Key Change: Questlove on Prince
Song Exploder

Key Change: Questlove on Prince

B1IntermediateJuly 15, 202625 min

My guest today is Ahmir Thompson, aka Questlove, the drummer and founding member of The Roots, as well as an author, a DJ, and an Oscar-winning film director. A song that changed my life is “Double Trouble” by The Roots, and the liner notes that Questlove wrote to go with the song. There’s a change in the drum sound in that song that blew my mind, and Questlove wrote a little bit about the effort that went into getting that drum sound. And as a drummer myself, I wanted to know everything about that. And that moment...

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0:00

You're listening to Song Exploder, where musicians take apart their songs and piece by piece tell the story of how they were made. I'm Rishikesh Hirwe. This is Key Change, where I talk to fascinating people about the music that changed their lives. And my guest today is Amir Thompson, aka Questlove, the drummer and founding member of The Roots, as well as an author, a DJ, and an Oscar-winning film director.

0:26

You know, a song that changed my life is Double Trouble by The Roots, and the liner notes that Questlove wrote to go with the song. There's a change in the drum sound in that song that blew my mind, and Questlove wrote a little bit about the effort that went into getting that drum sound.

0:41

And as a drummer myself, I wanted to know everything about that. And that moment, 26 years ago, was maybe when the first seed for Song Exploder got planted in my brain. So getting to talk to him for this was really special for me. Questlove has an encyclopedic knowledge of music.

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