Questlove has once again lent his hand to encapsulate the semi-centennial history of hip hop for the “A Grammy Salute to 50 Years of Hip Hop” special. The two-hour concert featuring some of the genre’s trailblazers and most popular stars airs today (Dec. 10).
The celebration comes just under a year after the Grammys celebrated the genre’s milestone anniversary during its 65th annual awards show. Despite the physical toll of curating the 12-minute medley of hits from more than a dozen artists in February, the musician reluctantly signed on as one of nine producers alongside the likes of LL Cool J, Fatima Robinson, Dionne Harmon and Brittany Brazil, to name a few.
Speaking with the Recording Academy digital team about the arduous task of covering five decades of music, Questlove said, “For 12 minutes, that was like going through d**n near, and I’m not even using hyperbolic statements by saying, coming out within an inch of my life.” The Roots drummer revealed that a sigh of relief was short lived.
“When that moment was literally over, and I was on the airplane landing back in New York, two of my teeth fell out. That’s the level of stress I was [under]. Imagine landing in JFK and I got to rush to ‘The Tonight Show,’ but then it’s like, ‘Oh, wait, what’s happening? Oh God, no! My teeth are falling out!’ and going to emergency surgery. My whole takeaway was like, never again,” he said.
The Oscar-winning documentarian disclosed that when asked to participate in the production of the new anniversary special, his initial response was, “H**l no.” Weeks later, however, he was on board, covering the task of acquiring music for the show. “I’ll just basically say that my teeth didn’t fall out, thank God. And it was worth everything, because it’s really a beautiful moment,” said Questlove.
The special airs on CBS and Paramount+ at 8:30 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT. The lineup includes Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff, 2 Chainz, Akon, Big Daddy Kane, Boosie Badazz, Bun B, Chance The Rapper, Common, De La Soul, DJ Quik, Doug E. Fresh, Gunna, GloRilla, Jeezy, Jermaine Dupri, The Lady of Rage, Queen Latifah, Nelly and many, many more.