Questlove on Cultural History, Black Genius, and the Revolutionary Power of Joy

In the season three premiere of We Disrupt This Broadcast, Jeffrey Jones, Executive Director of The Peabody Awards, leads a live-recorded conversation with this year’s Peabody Trailblazer Award winner, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson. Thompson is a musician, documentarian, author, podcaster, feature filmmaker, and DJ. As the co-founder and drummer of The Roots, he revolutionized hip-hop by introducing live instrumentation and blending genres, helping shape the Neo-Soul movement. He’s also become a cultural curator and historian through his Oscar and Peabody-winning documentary Summer of Soul, as well as Sly Lives!, a documentary on musician Sly Stone. Questlove also produced the documentary on the musical performances of Saturday Night Live. Jones spoke with Questlove about his personal record collection, his documentary work, and his advice for young artists. In this wide-ranging interview, they discuss the pressure and perils of Black genius, the importance of joy during moments of cultural upheaval and struggle, and the metaphysics of the band Earth, Wind, and Fire.