0 Questlove: The man and the musician

There are some artists who simply make music, and there are those who live music. Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, drummer, producer and co-founder of hip-hop band, The Roots, is clearly the latter. In his compelling memoir, Mo' Meta Blues: The World According to Questlove, he gives readers a glimpse at his personal and musical roots (I couldn't wait to use that pun).

Mo' Meta Blues gives us a look at not only Questlove, the musician, but it gives us a rare in-depth look of Ahmir Thompson, the man.

Readers get a feel for his introvertedness as well as his calm, collected demeanor as he discussed his career highs and lows and his journey to help develop The Roots' career.

Questlove discusses the influence of music in his early life with stories of his father's music career in the 1970s and being on the road how he traveled all over the country long before he even reached stardom himself.

There even exists a humorous account of a young, frightened, screaming Questlove running into— and running from the rock band KISS in a hotel lobby during one of his dad's tours.

In certain chapters of Mo' Meta Blues, Questlove also includes lists of songs which were the soundtrack to his life in the particular period that the chapter discusses. He stunningly reflects on how these songs affected him, what stood out about them and how they related to that time in his life.

An interesting, recurring theme throughout the book is Questlove's admiration for the music talents of Prince. He discusses Prince lyrics, sexual themes of his music, provocative album covers and even buying his albums as a child and having to hide them from his newly-religious parents, who banned Prince's controversial music from their household. It's likely that this memoir will gain Prince many new fans.

Overall, Mo' Meta Blues is a fantastic literary journey of a master of his craft which is cleverly woven with brilliant musical analyses and enlightening, profound, and often, amusing stories, such as Questlove's account of going to a rollerskating party hosted by Prince or witnessing the wild hotel antics of comedian Tracy Morgan.

This reflective work, recalling the life, career and influences of this music aficionado is sure to impress many readers and make them appreciate music even more.