Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson & Joseph Patel Discuss ‘Sly Lives!’ | Billboard in Conversation

Billboard‘s Deputy Editorial Director Damien Scott spoke with Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson (executive producer and director) and Joseph Patel (producer) of Sly Lives! (aka the Burden of Black Genius) about the film’s creation and the enduring impact of Sly Stone’s legacy, both historically and in today’s culture. Check out the documentary, available now Hulu.

Damien Scott: 
What’s up, everyone. I’m Damien Scott. I’m the deputy editorial director at Billboard, and today we have two very special guests. I’m joined by the Academy Award winning duo Amir “Questlove” Thompson and Joseph Patel, the director and producer of these groundbreaking work Sly Lives! I’ll say the whole title, just so everyone knows when you see it: Sly Lives! (aka the Burden of Black Genius). Thank you …

Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson:
Thank you for having us. 

Damien Scott: 
… for coming through to Billboard today. Most people know Sly Stone as an innovator. He’s the guy who essentially blended all of the popular genres together to create this newfound gumbo that became … what became basically American pop music, in a way. Why did you choose to focus on Sly right now? 

Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson:
I believe that we chose Sly or Sly chose us. Sly is in a very unique position in the American music pantheon, and Sly is essentially the first Black megastar, kind of in an era, and I’ll say this lightly with air quotes, where there was supposed to be no limits. Sly’s success is a little bit different than Ray Charles or Chuck Berry or James Brown, anyone that was entertaining during either the Reconstruction period or the Civil Rights period. So Sly is basically kind of the embodiment of what Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech was about, like this utopian multiracial mix of Black and whites, men and women together.

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