTrevor Noah0:30

      c- you know what? So here's the thing.

   2. QUQuestlove0:31

      Uno.

   3. TNTrevor Noah0:31

      Okay, let's get into this.

   4. QUQuestlove0:32

      [laughs]

   5. TNTrevor Noah0:32

      Let's get into this, actually. [paper crumples] [upbeat music] This is What Now? with Trevor Noah. [upbeat music] So, uh, first and, first and foremost, welcome. Welcome to, uh, you, the listener/viewer if you're watching this, and welcome to our guest, the, the one and only Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, someone who is- who's become synonymous with not just all things music, but I feel like all things good times, which is a, is a great vibe. You know, when you walk through the streets, you go like, "Man, that person I associate with good times."

   6. QUQuestlove1:16

      Good time guy.

   7. TNTrevor Noah1:17

      I, I feel like you made my time a little bit better because I was in Washington, DC, that's where we are right now, and then I found out you were gonna be in Washington, DC, and I'd been dying to get you on the podcast. And then as you always do, you made things happen, and I appreciate you for that, genuinely. So, uh, welcome to it, because we're gonna have such a great conversation today. I, I, I know it will be.

   8. QUQuestlove1:36

      We are.

   9. TNTrevor Noah1:36

      You know, we're gonna be chatting about your new book, all right, Hip Hop Is History.

   10. QUQuestlove1:41

       Mm-hmm.

   11. TNTrevor Noah1:42

       We're gonna be talking about your life, your, your journey with music, and man,

3. 1:48 – 2:29

   The action-packed opening of Quest’s book

   1. TNTrevor Noah1:48

      what happened at the Grammys behind the scenes.

   2. QUQuestlove1:51

      Buckle up.

   3. TNTrevor Noah1:52

      [laughs] Oh, boy. I'm excited. Welcome to the podcast.

   4. QUQuestlove1:56

      Thank you.

   5. TNTrevor Noah1:57

      You know, I, I picked up your book and you jump into the book in maybe the most action-packed way ever. [laughs]

   6. QUQuestlove2:05

      Yeah.

   7. TNTrevor Noah2:05

      Let me tell you something. So I'm, I'm obviously biased, because I was there when this was happening.

   8. QUQuestlove2:11

      Mm-hmm.

   9. TNTrevor Noah2:12

      But in the very-

   10. QUQuestlove2:13

       You hosted.

   11. TNTrevor Noah2:13

       Yeah, man. [laughs]

   12. QUQuestlove2:14

       Oh, God. Yes. That night, do you even know what was happening?

   13. TNTrevor Noah2:19

       [laughs] So I'll set the stage. I'll set the stage for everybody listening.

   14. QUQuestlove2:23

       Yeah.

   15. TNTrevor Noah2:23

       So it's the Grammys, right? It is the 2023 Grammys.

   16. QUQuestlove2:28

       Mm-hmm.

4. 2:29 – 3:34

   Hip-Hop 50: The impossible 10-minute job

   1. TNTrevor Noah2:29

      2023 Grammys.

   2. QUQuestlove2:30

      Yeah.

   3. TNTrevor Noah2:30

      And this is gonna be one of the biggest years ever, because hip-hop is turning 50.

   4. QUQuestlove2:37

      Mm-hmm.

   5. TNTrevor Noah2:37

      And there's gonna be a 50th hip-hop celebration that brings together almost every artist or every performer or every group from hip-hop, from every generation, onto one stage in one mega blockbuster performance. You've never seen anything like this.

   6. QUQuestlove2:54

      Right.

   7. TNTrevor Noah2:55

      And the man who is tasked with putting this together is the one and only Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson. And you know, you talk about how you said yes before you even thought about it. They said, "Ahmir, you wanna do this?" You said yes.

   8. QUQuestlove3:09

      [laughs]

   9. TNTrevor Noah3:09

      And just like, just like any amazing action scene in a movie, we are completely in, because we're thrust into a world where you realize very quickly that you, you don't, you don't just have to curate a performance that encapsulates 50 years of hip-hop into, like, a 10, 15-minute performance, which is impossible.

   10. QUQuestlove3:28

       Yeah.

   11. TNTrevor Noah3:28

       [laughs]

   12. QUQuestlove3:28

       I thought it was that whole show. I was, like, getting ready for it. [laughs]

   13. TNTrevor Noah3:31

       But then we realize you have to manage all of the egos. Please

5. 3:34 – 5:15

   “Be the bad cop”: Cutting legends & calling favorites

   1. TNTrevor Noah3:34

      just, just break it down for me.

   2. QUQuestlove3:35

      So one of m- one of my, one of my biggest faults is often that I'm asked to do stuff, like, months or years ahead of time.

   3. TNTrevor Noah3:45

      [laughs]

   4. QUQuestlove3:46

      You know what I mean? So when someone's asking you in, you know, th- three years before something, yeah, you're like, "Yeah, that'll be exciting."

   5. TNTrevor Noah3:52

      Right.

   6. QUQuestlove3:53

      "I'll do it three years from now."

   7. TNTrevor Noah3:54

      Uh-huh.

   8. QUQuestlove3:54

      So, uh, you know, uh, Jesse Collins and Dionna Harmon asked me to... They have a way of pitching you that's, like, super exciting. Like, "Ahmir, we think you should do, you know, we think you should curate the Hip-Hop 50 thing."

   9. TNTrevor Noah4:08

      [laughs]

   10. QUQuestlove4:08

       And I'm all, like, the cartoon character. You know, like, when someone turns somebody into a turkey, like, suddenly-

   11. TNTrevor Noah4:14

       [laughs]

   12. QUQuestlove4:14

       ... salivating at the mouth and all that stuff. And instantly I got, I got to work. I figured, okay, I'm gonna tell the story of hip-hop from, from the break beats of 1973-

   13. TNTrevor Noah4:24

       Mm-hmm

   14. QUQuestlove4:25

       ... to the, you know. And I'm going through the, all the eras, and I was like, all right, maybe they'll give me a half hour. So, all right, here's my presentation. And I said, "It's 31 minutes." And they l- the way they laughed at me. They're like, "No, no, no, no, no. Um, yeah, just give us, like, 10 minutes." And then once I looked at the list and realized that it was 10 minutes, I'm like, well, I'm gonna have to cut this list in half. Like, I realized instantly what they really signed me up for. What they really wanted to say was, "Hey, Ahmir, we would like you to be the bad cop-

   15. TNTrevor Noah5:01

       Mm-hmm

   16. QUQuestlove5:01

       ... in this situation."

   17. TNTrevor Noah5:02

       Mm-hmm.

   18. QUQuestlove5:03

       And then I realized, oh, I'm gonna have to talk to people. Not only that, just go through my, my phone scroll. Like, not even the luxury of them.

6. 5:15 – 6:45

   “Who all gon’ be there?”—managing rap politics

   1. QUQuestlove5:15

      You're the Grammys, you, you can call these people. No. Like, I gotta get up at 5:00 AM and have a Zoom with Dr. Dre. It was the most seven intense weeks of my life, of creatively cutting, whittling things down, uh, to a 10-minute, you know-

   2. TNTrevor Noah5:35

      Yeah

   3. QUQuestlove5:36

      ... uh, uh, standard. Not to mention the amount of conversations I had to have with people that are like, "Wait, you only, you want me to fly out there just to do a chorus?"

   4. TNTrevor Noah5:48

      Yeah.

   5. QUQuestlove5:48

      "Like, I'm only doing eight bars of a chorus? Hell no, I ain't doing that." You know.

   6. TNTrevor Noah5:53

      [laughs]

   7. QUQuestlove5:53

      So, and then some people were really savvy, 'cause they've been in this situation before. And they'll say, like, "Well, who all gonna be there?" And then now I gotta be careful, like, well, uh, there's da, da, da. Hello? Hello?

   8. TNTrevor Noah6:06

      'Cause the thing is, a lot of people-

   9. QUQuestlove6:07

      Hello

   10. TNTrevor Noah6:07

       ... don't realize, some people don't wanna be in the same vicinity or on the same stage as other... 'Cause it's like everyone's in h- hip hop, but not everyone in hip hop is together.

   11. QUQuestlove6:16

       Right. So then who all gonna be there was the first thing. And then now it's like, well, if I really need you to do this, then I gotta knock out these three people-

   12. TNTrevor Noah6:25

       Damn

   13. QUQuestlove6:25

       ... so that you'll show up. So there was a bunch of that.

   14. TNTrevor Noah6:27

       Oh, man.

   15. QUQuestlove6:28

       Then at one point there were several groups who weren't even speaking to each other.

   16. TNTrevor Noah6:33

       Yeah.

   17. QUQuestlove6:34

       "Yo, I swear to God, when I see da, da, da, da, yeah. Yo, he owe me $3,000 from 1998, son."

   18. TNTrevor Noah6:39

       [laughs]

   19. QUQuestlove6:39

       "And da, da, da, da." "Look, man, I'll, I'll give you the 3,000 bucks. Just-"

   20. TNTrevor Noah6:43

       Oh, man

   21. QUQuestlove6:44

       ... "Can you, can you..." So

7. 6:45 – 8:25

   Show night panic: Bad Bunny starts, crisis begins

   1. QUQuestlove6:45

      there was a bunch of that happening.

   2. TNTrevor Noah6:47

      So I'll- I'll jump into this part.

   3. QUQuestlove6:48

      Yes.

   4. TNTrevor Noah6:48

      So-

   5. QUQuestlove6:49

      Yeah

   6. TNTrevor Noah6:49

      ... night of. So I've seen the rehearsals, but now the- the thing that people don't realize is the rehearsals for the Grammys are broken down, right? So you rehearse when the people can rehearse, and so it isn't always chronological.

   7. QUQuestlove7:02

      Mm-hmm.

   8. TNTrevor Noah7:02

      You know? So, like, you know, if Bad Bunny's opening the show, he might rehearse, like, after a whole bunch of people. And- and you're really doing these pieces and segments, and you're doing them, and, you know, you got Ben Winston, who's executive producing the whole thing, and- and, you know, you've got the director, Hamish. Everyone's trying to put this together.

   9. QUQuestlove7:16

      Mm-hmm.

   10. TNTrevor Noah7:16

       But Hip Hop 50, everyone goes, "We've never done anything like this." Everyone at the Grammys said, "We have never done anything like this."

   11. QUQuestlove7:23

       Oh, I know. [laughs]

   12. TNTrevor Noah7:25

       And so on the night, you know, everyone, everyone is really nervous. All I keep hearing in my ear is-

   13. QUQuestlove7:30

       So you had a earpiece in.

   14. TNTrevor Noah7:31

       Yeah, I had a earpiece.

   15. QUQuestlove7:32

       Sh-

   16. TNTrevor Noah7:32

       I had a earpiece.

   17. QUQuestlove7:33

       So you might have known what I've gone through. [laughs]

   18. TNTrevor Noah7:34

       Oh, I knew exactly what you were going through. But I didn't know what you personally were going through. The book, the book lays it out, and it- it- it's... Man.

   19. QUQuestlove7:42

       So you remember, o- the- the first act, was it, was it Bad Bunny that started the show?

   20. TNTrevor Noah7:45

       Yeah, so Bad Bunny started the show. Right.

   21. QUQuestlove7:47

       So you remember that whole elaborate thing he did-

   22. TNTrevor Noah7:48

       Uh-huh

   23. QUQuestlove7:48

       ... in the audience?

   24. TNTrevor Noah7:49

       Uh-huh. Like, he's coming through the audience.

   25. QUQuestlove7:51

       Right.

   26. TNTrevor Noah7:51

       They- they drumming, they banging. Bad Bunny's walking through. And then all of a sudden I hear, "Uh, uh, we, we, uh, we need Ahmir. We need, uh... Okay, guys, we've got a bit of a pro- uh, one of the artists, uh, we got, we got..." And I'm like, "What, what is happening?" They're like, "All right, there's too much noise on this channel. We have to switch you because something's gone wrong."

   27. QUQuestlove8:07

       Right.

   28. TNTrevor Noah8:07

       So now I'm like, "What's going wrong?" They're like, "It's not about this, it's about Hip Hop 50."

   29. QUQuestlove8:12

       Mm-hmm.

   30. TNTrevor Noah8:12

       And as soon as they say that, I'm like, "Oh, no. What has happened? What has happened?"
8. 8:25 – 9:31

   Security chaos: VIPs, metal detectors, dealbreakers

   1. QUQuestlove8:25

      and everything.

   2. TNTrevor Noah8:25

      Yes.

   3. QUQuestlove8:25

      Like, creatively, we were good. There was a new problem, and the new problem was because, uh, First Lady, uh, Jill Biden-

   4. TNTrevor Noah8:33

      Jill Biden was coming

   5. QUQuestlove8:34

      ... was in the house. There's a in- more intense level of, uh, security detail-

   6. TNTrevor Noah8:40

      Yeah

   7. QUQuestlove8:41

      ... than normal.

   8. TNTrevor Noah8:42

      Mm-hmm.

   9. QUQuestlove8:42

      Which, you know, okay, I've been to the White House a few times. Whatever. I understand you're gonna have to go through several stages of, uh, going through metal detectors-

   10. TNTrevor Noah8:51

       Mm-hmm, mm-hmm

   11. QUQuestlove8:51

       ... and all that. You know, there's, there's a few of my peers in the world of hip hop that are like-

   12. TNTrevor Noah8:56

       [laughs]

   13. QUQuestlove8:57

       ... "Nah, son. Never."

   14. TNTrevor Noah8:58

       [laughs]

   15. QUQuestlove8:58

       Like, a never again thing. A never again thing. Like, they see metal detectors and they're like, "Nope, I'm good." So just to kind of appease two of these particular figures, we had to go through hell and high water just to make sure that was cool.

   16. TNTrevor Noah9:18

       Right.

   17. QUQuestlove9:18

       Which, once I realized the last person was finally in the house-

   18. TNTrevor Noah9:22

       Mm-hmm

   19. QUQuestlove9:23

       ... I had two good hours of, "Whew." So I got changed, you know.

   20. TNTrevor Noah9:29

       Yeah, you were walking the red carpet.

9. 9:31 – 11:10

   First dropout: Rebuilding a live show mid-show

   1. QUQuestlove9:31

      Right. I went to the red carpet and, you know, d- messed with, uh, Taylor a little bit. You know, we-

   2. TNTrevor Noah9:36

      Yeah

   3. QUQuestlove9:36

      ... joking around.

   4. TNTrevor Noah9:36

      Telling jokes to Taylor Swift, living the good life.

   5. QUQuestlove9:38

      Right. Everything was fine. And then the second they, uh, introduced Bad Bunny, suddenly I just started getting, like, "Code red. Code red," like, "Get backstage right now." And what I was told was that, uh, one of our participants-

   6. TNTrevor Noah9:55

      Mm-hmm

   7. QUQuestlove9:56

      ... um, is on his way back to his house in Calabasas because, uh, maybe or maybe not a security person, uh, was a little overzealous in-

   8. TNTrevor Noah10:07

      Yeah

   9. QUQuestlove10:07

      ... checking, uh, our friend's, uh, date.

   10. TNTrevor Noah10:11

       Yeah.

   11. QUQuestlove10:11

       He's instantly like, "No." Like, it- it was just like-

   12. TNTrevor Noah10:14

       [laughs]

   13. QUQuestlove10:15

       ... this person's not coming back. So what they don't realize is that because we're on a very specific clock in terms of camera coordination, ba- uh, all the visuals you see-

   14. TNTrevor Noah10:29

       Ev- every cue at the Grammys-

   15. QUQuestlove10:30

       The lights, the dancers

   16. TNTrevor Noah10:31

       ... every cue-

   17. QUQuestlove10:33

       Right

   18. TNTrevor Noah10:33

       ... is so specific. And that person didn't drop out from the front or the back. They dropped out from the middle.

   19. QUQuestlove10:38

       Right. It's not like a thing where I could just instantly, like, "Hey, we're cutting that song." Now nine key people who are not in contact with each other have to be told that we're gonna lose, like, four minutes and 27 seconds to, like-

   20. TNTrevor Noah10:51

       Yeah

   21. QUQuestlove10:51

       ... six minutes and six seconds. We have to cut that part out. But the thing is, it's a live show.

   22. TNTrevor Noah10:55

       Mm-hmm.

   23. QUQuestlove10:55

       And the show's happening already. So you gotta wait till commercials and then run to the light guy and say, "Look, during the Hip Hop 50, four minutes and 27 seconds, six minutes." Then you gotta go to the camera person, then you gotta go to the, uh, graphics person.

   24. TNTrevor Noah11:08

       Mm-hmm.

   25. QUQuestlove11:08

       Then you gotta go to the, the choreographer,

10. 11:10 – 12:21

    Album of the Year triggers a second dropout

    1. QUQuestlove11:10

       a- and then you gotta t- tell the dancers, "Hey, guys, I'm sorry, but da, da, da just dropped out."

    2. TNTrevor Noah11:14

       Yeah.

    3. QUQuestlove11:14

       "So we won't be using you." Like, these people flew out, you know, told their fam, "I'm gonna be on TV. Hey."

    4. TNTrevor Noah11:19

       Yeah. They've been rehearsing.

    5. QUQuestlove11:20

       Right. So it took about 28 minutes to just tell all those people that this particular artist has dropped out.

    6. TNTrevor Noah11:31

       Wow.

    7. QUQuestlove11:32

       And I thought, "Okay, we're good." And then-

    8. TNTrevor Noah11:34

       [laughs]

    9. QUQuestlove11:35

       ... part two happens, which is-

    10. TNTrevor Noah11:37

        Oh, man

    11. QUQuestlove11:39

        ... some genius decided, and, you know, I'm being sarcastic, to present the Album of the Year award-

    12. TNTrevor Noah11:45

        Yes

    13. QUQuestlove11:45

        ... before the presentation. Yeah.

    14. TNTrevor Noah11:47

        Yeah.

    15. QUQuestlove11:48

        And the thing is, it's like, look, dog, this is, this is Kendrick Lamar's time. Like, you've awarded this guy the Pulitzer Prize. You know.

    16. TNTrevor Noah11:58

        Yeah.

    17. QUQuestlove11:58

        He's achieved things.

    18. TNTrevor Noah12:00

        Yeah. He's the favorite.

    19. QUQuestlove12:02

        We already know this. You know, we already know this

    20. TNTrevor Noah12:04

        But does hip hop know it the same way? 'Cause I, I feel like, I feel like-

    21. QUQuestlove12:07

        Ego's a part of hip hop

    22. TNTrevor Noah12:08

        ... well, that's what I mean. I feel like, I feel like nobody in hip hop comes to an awards show thinking that they're not gonna win the award

    23. QUQuestlove12:15

        Kendrick rightfully won that Grammy, and one of the nominees was like, "Pssh, I'm

11. 12:21 – 13:07

    Four minutes to fix everything

    1. QUQuestlove12:21

       going home"

    2. TNTrevor Noah12:21

       And that nominee was in the performance. I remember this happening in my ear. I got a call from Ben. He was like, "Uh, Trev, mate." He's like, "We just lost another hip hop performer. Uh, we're gonna try to figure it out, but for now, uh, we, we might need to move things around. We just gotta..." And he's like, uh, and then it was panic again

    3. QUQuestlove12:38

       Yo, so it's, it's four minutes left, and we just... and we begged him as he's walking out like, "Yo, can you please, can you?" "No, I'm going home." And so you got, we have four minutes, one, to make all the edits, but then I need somebody to end this thing. And I'll tell you what I did. I s- I found a closet, and I said... I opened the closet and went in. They're like, "Ahmir, that's not a room." "I know."

12. 13:07 – 14:07

    The broom-closet meditation

    1. QUQuestlove13:07

       And they're like, "What are you doing in there?" "I need silence." And literally, I just sat there for two minutes, dead silence, like, "All right, what am I gonna do?"

    2. TNTrevor Noah13:15

       I, I thought, I thought you were having a mental breakdown, 'cause I heard, I heard during the, the, the cost, they were like, "Things are going crazy. Things are going, things are going wild." And then someone said, "Ahmir just went into, like, a c- a broom closet, and he won't come out." And I was like, "Well, I guess it, he finally cracked"

    3. QUQuestlove13:32

       No, so this is what I learned about-

    4. TNTrevor Noah13:33

       The unstoppable force known as Questlove finally cracked

    5. QUQuestlove13:36

       [laughs] People think that meditation is, like, cosmic prayer. Meditation is just you gotta sit in silence for a long time and breathe, and the answer will come to you. Now, let two minutes go by, and you can clearly hear them outside the door like-

    6. TNTrevor Noah13:53

       Yeah, yeah, yeah

    7. QUQuestlove13:54

       ...

13. 15:04 – 15:42

    Dre’s masterclass in saying “No” (twice)

    1. QUQuestlove15:19

       "

14. 17:26 – 18:58

    Hearing hip-hop at 8: “Rapper’s Delight” changes everything

    1. QUQuestlove18:06

       ... and record-

    2. TNTrevor Noah18:07

       [laughs]

    3. QUQuestlove18:07

       ... what I'm hearing, which is exactly what I did. Like, I ran right to my room, got a tape recorder, put the tape recorder to the bo- the radio, uh, the-

    4. TNTrevor Noah18:15

       Yeah, yeah, yeah

    5. QUQuestlove18:15

       ... the clock radio, recorded it, and just sat there and list- you know, Rapper’s Delight was 15 minutes.

    6. TNTrevor Noah18:21

       Right.

    7. QUQuestlove18:22

       So I came in at, like, maybe the three-minute-

    8. TNTrevor Noah18:24

       Uh-huh

    9. QUQuestlove18:24

       ... part, and I wrote that entire song down. I was supposed to be in bed, like, 8:00, 8:30. You know, I was eight years old. I probably stayed up, I was allowed to stay up till maybe 9:30, and I transcribed all the lyrics, and then I went to school the next day. Me performing Rapper’s Delight for, like, all my fourth grade class members-

    10. TNTrevor Noah18:45

        Yeah

    11. QUQuestlove18:45

        ... and that's, you know, of course, like, adults were like, "Oh, it'll never last. It, it's a fad." But when it really called to me was in 1988. So there was, like, a, a, a '50s-themed McDonald's called

15. 18:58 – 19:48

    Recording the radio & performing at school

    1. QUQuestlove18:58

       Big Al's based on Happy Days, and I worked there. And this is the morning that It Takes a Nation of Millions by Public Enemy came out, which if you know of their production style, it was a very... They wanted to sound like music's worst nightmare, so they would just pack in, like, 19 samples in one song.

    2. TNTrevor Noah19:17

       Right.

    3. QUQuestlove19:17

       Just sounded like... They, they said that they wanted their music to sound like what crack feels like when you... 'Cause it was the crack era.

    4. TNTrevor Noah19:25

       Oh, damn. I didn't know that.

    5. QUQuestlove19:26

       Which is why all my chapters are based on the five-year-

    6. TNTrevor Noah19:29

       Yes, yes

    7. QUQuestlove19:30

       ... you know.

    8. TNTrevor Noah19:30

       Yeah.

    9. QUQuestlove19:31

       The, the first phase, cocaine, second phase, porno.

    10. TNTrevor Noah19:33

        Yeah, you, you have, you have one of the more interesting ways of breaking hip-hop down. Like, where, where most people would talk about hip-hop just in a decade, or most, you know, they would say this was an era, you broke hip-hop down by the drug that was pervasive at the

16. 19:48 – 20:41

    Hip-hop by drugs: 5-year eras that shaped the sound

    1. TNTrevor Noah19:48

       time.

    2. QUQuestlove19:48

       Yep.

    3. TNTrevor Noah19:49

       And, you know, it's one of those things, in, in stand-up we always talk about it, we go, there's always that moment where a comedian will get on stage and they will say something so painfully obvious that you don't understand why you never saw it, but it is so genius because nobody could see it because it was right in front of them. I feel like you revealed that with, with the way you broke hip-hop down. Like-

    4. QUQuestlove20:10

       Well, when Chuck D said, like, "We wanted to be music's worst nightmare," and because it was the crack era, he wanted his music to sound what crack felt like.

    5. TNTrevor Noah20:18

       Right.

    6. QUQuestlove20:19

       And then I realized, oh, so when The Chronic came five years later, Dr. Dre slowed the music down-

    7. TNTrevor Noah20:25

       Yes

    8. QUQuestlove20:25

       ... and that's the sound of weed.

    9. TNTrevor Noah20:27

       Yep.

    10. QUQuestlove20:27

        But then when the '97 bad boy era really started to kick in, that was the sexy, that's, that's the, the, the ecstasy-

    11. TNTrevor Noah20:35

        Mm-hmm

    12. QUQuestlove20:35

        ... era.

    13. TNTrevor Noah20:35

        Mm-hmm.

    14. QUQuestlove20:36

        And then when the South first started coming in, that's the, the sizzurp era.

    15. TNTrevor Noah20:40

        Mm-hmm.

    16. QUQuestlove20:40

        And

17. 20:41 – 22:30

    From crack to weed to ecstasy to sizzurp to numb

    1. QUQuestlove20:41

       then, of course, with, with, with Molly, opioids, fentanyl, like, we're, we're going through each phase. Every five years our, the drug of choice that we self-soothe on changes. That's how the music changes.

    2. TNTrevor Noah20:55

       Right.

    3. QUQuestlove20:55

       Like, this is the numbing era. This is, this is the era of-

    4. TNTrevor Noah20:59

       Oh, damn

    5. QUQuestlove20:59

       ... no feelings. I, I don't wanna feel. Numb.

    6. TNTrevor Noah21:02

       Damn.

    7. QUQuestlove21:02

       And some people are totally emo. So you're either 12,000% emo or no feelings, which is why everyone sounds numb as hell. Like, that's why mumble culture doesn't make sense to my generation. Like, I grew up in the crack era.

    8. TNTrevor Noah21:17

       Right, because it doesn't, it doesn't match up with what you experienced or how you were living, how you were-

    9. QUQuestlove21:22

       Right

    10. TNTrevor Noah21:22

        ... living that life. I, I genuinely love how you, how you find these threads, how you, how you connect them, how you, you know... In, in, in the book, you talk about your journey in hip-hop, The Roots' journey in hip-hop, and, and I love the connection that you have with Tariq where it's like, you know, here we are seeing the foundations of Black Thought and Questlove-

    11. QUQuestlove21:44

        Mm-hmm

    12. TNTrevor Noah21:44

        ... seeing them go from boys growing up, as you say, you know, from tweens to teens, from teens to young men, and then, and then you, then you're in hip-hop.

    13. QUQuestlove21:53

        See, our narrative was that we were working class musicians-

    14. TNTrevor Noah21:57

        Mm-hmm

    15. QUQuestlove21:58

        ... which really isn't sexy. [laughs]

    16. TNTrevor Noah22:03

        [laughs]

    17. QUQuestlove22:04

        There's, there's nothing sexy about-

    18. TNTrevor Noah22:06

        [laughs]

    19. QUQuestlove22:08

        ... "Hey, we're a hardworking band." Um, because the, you know, the narrative, a lot of the narrative, especially of the crack era, which is, uh, 1987 to 1992, is the idea of winning.

    20. TNTrevor Noah22:23

        Yeah.

    21. QUQuestlove22:24

        Which is why the idea of Scarface, we don't love the movie Scarface, the idea of Scarface

18. 22:30 – 25:20

    The Roots’ unsexy origin story: working-class truth

    1. QUQuestlove22:30

       is what we love.

    2. TNTrevor Noah22:31

       Right.

    3. QUQuestlove22:31

       If, if anything, I think, like, Jay's life sort of mirrors that.

    4. TNTrevor Noah22:36

       Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

    5. QUQuestlove22:36

       Like, I'ma buck the system-

    6. TNTrevor Noah22:38

       Right

    7. QUQuestlove22:38

       ... and then I'm gonna evolve and become the system.

    8. TNTrevor Noah22:42

       Right.

    9. QUQuestlove22:43

       That's pretty much how, like, America was built. Like, off of bootleg money.

    10. TNTrevor Noah22:48

        Oh, everyone. Yeah, the Kennedys-

    11. QUQuestlove22:49

        Drug money

    12. TNTrevor Noah22:49

        ... the Rockefellers-

    13. QUQuestlove22:50

        Yeah

    14. TNTrevor Noah22:50

        ... you name it. You name it.

    15. QUQuestlove22:51

        Corrupt money, and then somehow-

    16. TNTrevor Noah22:52

        Yes

    17. QUQuestlove22:52

        ... they became the-

    18. TNTrevor Noah22:53

        Right. You become the establishment at some point.

    19. QUQuestlove22:54

        The establishment.

    20. TNTrevor Noah22:55

        Yeah.

    21. QUQuestlove22:56

        The respectable establishment.

    22. TNTrevor Noah22:57

        Mm-hmm.

    23. QUQuestlove22:58

        For us, though, had Tariq and I, like, ag- again, even the idea, we were really The Roots in name only because, like, we went to high school. When you're in high school and Boyz II Men are Boyz II Men in high school-

    24. TNTrevor Noah23:10

        [laughs]

    25. QUQuestlove23:12

        ... and I don't mean, like, this was before they had a record deal, but it was like The Beatles on Sullivan.

    26. TNTrevor Noah23:16

        Yeah.

    27. QUQuestlove23:16

        Like, they would walk down the block and girls, "Ah, oh my God," and, and singing the girls in the back, and I'm like, "Oh, they're cheap, man. Like, singing the girls that, like, we can't do that." And so we started a group, but it was in name only, and it was only when I was coming back from my audition, uh, I auditioned to go to the New School or Julliard.

    28. TNTrevor Noah23:38

        Mm-hmm.

    29. QUQuestlove23:39

        And coming back home, Tariq was with me for my audition, this real pretty girl in kind of a, a Gray Poupon commercial way says, "Excuse me, are you the, are you the drummer that, uh, plays in that Spike Lee bucket commercial?" Now, yes, I was the drummer in the Boyz II Men Motown Philly video.

    30. TNTrevor Noah23:58

        [laughs]
19. 25:20 – 27:00

    Longevity secret: “Left foot, right foot—show up”

    1. QUQuestlove25:20

       truth. We weren't rich.

    2. TNTrevor Noah25:21

       Yep, yep.

    3. QUQuestlove25:21

       We weren't, you know, we-

    4. TNTrevor Noah25:21

       Put your Rollies in the sky, waving side to side.

    5. QUQuestlove25:24

       We didn't think to lie to people.

    6. TNTrevor Noah25:25

       Yeah.

    7. QUQuestlove25:25

       Or I don't think it's lying to people, I think it's sort of manifesting what your future is.

    8. TNTrevor Noah25:29

       Yep.

    9. QUQuestlove25:29

       And then it comes.

    10. TNTrevor Noah25:30

        But okay, but then what do you, what do you think, what do you think the secret to your staying power has been as a group?

    11. QUQuestlove25:35

        Um, when people used to ask before, I, I would playfully joke that, you know, the r- the reason why The Roots existed for 30-plus years is because, uh, two tour buses, and I say Slytherin and Gryffindor. But I, I now realize something, which is oftentimes artists have this obsession with perfection.

    12. TNTrevor Noah25:56

        Yeah.

    13. QUQuestlove25:57

        You hear Michael Jackson like, "It must be perfect."

    14. TNTrevor Noah25:58

        Mm-hmm.

    15. QUQuestlove25:59

        Uh, Prince is world w- famous for rehearsing his band, like, 15 hours a day, perfection, perfection. That's not the key. The key is, like, when you're trying to manage your destiny or rehearse-

    16. TNTrevor Noah26:12

        Mm-hmm

    17. QUQuestlove26:12

        ... your destiny, it, it never works. Literally all you have to do is left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot. And yeah, some of those times are trepidation. There have been moments where, like, I don't like the way the audience looks. Like, ah, they don't know who we are. Like-

    18. TNTrevor Noah26:28

        Yeah, yeah

    19. QUQuestlove26:28

        ... you know, and I overthink it.

    20. TNTrevor Noah26:30

        No, I know that feeling.

    21. QUQuestlove26:30

        But it's just show up. So I don't think... You know, people, "Well, you guys are super talented. You know, you da, da, da, da. You, you have the ability to collaborate with whoever." Nah. We're, we're still... We just, we show up, and that's literally, I believe that's the true answer. I try to make science of it, of it all. Like, well, you know, 'cause we're responsible, or, you know, we're drug-free, or we're, you know.

    22. TNTrevor Noah26:56

        No, you just, you just show up.

    23. QUQuestlove26:56

        We went to counseling. Nah, we just, you literally

20. 27:00 – 29:08

    Performance mindsets: sabotage vs. silence

    1. QUQuestlove27:00

       show up.

    2. TNTrevor Noah27:00

       But I, you, you know what I think it is. I, I think, and I would love to hear what, what you think it is as well, is, like, I think as artists, if we're honest about it, there is a great fear that comes with doing what we're doing because you are directly attached to the product that you are creating.

    3. QUQuestlove27:18

       Mm-hmm.

    4. TNTrevor Noah27:19

       It is a direct expression of who you are. It's a, it- it's a direct moment where you're exposing yourself. It's like another opportunity to be rejected, it's another opportunity for it to not go right, it's another opportunity... You know, like, l- let's say the music itself can go on without you, but when we talk about, let's say, a live performance-

    5. QUQuestlove27:33

       Mm-hmm

    6. TNTrevor Noah27:33

       ... every live performance is a new performance. Do you know what I mean?

    7. QUQuestlove27:37

       Yes.

    8. TNTrevor Noah27:37

       You step on stage, and if your timing is off and if your drumming is off and, and, you know, and, and, and if, if, if Thorp misses some lyrics or if he messes something up, that crowd doesn't say, "Oh, no, it's fine because the album is perfect." They go, "That was terrible."

    9. QUQuestlove27:53

       But-

    10. TNTrevor Noah27:53

        You know?

    11. QUQuestlove27:54

        ... you show me someone... I mean, no one actively plans on, "Let me ruin this moment."

    12. TNTrevor Noah28:00

        Yeah.

    13. QUQuestlove28:01

        But I guarantee you at least 90% of the time, it's someone that's in their head. I- I've learned, uh, that worrying is literally praying to be sabotaged. Ooh.

    14. TNTrevor Noah28:19

        Uh-huh.

    15. QUQuestlove28:19

        Man, I, I hope I don't drop a drumstick. When you worry, when you allow your brain to go to that place-

    16. TNTrevor Noah28:27

        Yeah, to focus on the thing

    17. QUQuestlove28:29

        ... shout out to Lauren Zander for inventing the term manafucking. That's when you start manafucking. So it's, it's, I guarantee you behind every moment of, of that level of sabotage or a bad performance, that's because a person's mind's not clear. I don't... Like, before you go on stage, 'cause your, your level of entertainment is more intimate because you have to talk to people.

    18. TNTrevor Noah28:55

        Yeah.

    19. QUQuestlove28:56

        Like, do you at least... I have to sit in silence 15 minutes before I go on stage or DJ just so that I can ground myself and-

    20. TNTrevor Noah29:07

        No

    21. QUQuestlove29:07

        ... get in that

21. 29:08 – 32:09

    Backstage rituals: Zen, music, people

    1. QUQuestlove29:08

       zone.

    2. TNTrevor Noah29:08

       I'm the complete opposite.

    3. QUQuestlove29:09

       Oh, you gotta be all hyped and listening to music and hyped.

    4. TNTrevor Noah29:11

       I'm, I'm... No, no, no, no, no. I, I just... So I, it's funny, everyone has a different routine. So Chris Rock, he has, like, he almost has, like, a meditative Zen qui- everyone has to leave the room.

    5. QUQuestlove29:22

       Right.

    6. TNTrevor Noah29:22

       And then he focuses and he goes in. But he's also-

    7. QUQuestlove29:24

       Does he still have that Prince, uh-

    8. TNTrevor Noah29:26

       I, I think so

    9. QUQuestlove29:27

       ... does he have his Prince, uh, altar? [laughs]

    10. TNTrevor Noah29:29

        I think so. Yeah. But I think, I think he's also one of the most precise comedians, so I get why he needs that, you know? And then, um, Kevin Hart, he's, like, he's, like, a lot more loose. He'll just do the thing, he'll laugh with people, you know. Um, Dave Chappelle's always playing music. That's one thing, like-

    11. QUQuestlove29:43

        Right

    12. TNTrevor Noah29:43

        ... when you walk backstage, Dave Chappelle is playing music, and the music is setting the scene, setting the, setting the vibe. For me, it's, it's people. I, I need my people backstage because-

    13. QUQuestlove29:55

        Really?

    14. TNTrevor Noah29:55

        Yeah, because the thing I'm trying to do is, for me, I'm trying to bring you Trevor when I get on stage. I don't wanna become somebody else. I'm not trying to become somebody else. I'm trying to introduce you to the funniest version of who I am, and that is, like, when people know me. When people meet me for the first time, a lot of people are disappointed. They're like, "Oh, man, I thought you'd be a- Thought you'd be a little more f- I, I, I thought you speak more. I thought you'd be funnier. I thought... But I'm like, no, I, most of the time I'm processing information, I'm observing the world, I'm quiet. But when-

    15. QUQuestlove30:28

        I was about to say, you're the first comedian I met that, like, if, if, if any particular artist has a kind of a duplicitous, uh, existence where there is Dr. Jekyll and, and Hyde-

    16. TNTrevor Noah30:43

        Yeah

    17. QUQuestlove30:43

        ... comedians to me are that. Like, every comedian I know is, like, life of the party on stage-

    18. TNTrevor Noah30:49

        Yeah

    19. QUQuestlove30:50

        ... but the level of, of darkness-

    20. TNTrevor Noah30:53

        Yeah, yeah, yeah

    21. QUQuestlove30:53

        ... that I witness-

    22. TNTrevor Noah30:53

        Yeah, yeah, yeah

    23. QUQuestlove30:54

        ... out of it. And then I realized, like, oh, comedy is one of the, one of the best, uh, uh, distracting-

    24. TNTrevor Noah31:02

        Mm-hmm

    25. QUQuestlove31:02

        ... nothing to see here.

    26. TNTrevor Noah31:03

        Mm-hmm.

    27. QUQuestlove31:03

        Like, I don't want you to see the real me.

    28. TNTrevor Noah31:05

        Yep.

    29. QUQuestlove31:05

        So let me be funny as hell to, to throw off the smoke.

    30. TNTrevor Noah31:09

        Yep.
22. 32:09 – 33:24

    Fame without the mask: just be the same person

    1. TNTrevor Noah32:09

       that.

    2. QUQuestlove32:09

       I used to worry about that, because I think for, at least for me, um, it was really... I'm in a, I'm in a even weirder space, because I know I have people that admire me-

    3. TNTrevor Noah32:22

       Yeah

    4. QUQuestlove32:23

       ... but it's not, again, it's not The Beatles Hard Day's Night. Like, no g- a, a pack of girls aren't chasing me down an alleyway.

    5. TNTrevor Noah32:31

       [laughs]

    6. QUQuestlove32:32

       And it's weird. Like, sometimes I'll walk down the block, and it's always, like, you know, some guy's like, "Dog," like, "Da, da, da, that album changed my life, man-

    7. TNTrevor Noah32:42

       Yeah

    8. QUQuestlove32:42

       ... back in college, and thank you very much." And it's always... And I'll, I'll be high, like, "Wow, thanks." And then what always happens is whoever he's with, usually his date or whatever, I can hear maybe, like, five seconds of the conversation as I walk away, and it's always to the tune of, like, "You, you don't know Questlove? The Roots. You know The Roots. You know Jimmy Fallon. You know... Yo, you remember the Will Smith movie? You know, you know him. You don't know Questlove?"

    9. TNTrevor Noah33:10

       [laughs]

    10. QUQuestlove33:11

        And that always just... [laughs] But obviously I, I used to always... I, I would say that I was the person that w- would sort of self-evidence, uh, reasons why I don't deserve stuff.

    11. TNTrevor Noah33:23

        That's

23. 33:24 – 35:19

    Anti-machismo lens: food as self-soothing

    1. TNTrevor Noah33:24

       interesting.

    2. QUQuestlove33:24

       So-

    3. TNTrevor Noah33:25

       That's a... You, you talk a little bit about that in-

    4. QUQuestlove33:26

       I would, I was sort of-

    5. TNTrevor Noah33:27

       Yeah. You talk a little bit about that in the book. And I-

    6. QUQuestlove33:29

       I figured, oh, that's gonna ground me. But-

    7. TNTrevor Noah33:30

       I actually, I actually, I actually would like to get into that. Like, you know, in the book you talk about th- almost, almost experiencing hip-hop through an anti-hip-hop lens. And, and not against hip-hop, but rather the, the, the, the machismo in hip-hop. The, the, the vibe.

    8. QUQuestlove33:46

       Right.

    9. TNTrevor Noah33:46

       You know, for instance, even when we talk about weight.

    10. QUQuestlove33:49

        Mm-hmm.

    11. TNTrevor Noah33:49

        There's, there's a really fascinating part of the book where you're talking about how, you know, Biggie and Big Pun and, and, and Fat Joe-

    12. QUQuestlove33:57

        Mm-hmm

    13. TNTrevor Noah33:57

        ... and, and all of these artists, how they use their weight in a different way. Rick Ross, you name it. And, and you very candidly share your story and how, like, you are grappling with your weight in a different way, and you, you don't seem to have the same command over it. And it's, it's not a, it's almost not a, a tool in your arsenal.

    14. QUQuestlove34:14

        I never thought this could be sexy. [laughs]

    15. TNTrevor Noah34:18

        [laughs]

    16. QUQuestlove34:20

        Um, yeah, for me, uh, I realized, uh, late, super late in my life that we are going to self-soothe on something when we're not-

    17. TNTrevor Noah34:34

        Mm

    18. QUQuestlove34:34

        ... aligned.

    19. TNTrevor Noah34:34

        Yeah.

    20. QUQuestlove34:35

        Like, I now don't, I don't see, like, a, a cocaine addict as like, "Oh, you just chose drugs." I now think, like, "Okay, you're self-soothing because of another issue."

    21. TNTrevor Noah34:46

        Right.

    22. QUQuestlove34:47

        And there's different types of addictions that we don't think about.

    23. TNTrevor Noah34:49

        Mm-hmm.

    24. QUQuestlove34:49

        Like, we don't think that, yes, the, there's, there's the greatest hits one. There's drugs and alcohol.

    25. TNTrevor Noah34:56

        Yeah. Uh-huh, uh-huh.

    26. QUQuestlove34:56

        There's gambling.

    27. TNTrevor Noah34:57

        Mm-hmm.

    28. QUQuestlove34:57

        But then there's s- some other that we don't think about. And for a lot of it, uh, the amount of times that I've, like, celebratorily, like, "Let's go to dinner"

    29. TNTrevor Noah35:08

        Yeah

    30. QUQuestlove35:08

        ... or-
24. 35:19 – 36:50

    Leading by example, not preaching

    1. QUQuestlove35:20

       I'm a foodie. I, I write books about food, so-

    2. TNTrevor Noah35:22

       Yeah

    3. QUQuestlove35:22

       ... you know, I called it, my excuse was being a foodie. But then someone challenged me once during the pandemic, like, "Well, I dare you to, to, to not do that, and we'll see if you're an addict." And literally, like, I was like Chris Rock in New Jack City, like, [laughs] "And he kept a crush, and he kept..." And then I didn't realize that that was my drug, you know? Um-

    4. TNTrevor Noah35:48

       How did you learn that?

    5. QUQuestlove35:48

       And I didn't realize that this was my shield to keep people away from me.

    6. TNTrevor Noah35:53

       Oh, wow.

    7. QUQuestlove35:54

       I... You don't, you don't realize that at the time. So, and it's, it's, it's an everyday struggle. Like, just to, just to, you know... I wanna be an example without being the, the-

    8. TNTrevor Noah36:07

       Mm-hmm

    9. QUQuestlove36:07

       ... the guy that you, like, you see on Instagram, and I'm gonna be the, the, the, I don't wanna be the hall monitor.

    10. TNTrevor Noah36:14

        Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're not, you're not the instructor type.

    11. QUQuestlove36:16

        I, I, I, like-

    12. TNTrevor Noah36:16

        You're the... Yeah.

    13. QUQuestlove36:17

        I wanna lead by example, so, I mean, the fact that Chuck- Flavor, Ice-T, LL in a few seconds are making it to 60-

    14. TNTrevor Noah36:25

        Mm-hmm

    15. QUQuestlove36:26

        ... is like, that's a r- a true reason for celebration. But I also know that those individuals have also reached a crossroads in their lives where they have to, you know... I didn't know that Chuck D, you know, revealed to me that, you know, he, he does meditations and-

    16. TNTrevor Noah36:41

        Yeah

    17. QUQuestlove36:42

        ... and, and do these things that I used to laugh at. I used to laugh at-

    18. TNTrevor Noah36:45

        Right

    19. QUQuestlove36:45

        ... all yoga, meditating.

    20. TNTrevor Noah36:48

        But then how do you, how did you find the balance? How did

25. 36:50 – 38:25

    Balance without extremes

    1. TNTrevor Noah36:50

       you... You know, one of the things I, I, I notice about us as people is we, we risk swinging wildly from one extreme to another. So I'll meet people who, like you say, they self-soothe, they, whether it's food or whether it's partying or whether-

    2. QUQuestlove37:06

       Mm

    3. TNTrevor Noah37:06

       ... whatever it is. And then I meet them, and then now it's like they self-soothe by being the complete opposite and it's ex- ex- it's extreme and nothing is a joke, brother. Let me pray with you for a moment. Let me meditate with you in this moment, and I, I do, everything is the devil and-

    4. QUQuestlove37:20

       I was that person.

    5. TNTrevor Noah37:20

       Yeah?

    6. QUQuestlove37:21

       You know when people get a new toy?

    7. TNTrevor Noah37:22

       Yeah.

    8. QUQuestlove37:23

       Like I, I, I had cousins come home from jail like, and you know the, when you do a bit in jail, like you're, you're gonna either find God or, or, uh, you know, s- half my family was Muslim.

    9. TNTrevor Noah37:33

       Uh-huh, uh-huh.

    10. QUQuestlove37:34

        You know, like prayer rug in the middle of the street. Like, all right, all right, here we go.

    11. TNTrevor Noah37:37

        [laughs]

    12. QUQuestlove37:37

        All right, give me a slot. All right. Now, can we talk about, uh, you know, TV again? Um, I was that person and then I realized like you, you gotta be the example instead of preaching the example.

    13. TNTrevor Noah37:50

        I, I wanted to ask you that about music. Do you, do you, are you able to listen to music without the, like the rule, and, and I don't mean the rules of like what music is supposed to be or not be. But there are a few people I know of who can break music down. So for instance, you have these playlists-

    14. QUQuestlove38:08

        Mm-hmm

    15. TNTrevor Noah38:08

        ... that you'll send out to people, right?

    16. QUQuestlove38:09

        Yeah.

    17. TNTrevor Noah38:10

        And one of the reasons I love your playlists is because I love discovering new music.

    18. QUQuestlove38:15

        Mm-hmm.

    19. TNTrevor Noah38:16

        So when you listen to music, I, I'd, I'd love to know like are you able to turn off your precision and your perfection, or are there, are there moments

26. 38:25 – 39:37

    The stickler for detail: “sound like the record”

    1. TNTrevor Noah38:25

       where like it, it, it bites at you?

    2. QUQuestlove38:28

       I'm, I'm a stickler for detail.

    3. TNTrevor Noah38:30

       Okay.

    4. QUQuestlove38:30

       And so the reputation of, of The Roots being a band, whatever, is often the fact that we can mirror, mirror exactly what the song does.

    5. TNTrevor Noah38:40

       Got it.

    6. QUQuestlove38:41

       Kind of in a, not in a karaoke way, but you know, the artist always says, "Wow, you guys sound just like the record."

    7. TNTrevor Noah38:46

       Exactly.

    8. QUQuestlove38:47

       Right. And so-

    9. TNTrevor Noah38:47

       Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba bump

    10. QUQuestlove38:51

        I'm al-

    11. TNTrevor Noah38:51

        Ba da ba ba bup

    12. QUQuestlove38:51

        I'm always-

    13. TNTrevor Noah38:52

        You're there. You're on it

    14. QUQuestlove38:52

        ... I'm always on the band about like, "No, the, the thing goes like this on the record." You know, does the average layman person care? Probably not. Am I tightly wound? Probably so. But someone has to be the captain. So that's usually where I'll get the, the ridicule. Like I know on the other Roots thread-

    15. TNTrevor Noah39:12

        Yeah

    16. QUQuestlove39:12

        ... without Ahmir [laughs]

    17. TNTrevor Noah39:16

        [laughs]

    18. QUQuestlove39:16

        That's where I know that, the, where the conversation's going. Um, but the reason why, or the, the main reason why I did these playlists, uh, I think I started doing this way back, ah, Blue Ivy was born when? Like t- 2013.

    19. TNTrevor Noah39:36

        Oh,

27. 39:37 – 41:48

    Playlists for the Carters (and a side-eye at “summer playlists”)

    1. TNTrevor Noah39:37

       geez.

    2. QUQuestlove39:37

       2013, I think.

    3. TNTrevor Noah39:38

       Yeah, I'm terrible with years.

    4. QUQuestlove39:39

       Yeah, 2013, 2012, around that era. And so my gift, uh, to the Carters was like, look, and this is back when it was just iPods.

    5. TNTrevor Noah39:48

       Mm-hmm.

    6. QUQuestlove39:49

       I said, "What I'm gonna do is I'm gonna fill up a whole bunch of music with iPods, and in her crib, you know, just have this music playing-

    7. TNTrevor Noah39:58

       Oh, man

    8. QUQuestlove39:58

       ... subliminally."

    9. TNTrevor Noah39:58

       That's beautiful.

    10. QUQuestlove39:59

        And then, you know, 'cause I think if you can get kids before they're s- and I don't mean like, I'm not the kind of guy that wants you to listen to the music I listen to so that-

    11. TNTrevor Noah40:09

        But it's just being exposed to, it's like languages.

    12. QUQuestlove40:11

        I think it expands your mind. So I initially started making iPods for the Carters, but then Jay will be like, "Nah, we kept them things to ourselves," like [laughs] like-

    13. TNTrevor Noah40:21

        [laughs]

    14. QUQuestlove40:23

        And then the other thing was kind of my occasional eye roll at O- Obama's summer playlists. Like, okay, all right, who's really feeding you this music? All right. Let me-

    15. TNTrevor Noah40:36

        [laughs]

    16. QUQuestlove40:36

        Let, let-

    17. TNTrevor Noah40:37

        Man, nobody gives him credit. Come on.

    18. QUQuestlove40:39

        Let me, let me s-

    19. TNTrevor Noah40:40

        [laughs]

    20. QUQuestlove40:42

        And I'll hit him up. I'm like, "Yo, dog, like, okay, who's, y- your trainers doing this?"

    21. TNTrevor Noah40:47

        Oh, man.

    22. QUQuestlove40:47

        Like, "Your, your interns?" So what wound up happening was, uh, initially First Lady Michelle had me make her a bunch of playlists 'cause she was doing like a, a book tour-

    23. TNTrevor Noah40:57

        Yeah

    24. QUQuestlove40:57

        ... and wanted cool music-

    25. TNTrevor Noah40:58

        Uh-huh

    26. QUQuestlove40:58

        ... to play when she would do her speeches, whatever. And then, then it just started expanding. So it's, to me, I'm the guy that's willing to, you know, do the needle in haystack-

    27. TNTrevor Noah41:11

        Yeah

    28. QUQuestlove41:11

        ... for the perfect song. All those songs that I choose are songs that like, that give me goosebumps. Like no song is on there by accident. Make a moment.

    29. TNTrevor Noah41:22

        Okay. Not, not to put you on the spot, but i- if you were to choose five, just five songs where you go-

    30. QUQuestlove41:27

        See?
28. 41:48 – 58:07

    Five forever songs (ambient to Prince)

    1. QUQuestlove41:48

       When off the clock, I don't listen to music more than I listen to, like, uh, ambient noises.

    2. TNTrevor Noah41:55

       Oh, that is fascinating.

    3. QUQuestlove41:56

       So right now, like if you were to say like what is my favorite song? For me, fork tuning, fork tuning music is my all time... It's not even music anymore.

    4. TNTrevor Noah42:07

       [laughs]

    5. QUQuestlove42:08

       The sounds of ting. Like that to me is like... 'Cause I need that.

    6. TNTrevor Noah42:15

       Okay.

    7. QUQuestlove42:15

       My life is so chaotic. But I mean, if, if you just want me to name like tangible songs or tangible music, um, I would choose, uh- Okay. If, if you're a fan of Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys-

    8. TNTrevor Noah42:34

       Uh-huh

    9. QUQuestlove42:35

       ... and you know the story of how he struggled for 40 years to, to make the follow-up to the Pet Sounds album.

    10. TNTrevor Noah42:42

        Mm-hmm.

    11. QUQuestlove42:42

        He finally completed this album, I think in 2009, 2010 or whatever. Like, finally it's, it's-

    12. TNTrevor Noah42:48

        Yeah, yeah, yeah

    13. QUQuestlove42:48

        ... in its complete stage. It's called Smile, and there's a song called Wind Chimes that is just my, my relaxing place.

    14. TNTrevor Noah43:00

        So that's the relaxing one. I like this.

    15. QUQuestlove43:01

        That's the relaxing one. Um, number two, Bill Withers has a version of Grandma's Hands on Live from Carnegie Hall.

    16. TNTrevor Noah43:13

        Okay.

    17. QUQuestlove43:14

        1972, '73, um, that has a long monologue at the beginning of it, and when I was a kid, my parents and grandparents used to always make me perform the monologue.

    18. TNTrevor Noah43:28

        Oh, wow.

    19. QUQuestlove43:28

        Bill, Bill, Bill's telling the story of, of what it was like growing up in, um, West Virginia in his grandmom's house and going to church, and it was like the comedian thing, like, "White churches and Black churches."

    20. TNTrevor Noah43:38

        Yeah, yeah, yeah.

    21. QUQuestlove43:39

        "Black churches do this."

    22. TNTrevor Noah43:40

        Yeah.

    23. QUQuestlove43:40

        "White churches do this." And I used to do that routine when I was, like, three or four. Um, so let's say the live version of Grandma's Hands.

    24. TNTrevor Noah43:47

        Okay, live version. What does that do feeling-wise for you?

    25. QUQuestlove43:50

        It's probably the, the rosiest childhood memory I have of, like-

    26. TNTrevor Noah43:55

        Okay, okay. So it's like, it's warm.

    27. QUQuestlove43:57

        Yeah.

    28. TNTrevor Noah43:58

        It's like a-

    29. QUQuestlove43:58

        It's that warm feeling

    30. TNTrevor Noah43:59

        ... all right, all right, all right. Okay.

Episode duration: 58:07