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

Midway through a swinging “I Wish,” Ahmir’s doing all he can to literally bring the house down when Prince and Sheila E. both give him The Look. It’s the way parents look at their kids on graduation day, the way fathers look at daughters as they walk arm in arm down the aisle. Ahmir’s waited a lifetime to see The Look, and Prince, whose albums he hid beneath his mattress as a kid, just laid it on him. He doesn’t just pass the test. This is some magna-cum-laude-type shit.

Ahmir swears he didn’t cry when it was over an hour later. No, instead he simply did what anyone who has quite literally just lived his dream, and at Prince’s house, would do. Well, maybe not Biggie or Pac, who might have strolled off to some purple-satin-draped sex dungeon for a five-way, or unloaded a few hollow points into the Los Angeles sky. Instead, he quietly wanders into the nearby kitchen, where a chocolate waterfall flows, and marshmallows and fresh bananas await their ­fondue-stick skewers. Already feeling every bit the Charlie to Willy Wonka, the mighty ?uestlove makes some s’mores.