So on Thursday, with the 9:30 p.m. MT premiere ofSly Lives!
Sly Lives!is, however, built as something much more ambitious than a trip down memory lane.
My belief is that oftentimes, the pioneer never gets the credit they deserve.
(L-R) Questlove and Sly StoneGetty Images
Its always the person that comes in second.
QUESTLOVE:You know, we kind of had to micro-build this story.
Its not just a Sly Stone story.
The Roots at an Election Eve rally in Philadelphia in NovemberKyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images
This is every artist that Ive ever worked with.
DEADLINE:How do you mean?
QUESTLOVE:Alright (pause).
DEADLINE:How does that play out for you, with all the stories and myths about Sly?
But drugs is never just a choice.
Drugs are a coping mechanism to cover up for something else.
Some people use drugs.
Theres drinking, shooting, sniffing, drugging, overworking, self-destruction, tattoos, piercings …
DEADLINE:Which was?
His thing was had I stayed, this, what happened to Sly, would have been my fate.
DEADLINE:This really isnt just about Sly Stone …
QUESTLOVE:Not at all.
affected you as an artist, as an individual?
QUESTLOVE:This was a doozy.
I said jokingly that I had to get a second therapist, but thats actually the truth.
It made me do a lot of self-reflecting, and to take in peoples pain.
You know, this was two and a half years of making this.
DEADLINE:How did that manifest itself?
QUESTLOVE:Okay, how do you feel right now?
See, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Id just work on mySNLdoc thing.
First it was just going to be like a normal-ass clip thing here, heres the 50 best performances.
DEADLINE:Thats a deadly balancing act, no?
QUESTLOVE:Two years into it, I was just like, damn man.
So many gems we had to leave behind, so many stories, music.
My first cut was like 3 hours and 15 minutes.
DEADLINE:Sly even acknowledged rules?
QUESTLOVE:Let me tell you this story aboutFresh.
Its not like the song you hear onFresh.
Its almost like a, what I call an African assault army.
Theres four drummers playing at the same time, and its just the loudest assault.
Its almost like if Public Enemy madeA Nation of Millionsback in 1973.
DEADLINE: So, how has all that seeped into The Roots, if it actually has?
QUESTLOVE:It has, yes.
DEADLINE: What form does it take?
QUESTLOVE:Lot of different forms.
Theres all the ear-worm things that Im used to hearing Sly do.
Im now asking the same of myself, like, okay, wheres the melody in this?
Does this not have a melody?
Is this just a groove?
Do we need a melody?
Now thats affecting me as a songwriter.
What does that feel like?
What does that mean to you?
Luckily, I was able to catch myself maybe, like, seven or eight months in.
Im like, well, he doesnt necessarily seem afraid, like look at him.
Go look at him, like hes engaged in the audience.
So, even for me, this film was necessary just to learn how to be a human.
