Questlove Tells Conan The Roots' Origin Story | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend

the basic story of The Roots is is that. you know right out of high school we. started busking on street corners. um like around 91 92. are you you're. playing like buckets right literally. okay so literally the the fastest. version of this like nine hour story is. you know my parents my dad wanted me to. go to either Curtis Institute if you've. seen um. she just got nominated for uh uh best. actress uh uh Kate Blanchett in in tar. oh yeah so the The Institute that that.

built that woman that's what my dad. wanted for me. good choice yeah Curtis institute's one. like the the most hardest difficult uh. musical can I jump in one second and. just say this is interesting to me. because your dad famously is part of. this doo-wop yeah my dad was like a. Philadelphia doo-wop Legends in the. hearts and. um and uh I mean killer doo-wop Ben it's.

interesting to me that your dad is. pushing you towards this classical thing. when he's from doo-wop okay here's. here's the thing about black people. especially with traumatized black people. we will always like because we're in a. constant fight or flight situation we're. always going to choose safety first. right so in his mind it was like if you. if you join uh uh sort of like an. institution that's like classical music. and we're also big on like respectable. politics like you know we're a suit and.

tie that sort of thing. um then you'll get a good job so in his. mind like hey you you one day you two. can make maybe a quarter of a million. dollars and you know that sort of thing. and in my mind I'm like well wait a. minute. I want to be the guy that owns the. stadium that acts playing like why are. you dreaming so small for me and not. yeah for myself so that's a whole nother. I get that though they worry about us. they do yeah and dude I grew up in the. crack 80s where literally every three. seconds someone's dying so it's also a. Russian roulette game that I you know my.

future was written so that said he. wanted me to go to. um either Juilliard or Curtis. and so I trained as such you know for. the first six years of my life I went to. one performing art school and then they. took me out during like Middle School to. early high school to go to this like uh. this college prep thing that would have. instantly made me like Harvard material. see we could have been friends there. whatever so. I didn't have friends there.

[Laughter]. wherever Charlie Brown goes he's still. Charlie Brown. but anyway yeah anyway so. um I saw this as an app because I didn't. want to go to the the college prep. school right. um even though I've been playing. uh professionally with my father.

since I was a kid my first gig was at. Radio City Music Hall like at the age of. 12. and I I know this story because he. his drummer like hurt his arm motorcycle. accident yeah and and and your dad said. hey uh kid uh get up there you know the. show yeah and and um and you were like. all right and it's Radio City Musical. right. which is incredible well I knew this so. like the I wasn't nervous at all. um but the sort of antidote to that is. that the second I got off stage I wasn't.

and I'm band leading like adults and I'm. 12 years old right and I'm bandling but. you know I could play like adults since. I was five. I get off stage and uh I walk backstage. and this black woman says oh my God. young man that was awesome that was. great I was like okay I see you're Susan. from Sesame Street she's like indeed I. am my husband was playing keyboards and. I was like. and. that's real fast.

you know those Sesame Street people got. that a lot I would do that now if I saw. someone from Sesame Street I'd throw up. hey Sona think of all the amazing things. in life that are expressions of just you. yeah I mean like the chocolate that you. had on your face when you came in. because you just ate that what was it. you were eating I was eating a giant. cookie giant cookie yeah and that's so. Sona okay or that song you stream over. and over again it's just so you what's. that song For You Twinkle Twinkle Little. Star yeah but it's for my boys I know.

still it's nice okay or you know that. podcast that comedy podcast you just. gotta listen to yeah Conan O'Brien needs. a friend exactly is that what you listen. to in your spare time yeah I love it. everything that makes you you makes all. the difference State Farm believes. Insurance should work the same way your. plan your coverage selections could be. personalized by you and only you that's. cool I shouldn't shout but this is how. strong away I feel about it you better. choose the plan you want by picking the. options that fit you like choosing to. bundle your home and auto policies is.

what the State Farm personal price plan. is all about getting the coverage you. want at an affordable price just for you. call or go to statefarm.com today to. create your State Farm personal price. plan prices vary by state options. selected by customers availability and. eligibility may vary I told my parents. uh I want to play with uh musicians my. own age and. you know I want to go to this school. which to them you know to tell your.

parents you want to go to a public. school and that sort of thing after. they've done invested in like yeah the. best education to get you and you know. this institution. you know it was a Hail Mary throw but. they they fell for it and. I the plan was that I was going to uh. find that girl for my best friend at our. old school so that she could be his date. for the Junior Prom and you're a good. friend I was a great friend and so I.

found out I don't know I still don't. know why a high school student would. occasionally. work in the office like I don't know how. that works but it was her job to hand. out School tokens uh we would get like. free bus tokens to get back because they. we didn't have like a school bus system. I was standing in line for. um School tokens and in front of me. was kind of like a Dreamweaver moment. like we're the prettiest girl in school. like another girl totally unrelated.

um was was talking about music which. instantly like my ears were pricked and. she made a wrong Prince reference and. I'm the human version of hashtag well. actually. [Laughter]. you remember when the Smurfs when uh. brainy would say well actually. seconds later they tossed him in the. trash can I was that guy I was like well. actually that was a b side a Japanese.

import B-side which is longer than the. album version you're Linus right right. and so. like the four girls just looked at me. like. no one asked you yeah and I I was just. trying my hardest to like impress them. with anything that. probably maybe two months later. I interjected myself again in the. conversation I shouldn't have and I said. well no no it was that song because you. know we we sampled that last night.

and they were like sample Warehouse you. know at the studio and it's like who I. said me my group who's in your group and. literally the way that Tariq and I met. like it's somewhere between Like A Tale. of Two Cities and can I just say. something this is a common sitcom plot. yeah of this is a sitcom plot of I got. to impress the girl you're chatting. you're getting over your head you say my. group your group yeah yeah we're in the. studio we want to see you play sure next. week and then you run you run down the.

hall guys we gotta form a band that is. literally oh my God that is literally. how I'm in this chair right now so. now the thing was Tariq Tariq really had. an insane gift for talking off the top. of his head so I knew that he had a gift. for doing that and he just happened to. walk by and I was like oh with him so. then I went to the next two periods of. class like in an orchestra and somewhere. in an orchestra class I thought about it.

I said nah I gotta warn him so I'm in. the basement. put the uh put like flat of the. Bumblebee in here like. and the lunchroom is on the eighth floor. I'm in the basement so literally. sorry. just sit there work two guys carrying a. plate of glass right a giant wedding. cake and you missed it and then someone. else walked through it.

and I was like. yeah. if anyone asks. we're a group and he was literally cool. I don't care. and that is how the roots were born. that's fantastic.