Editing Questlove (section)

== Philadelphia Childhood ==

Ahmir Khalib Thompson was born on January 20, 1971, in Philadelphia, to musical parents—his father Lee Andrews was a doo-wop singer known for "Tear Drops" and his mother performed with Lee Andrews and the Hearts. Growing up immersed in music history—both through his family and through the vast record collection his father maintained—shaped Questlove's encyclopedic knowledge of American popular music. By age seven, he was playing drums professionally with his father's group, developing skills and stage presence that would serve him throughout his career.<ref name="dyson">{{cite book |last=Dyson |first=Michael Eric |title=Know What I Mean?: Reflections on Hip-Hop |year=2007 |publisher=Basic Civitas |location=New York}}</ref>

Questlove attended the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA), where he met Tariq Trotter (Black Thought), beginning the partnership that would become The Roots. The school, which has produced numerous successful musicians including Boyz II Men, provided formal training alongside a peer community of ambitious young artists. Questlove's time at CAPA developed both his technical abilities and his understanding of how to build an artistic career, lessons he would apply in founding and developing The Roots.<ref name="questlove"/>

The duo's early performances—busking on Philadelphia streets, playing wherever venues would book them—built audiences and refined their concept of hip-hop performed by a live band. This approach, which seemed eccentric in an era dominated by sampling and drum machines, would eventually prove both commercially viable and critically acclaimed. Philadelphia's diverse musical environment, where soul, jazz, and hip-hop traditions coexisted, provided context for an approach that drew on multiple genres.<ref name="dyson"/>