Questlove, The Roots’ drummer and bandleader on The Tonight Show, cut his teeth as a director earlier this year with his Summer Of Soul documentary and now, he’s been given the opportunity to use that experience to pay homage to one of music’s great pioneers and legends. Quest is set to direct a documentary about funk icon Sly Stone, exploring his work with Sly And The Family Stone and recent fight for royalties on his old music. The film also counts Common as an executive producer but doesn’t have a title or release date yet.
“It goes beyond saying that Sly’s creative legacy is in my DNA,” Questlove explained in a statement. “It’s a Black musician’s blueprint. To be given the honor to explore his history and legacy is beyond a dream for me.”
Quest, who recently celebrated his 50th birthday, also recently made his feature film voice acting debut in Disney Pixar’s Soul. Since then, he reminisced about his experiences with a few of The Tonight Show‘s high-profile guests, including sharing his thoughts during Odd Future’s iconic breakout performance and being mistaken for a security guard by Cardi B. His Summer Of Soul documentary also won Sundance’s 2021 Grand Jury Prize.