Ahmir Khalib Thompson (born January 20, 1971), known professionally as ?uestlove (pronounced as “Questlove”), is an American percussionist, multi-instrumentalist, DJ, music journalist, record producer, and occasional actor.
?uestlove, along with Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter founded the legendary hip-hop band, The Roots, and has served as the band’s drummer and main record producer since their inception.
?uestlove is one of the most recognizable and revered figures in music and has done work with artists across all genres.
He is also one of the producers of the Broadway musical Hamilton. He is the cofounder of Okayplayer and Okayafrica. Additionally, he is an adjunct instructor at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University.
He has produced for the likes of Elvis Costello, Common, D'Angelo, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Bilal, JAY-Z, Al Green, Amy Winehouse, and John Legend. He is a member of the production teams the Soulquarians, The Randy Watson Experience, The Soultronics, The Beat Biters (with producers Just Blaze and 9th Wonder), The Grand Negaz, and The Grand Wizzards.
When did ?uestlove start making music?
?uestlove's first song When the People Cheer: How Hip-Hop Failed Black America released on Thu Jan 01 1970.