Questlove on Roots, Philly, Fallon and Winehouse

NEW YORK — The Roots aren't known for selling records. While the hip-hop band has released 14 albums — mostly to critical acclaim — only two have managed to crack gold status.

But even though bandleader Questlove might have enjoyed the money that comes along with multiplatinum records, he wouldn't trade the group's rarified position in the music world for it.

"Mostly for black artists, we're really not afforded — unless you're a jazz artist — you're really not afforded the luxury of making an art record, or a concept record, or a passion project," said Questlove, born Ahmir Thompson. "For some strange, odd reason, and I'm not ever going to argue it, The Roots have always (had that luxury)."

And The Roots, the house band for "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" since 2009, have had support from high places to maintain that luxury.

When Jay-Z was president of Def Jam, he signed The Roots to the label and told them to maintain their sound and integrity, even if it meant fewer sales.

"(Jay-Z) didn't want to be known as the bad guy that killed The Roots," Questlove said.

The Roots put out two CDs last year with the Betty Wright-assisted "Betty Wright: The Movie" and "undun," which debuted at No. 17 on the Billboard charts. Both landed on several critics' best-of-the-year lists.

In a recent interview, Questlove talked more about the band, his relationship with Amy Winehouse and life on "Late Night."

______

The Associated Press: Jay-Z gave you guys some good advice.

Questlove: I told Jay, "Like man, that would be nice to have all my records debut at No. 1 and stuff." But he's like, "Yeah, but you're just looking at that. I got to deal with beef with this cat and that cat. Every year some rapper's going to take a potshot and I got to take the gloves out the closet and start training." ... And (Jay-Z) sees me as an artist making my dream come true. Like, he wants to be seen as a true artist, not the richest guy in hip-hop. Meanwhile, I would like 13 zeros in my account.

AP: "Undun" is about the death of fictional drug dealer Redford Stevens, but the story is told from beginning to end. How did the concept come about?

Questlove: We wanted to tell his story because we've known a billion Redford Stevens in Philadelphia. Philadelphia has been sort of mired and drenched into a lot of random acts of crime, very un-brotherly like in the last decade or so, and we wanted to show the direct result.

AP: You recorded an album with Betty Wright at the same time. What was that like?

Questlove: I figured I wanted to dedicate the rest of my existence (to) creating source material so that someone else can have something to sample in 2040 once this becomes a dated record. I'm just trying to create the soulful records that will still be used. And it's funny because Betty never understood why I wanted to put a drum break at the beginning, she just start wanted to sing. I'm like, "No. No. No. Drum break. Trust me on this one. You'll thank me 30 years from now when you get your publishing checks."

AP: You were close to Amy Winehouse. What was your relationship like with her?