Ahmir K. Thompson (born January 20, 1971), known professionally as
Questlove (stylized as
?uestlove), is an American drummer, record producer, disc jockey, filmmaker, music journalist, and actor. He is the drummer and joint frontman (with
Black Thought) for the
hip-hop band
the Roots. The Roots have been the
in-house band for
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon since 2014, after having fulfilled the same role on
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Questlove is also one of the producers of the
2015 cast album of the Broadway musical
Hamilton. He has also co-founded of the websites
Okayplayer and
OkayAfrica.
[2] He joined
Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at
New York University as an adjunct professor in 2016,
[3] and hosts the podcast
Questlove Supreme.
Questlove has produced recordings for artists including
Elvis Costello,
Common,
D'Angelo,
Jill Scott,
Erykah Badu,
Bilal,
Jay-Z,
Nikka Costa,
Booker T. Jones,
Al Green, and
John Legend. He has been a member of the
Soulquarians,
the Randy Watson Experience,
the Soultronics,
the Grand Negaz and
the Grand Wizzards. As an author, he has written four books.
Questlove is the recipient of many accolades, including an Academy Award,[4] six Grammy Awards[5] and a BAFTA Award.[6]