Philadelphia rapper and former member of The Roots collective Questlove is a hip-hop icon and has made massive contributions to the culture over the years. As a producer, DJ and film director, the musician (real name Ahmir Thompson) is a highly sought-after creative and true creative.
Questlove’s primary attraction is his production ability and extremely conscious art, with which he partners a very soulful and jazz-inspired type of sonic. The producer is also a known journalist and somewhat of a music historian.
Earlier this year, the musician (real name Ahmir Thompson) was the frontman of the celebrations at the Grammy’s to celebrate the 50th-anniversary of hip-hop. However, he also wrote a book to highlight the genre’s growth and evolution since 1973.
In an interview with Variety Magazine, Thompson disclosed, “No one else is writing it. I’m doing all this because somewhere out there, in 2031 or 2041, there will be a new Ahmir Thompson or Ahmira Thompson, maybe my kids when I start having them, and all of my hard work won’t be for nought. Perhaps I will have reached somebody the same way that I was reached.”
However, the reason Thomspon wrote a book is because he reads a lot of books. In an interview with The New York Times, the icon admitted that his creativity and lifestyle have been shaped by certain books and highlighted what he he believes are the most important books people should read.
Below, you can see the list of books recommended by Thompson.
Questlove’s favourite books of all time:
- They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us by Hanif Abdurraqib
- Last Night A DJ Saved My Life by Bill Brewster & Frank Broughton
- Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
- Rakim Told Me: Wax Facts Straight From The Original Artists by Brian Coleman
- Miles by Miles Davis & Quincy Troupe
- Dreams of African in Alabama by Sylviane A. Diouf
- The Potlikker Papers by John T. Edge
- The Most Beautiful: My Life With Prince by Mayte Garcia
- Dig If You Will The Picture: Funk, Sex, God and Genius in the Music of Prince by Ben Greenman
- Root For The Villain: Rap, Bull$hit, and a Celebration of Failure by J-Zone
- The Mother of Black Hollywood by Jenifer Lewis
- The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X
- Beneath the Underdog by Charles Mingus
- Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking by Nathan Myhrvold
- Silver Screen Fiend by Patton Oswalt
- The Free-Lance Pallbearers & Mumbo Jumbo by Ishmael Reed
- My Book About Me by Dr. Seuss
- Flyboy in the Buttermilk by Greg Tate
- Vegan Soul Kitchen by Bryant Terry
- Prince and The Purple Rain Era Studio Sessions: 1983 and 1984 by Duane Tudahl
- The Cooking Gene by Michael W. Twitty
- The Hungry Ear by Kevin Young
