Today is Stevie Wonder‘s birthday. The next steps should be pretty obvious. For the uninitiated, we advise you to fasten your seatbelts and secure your headphones. The Randy Watson Experience returns with some certified heat. As if everything from the super side-group piloted by ?uestlove and James Poyser wasn’t awesome enough, they raise the bar and rise to the occasion to celebrate Stevie Wonder’s birthday with their take on a bit of his timeless music. The Experience covered “Visions” (from 1973′s Innervisions) and “You’ve Got It Bad Girl” (from 1972′s Talking Book) a little while back. To celebrate the auspicious occasion of Stevie’s birth, they offer these gems to you today via streaming audio. The covers were recorded sometime between 2002 and 2004, reportedly in response to Madlib‘s exploration of the Stevie Wonder catalog via Yesterdays New Quintet. The tracks are much less experimental than his, but equally authentic as compositions derived from a sincere love for the source material and an abiding sense of duty to the architect. Aside from that, these joints are just damned good. You don’t have to take my word for it. Check the tracks below. Happy Birthday Stevie Wonder!!!

The post Happy Birthday Stevie Wonder From The Randy Watson Experience appeared first on Okayplayer.

?uestlove reached back to his alma mater this week, by reaching into his own pockets to ensure funding for the annual musical at the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts – the institution that incubated The Roots and lays claim to a laundry list of major talent including Boyz II Men, Bilal, Jazmine Sullivan and a host of others. ?uestlove was recently motivated to donate after getting wind of news that budget cuts had forced the school to cancel their annual musical. He placed a call to CAPA Principal Johnny C. Whaley Jr. to express interest in making a “sizable donation” to help resuscitate the production. The play will not go on this season, but thanks to the generosity of ?uestlove and a few other major donors touched by the news, the school play will be back in full swing by 2014. Hopefully ?uesto’s generosity will encourage other alumni to follow suit.

The post ?uestlove Saves CAPA High School Play appeared first on Okayplayer.

?uestlove and D’Angelo tackle The Beatles‘ catalog with a funky take on “She Came In Through The Bathroom Window” remixed by ?uesto for the fourth and final installment of their 2012 Bonnaroo Superjam series. The song written by Paul McCartney and enshrined on the Abbey Road LP, is in for a full funk makeover once the bass drops. The stank dripping from the band makes it abundantly clear that a decade’s hiatus does nothing to lower the levels of funk in the blood. D’angelo solidifies his return as the performance slides into a jam break that channels Prince and James Brown with little regard to how deep they are down the sonic rabbit hole. The band riles the crowd just enough to leave them foaming at the mouth by the end of the performance – a moment pregnant with symbolism that ?uestlove is careful not to waste, as he reminds the massive crowd of what they have just witnessed. Quit funkin’ around and check the footage below.

The post ?uestlove x D’Angelo At Bonnaroo Superjam Ep. 4: The Return Of D’Angelo appeared first on Okayplayer.

Justin Timberlake has officially set a date for the sequel to his latest smash, The 20/20 Experience. The follow-up project, potentially titled The 20/20 Experience (2 of 2) , is slated to arrive on September 30th and parallels its predecessor with full production from Timbaland. JT dropped the announcement in a recent note posted to his Instagram account. The second of two albums was first hinted at on the boards by OKP head honcho ?uestlove, in response to a thread about the New York Times review of the project from Jon Caramanica. Timberlake followed ?uesto’s leak with confirmation of the impending project at a release party in March. Keep your ears peeled for more from the next 10-track project from JT around the end of summer.

The post Justin Timberlake Announces ’20/20′ Sequel Release Date appeared first on Okayplayer.

Exiled Twitter follower and ?uestlove super-fan, Derek Webb, has taken his plea for mercy to new heights with the release of the #UNBLOKME video – an extension of his internet campaign to get back into ?uesto’s good graces and hopefully his Twitter timeline. Webb – an accomplished musician in his own right – was blocked after complaining via Twitter that ?uest tweeted too much. Time will tell whether his efforts are successful. Win or lose, he does at least deserve a point for persistence. So what do you think? Should ?uestlove pardon his biggest fan? Check the video below.

Spotted at PW

The post Derek Webb – #UNBLOKME [Official Video] appeared first on Okayplayer.

Just in case you missed it, ?uestlove and John Legend sat for an interview with AOL Music to discuss their musical origins, politically driven inspiration and the collaborative work that went into their Wake Up! LP, following its 2010 release. The pair offer a bit of insight into the earliest stages of the project and the more difficult aspects of production in the six-part discussion. With John Legend and The Roots in one room, a performance was bound to happen. The crew ran through four songs from the 12-track project, including “Wake Up Everybody” – the title track courtesy of Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes, “Little Ghetto Boy” by Donny Hathaway, “Hard Times” by Curtis Mayfield and “Shine” – an original track from Legend. Check the interview below. Scroll down for a link to the performances.

>>>View The Wake Up! Sessions Here

The post ?uestlove x John Legend – “Wake Up Everybody” + More [AOL Sessions Pt. 1-6] appeared first on Okayplayer.

Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson took a break from his increasingly busy schedule to discuss his forthcoming memoir “Mo’ Meta Blues” during a Q&A with NPR Books. The book, due in June, is co-written by Thompson and Ben Greenman. The title of the book is a nod to the bandleader’s obsession with Metacritic ratings, while the book itself is a narrative of his life as told through choice musical selections, pop culture references, run-ins with other celebrities and groundbreaking performances. Check the link below for the full interview. Scroll down to pre-order the book.

>>>Click here for the full interview

>>>Pre-Order “Mo’ Meta Blues” Here

The post Read A Book: ?uestlove Talks “Mo’ Meta Blues” + More With NPR appeared first on Okayplayer.

In celebration of his recently released book, I Would Die 4 U: Why Prince Became An Icon, author Touré will lead a panel discussion on Prince this evening in New York with special guests ?uestlove and journalist Danyel Smith.

Buy I Would Die 4 U: Why Prince Became An Icon now on the Apple iBookstore!

UPDATE: Many thanks to the Hudson Union Society for letting us host their video of the event. Apologies to those who tried to watch the live stream – the internet mysteriously went dead shortly into the broadcast! For the record this conversation was possibly the most fascinating, least dry panel discussion ever witnessed–deep insights and hilarious war stories on subjects from basketball with Prince right up to race, religion and sex, this is must-watch Prince TV!

The post Touré, ?uestlove, Danyel Smith & Alan Leeds Talk About Prince [Full Video] appeared first on Okayplayer.

I saw the setlist for last night’s D’Angelo/?uestlove Brooklyn Bowl funkfest (recapped here) shortly after the show began, and hoped in my heart that the song listed on the sheet as “Tell Me If You Care” was indeed the S.O.S. Band‘s early 80′s classic “Tell Me If You Still Care.”

It was.

And it was awesome.

Producer and Editor: Allison Swank
Videographers: Myo Campbell + Nelson Mandela Nance

The post D’Angelo x ?uestlove “Tell Me If You Still Care” Live @ Brooklyn Bowl (VIDEO) appeared first on Okayplayer.

UPDATE: Just added some videos below: stay tuned to OKP for our official video recap in the coming days!

D’Angelo & ?uestlove blew the roof off of Brooklyn Bowl last night for their “Brothers In Arms” show – which strangely did not include any shout outs to Dire Straits. The Soulquarian duo took the stage around 11pm and kept the crowd mesmerized as D’Angelo sang and played keys (Fender Rhodes, Hohner D6 Clavinet, ASR-10, and a Yamaha CP-70 for you gear heads) while ?uestlove kept time behind the drum kit and occasionally provided backup vocals.

In addition to a tight selection of covers by the likes of Curtis Mayfield, Funkadelic, Sly & The Family Stone, Bobby Womack, Ohio Players, Prince & The Revolution, and the S.O.S. Band (!!!!!!!), D’Angelo and ?uestlove included such D fan favorites like “The Root”, “The Line,” “Africa,” and “Alright” before closing with an encore of “Lady.”

Before exiting the stage, ?uestlove took the mic at center stage saying that he was tired of talking about D’s upcoming record and asked D if his new album was almost finished, to which D simply replied “Yes” to a roar of excitement from the crowd.

Besides the whole Okayplayer team (including Jennah Bell!) we spotted a lot of familiar faces in the crowd such as Melanie Fiona, Action Bronson, Maya Rudolph, Bilal, Citizen Cope, Nelson George, Robert Glasper and many more! Check out D’Angelo & ?uestlove at Brooklyn Bowl!

SETLIST:

1) Go Back To The Thing / Let Me Have It All (Sly & The Family Stone cover)
2) Cosmic Slop (Funkadelic cover)
3) Woman’s Gotta Have It (Bobby Womack cover) / The Line
4) You Caught Me Smilin’ / Africa Talks To You “The Asphalt Jungle” (Sly & The Family Stone covers)
5) Tell Me If You Still Care (The S.O.S. Band cover)
6) Our Love Has Died (Ohio Players cover)
7) The Root
8) Really Love
9) Alright / Mother’s Son (Curtis Mayfield cover)
10) New Position (Prince & The Revolution cover) / Africa
11) Lady (encore)

Check out our gallery of photos from the show!

The post D’Angelo & ?uestlove Rock Brooklyn Bowl appeared first on Okayplayer.