Questlove talks Prince, the creative process of chefs, and why he has the best job ever on Fresh Air

On Sunday, April 24th, Terry Gross, host of Fresh Air, interviewed Questlove at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology about a wide range of topics including Prince, Questlove’s father Lee Andrews (who recently passed away), working with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, and Quest’s new book, a collection of interviews with chefs about their creative process called somethingtofoodabout.

The Tonight show bandleader, record producer, and author of two books including his memoir (Mo’ Meta Blues) and a book on Soul Train, has been spending a lot of time in Philly recently, DJing his monthly shows at The Foundry at the Fillmore. Hugely influenced by his parents, Quest said:

My parents wisely tricked me into thinking doo-wop music was current music. In first grade — first day of school, our assignment was to bring in your favorite 45. So the next day, kids were bringing in “Shadow Dancing” by Andy Gibb, or Yvonne Elliman or “Disco Duck” by Rick Dees, and I brought in Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, “Why Do Fools Fall In Love?” and my teacher started laughing. [She said] “Do you listen to this?” And I said yes, and she didn’t believe me. And she was like, “This was music when I was kid.” And then suddenly I realized, “Oh, my parents tricked me. These are old records.”

Below, listen to the Questlove’s interview with Terry Gross on Fresh Air.

The Roots return to Philly on Saturday, June 4th for the Roots Picnic.