Black Thought Recalls Nearly Coming To Blows With Questlove

BYCole BlakePublished on November 08, 2023576 Views

Martell Vanguard Experience With The Roots - Detroit

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - MARCH 09: Black Thought (L) and Questlove of The Roots pose during the Martell Vanguard Experience event at Garden Theater on March 9, 2016 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Scott Legato/Getty Images for Pernod Ricard)

Black Thought says he and Questlove once got in a fight during the early years of The Roots.

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

BARCELONA, SPAIN - JULY 14: Black Thought of The Roots performs on stage at the Cruilla Festival 2018 held at the Forum on July 14, 2018 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Robert Marquardt/Redferns)

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.

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About The Author

Cole Blake

Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor's degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends. On the sports front, Cole’s a passionate NBA and NFL fan with his favorite teams being the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also roots for the Yankees whenever he finds himself at Yankee Stadium or the Red Storm when in the company of other SJU alumni. His favorite hip-hop artists are billy woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE, and Mach-Hommy.