Black Thought says he once nearly fought his The Roots co-founder, Questlove, during the early years of the group in the 1990s. He discussed the incident during a new interview with NPR ahead of the release of his upcoming book, The Upcycled Self.
“We had a brief sort of scuffle, kerfuffle, a little 30-second altercation when we were young and just starting out,” he told the outlet. “We were displaced, living in London and there was just lots of angst and anxiety … with all the energy associated with anyone’s first time putting out a record. … So, yeah, just the perfect storm of events."
Black Thought & Questlove Perform Together
He continued: “It led to us coming to blows right quick. And it was the sort of thing that I’d forgotten about it before we left the place [where] it had taken place. But I think it’s the sort of thing that it stuck with him in a different way. Is it a grudge that he’s held? I don’t think so. But I definitely don’t think it’s something that he has ever forgotten.” Despite nearing fighting back in the day, the two have maintained a close friendship for decades. Questlove celebrated Black Thought's 50th birthday by digging up a rare photo of the two in high school. He described it as the first picture they ever took together. “Took forever finding this photo we took back in high school in 1988,” he wrote on social media, last month, labeling Black Thought a "cool kid" and himself a "dweeb." “Our first ever photo. I’m not even sure if we were Radioactivity yet. I wish I could let these two know the journey that lay ahead for them.”
Black Thought's The Upcycled Self will be hitting bookshelves on November 14. Be on the lookout for further updates on the memoir on HotNewHipHop.
[Via]