Questlove gets his own MasterClass on DJing and curation
Questlove now has his own MasterClass about DJing and music curation. “Ahmir Thompson—better known as Questlove—is an iconic DJ, the drummer for the Roots, and the ‘coolest man on late-night,’ but his first love is collecting and mixing music,” the description reads. “Now the Grammy winner is sharing his passion with you. Explore DJ techniques, expand your musical vocabulary, and learn how to glide from genre to genre—including hip-hop, neo-soul, jazz, R&B, and more—to curate your own perfect playlist.”
It’s broken up into a multi-part “lesson plan,” including “A Questlove Flow: Technology,” “Hey Mr. DJ: DJ 101,” “DJing at the White House: Surviving Failure,” and others.
“I have never shared the method to my madness or my secrets or my creative process in DJing until right now,” Questlove says in the class’ trailer, which you can watch below. In a statement in a press release, he writes, “It’s one thing to listen to music, but it’s another thing to embrace it and have it come to you. Nothing will take the place of the passion that I feel for music, and I hope my MasterClass will open up a portal in your heart so that you learn to love music, find it, and appreciate it.”
In other news, Questlove is also curating a weekly series on BlackStream Live, a new streaming channel on Twitch that launches Friday (2/25). The new channel, which was founded by Live Nation Urban president Shawn Gee, is focused on partnering with Black creators, including Kirk Franklin, Masego, Tallie Spencer, Broccoli City founders Marcus and Brandon McEachern, Tina Farris, Brittany Johnson, and Ron Hill, and more.
Questlove contributes to “Go DJ,” which he will curate alongside Dawn White and You and Me Inc. Here’s the description: “GO DJ will feature sets from the best producers and selectors of Black Music culture from around the globe. These sets will take the viewers on a journey through the past, present and future of Afro beats.” You can subscribe to BlackStream Live and learn more on their site.