A Different Drummer

Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson helped kick-start Philly’s neo-soul scene, pals with everyone from Jay-Z to Norah Jones, and is one of today’s most in-­demand musicians. But his most ­impressive feat is ­becoming an icon in the swaggering world of hip-hop while staying true to the geek within

With more than six hours before showtime, Ahmir could have caught up on some missed sleep. He was in the studio until 3 a.m., perfecting a “Thriller” parody for the third season of Chappelle’s Show, where he served as musical director until Chappelle’s highly publicized retreat to South Africa put the production on ice. (“Dave’s not insane, he’s not on drugs,” Ahmir says. “He’s a family man, really square. He’s a lot like me.”) The next day, he was back to work on Eric Benet’s new project. (“I told him not to make a Halle-Berry-I-fucked-up record. And he made a Halle-Berry-I-fucked-up record.”) He also could have retreated to his hotel room to watch his Sixers choke against the Pistons. (“No one knows who I am there,” he says of his second-row seatmates at the Wachovia Center. “Matthew McConaughey is a big fan of the Roots, so when he came to say hello, it automatically upped my standing in the row. Now I’m the guy who knows Matthew McConaughey.”)

But no. Relaxation stepped aside while Ahmir sought out one of the King’s signature grilled peanut-butter-and-banana sandwiches and the full Graceland experience. During the tour, he stopped to pose in front of Elvis’s firing-range target. “It’s gangsta,” he cracked, before walking into the enormous trophy room, with its never-ending rows of records coated in gold and platinum, and pleading, “Can I just get, like, three of these?”

With seven records, the Roots have sold roughly 3.5 million units. 50 Cent’s sophomore effort, which earned only lukewarm praise, topped four million in three months. Philly rapper Beanie Sigel’s latest moved a quarter million copies in a month, all while Sigel sat in jail on a federal gun charge. The Roots have always tallied more critical raves than sales. Though Rolling Stone called a track from their 2002 release, Phrenology, a “blueprint for 21st-century pop music,” they’ve never gone platinum, the industry standard of success.

That’s partly because the Roots and Ahmir can only joke about being gangsta. Ahmir cops to being pretentious — co-founder Tariq Trotter is known as “Black Thought,” and the tracks on all the Roots’ records are numbered in order, from song one on their 1993 debut up to number 112 on their last release. And let’s face it, Ahmir was once named B.R.O. the R.? (Beat Recycler of the Rhythm?) and still has that question mark in his name, just to keep folks guessing. Each record is a genre-bending blend of jazz, soul, rap and rock. There’s no section for that at Wal-Mart, and no room in traditional radio for it, either.

The road is where the Roots make their money and build their fan base, with live shows that always raise the stakes of their albums. Ahmir and Trotter and their core Roots crew — bassist Leonard “Hub” Hubbard, Kamal Grey on keys — fearlessly contort their own creations, transforming rock anthems into reggae and FM-ready cuts into lengthy explorations. Today, most bands do the opposite, making concerts feel like music videos in three dimensions. “No artist I admired ever gave me the record [live],” Ahmir says. “For me, you gotta do more.” Yet he knows financial success will forever be at odds with his artistic goals. “What is the move we have to make to take it to the next level?” he asks. “It’s not going to be Tariq toting guns and drug-dealing. I ain’t taking off my shirt. I ain’t doing some Usher shit.”