Q&A Questlove

On ‘Summer of Soul,’ his upcoming Sly Stone doc, the future of the Roots, and devastating feedback from an ex-president

- BRIAN HIATT

‘It’s a new chapter in my life as a storyteller,” says Questlove, fresh from reinventing the concert movie with Summer of Soul. His directorial debut, which embedded much-needed Black-history lessons inside jaw-dropping, long-buried performances from Stevie Wonder, Mahalia Jackson, Nina Simone, B.B. King, and many others, was one of 2021’s most acclaimed movies, and an almost certain Oscar contender (it already made the best-doc shortlist). There’s a soundtrack album out Jan. 28, and Questlove is already working on a follow-up film, focused on Sly and the Family Stone. But that’s just the beginning of the new career he’s embarking upon at age 51; there are numerous other Questlove productions on the way. “Right now, there are six projects down the line that will keep me busy, realistically, to probably 2032,” he says. “You can only imagine how long the line is of people saying, ‘Can you tell our story the same way you told this story?’ ”

How concerned were you about whether Summer of Soul would appeal to younger audiences?

With this movie, the very first question I asked — which I never asked for any album, any concert, anything I’ve ever done in my life — was, “Who is this movie for?” Baby boomers, I knew that was my sweet spot. And millennials are about to turn 40. So I was like, “OK, there’s reach there.” But when I got to Gen Z, I was grasping at straws. There was a moment where I just thought, “Drake is following me. So maybe I can DM him and get him to talk about his uncle playing bass with Sly Stone.” Like, that’ll be my one Hail Mary pass.