Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
First-time author "Questlove" Thompson is cofounder and drummer of the Roots, the popular hip-hop/neo-soul group that also serves as the house band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. In this enjoyable memoir, Thompson tells of his work as a DJ and producer with some of the biggest names in the music business, such as Jay-Z and Common, and Dave Chappelle (Thompson was the Chappelle's Show's music director). His always fascinating and sometimes hilarious recollections touch on everything from drumming at age five in his father's professional doo-wop and soul band to roller-skating as an adult with Eddie Murphy at a bizarre party hosted by Prince. Thompson's eclectic "meta" mix of writing styles-punctuated by interviews with Rich Nichols, the group's longtime comanager-appropriately captures the almost two-decade-long history of the Roots.(June 25) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Thompson, better known as Questlove, is the drummer and cofounder of the Roots, familiar to millions through their music and, more recently, as the house band on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Questlove, who has over 2.6 million Twitter followers, busts out of the 140 character limitations with an autobiography that is insightful, provocative, and impossible to put down. It's fascinating to hear Questlove's story as well as his take on the music that has driven him and inspired countless listeners for the last 40 years. This is much more than the standard Behind the Music-style biography, and Questlove does his best to break down the barrier between writer and reader. Along the way he addresses the all-important question, "How do you take what you hear and translate it into something that can be heard?" Verdict Anyone interested in the mechanics of creation and collaboration will find much to savor here. Questlove's first book is not to be missed. You won't be able to put it down until you finish-and you'll want more when you do.-Bill Baars, Lake Oswego P.L., OR (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A thoughtful, incisive analysis of hip-hop--and pop music in general--from one of its foremost contemporary architects. It's no surprise that this isn't your standard musical memoir. As drummer and aural conceptualist for the Roots, producer for other artists, Jimmy Fallon bandleader and provocative cultural critic, Thompson, aka Questlove, has pushed the boundaries of convention wherever his creative energies have taken him. Here, he enlists New Yorker editor and novelist Greenman (The Slippage, 2013, etc.), not as a ghostwriter but as a collaborator and occasional interrogator, interweaving the subject/author's voice with that of Rich Nichols, the Roots' career strategist and co-manager from the start, in a book that mixes chronological memoir with critical issues not easily resolved--e.g., "What's black culture? What's hip-hop? What are the responsibilities of a society and the people in it?" It conjures the life of Questlove from boyhood prodigy to die-hard fan to seminal creative force, through midlife crisis and subsequent renewal, and it captures the revolutionary boyhood excitement of hearing "Rapper's Delight" shift the axis of the musical world and the giddy weirdness of being invited by Prince to a private, after-hours roller-skating party. The author also discusses being a huge KISS fan, a worshipper of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson, "a serious music-press nerd, the kind of kid who collected back issues of Rolling Stone and memorized all the record ratings" and how he and the Roots have faced the charges of being "not black enough." The result is a book with as much warmth, heart and humor as introspective intelligence. Fanatics and newcomers to the music will both find plenty of revelation here.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
