Nathan Gelgud illustration inspired by Questlove's memoir, Mo' Meta Blues.

About a month ago, Jimmy Fallon took over NBC’s Tonight Show, expanding his demographic from younger people who watch him in snippets online to an older crowd that still goes through the arcane ritual of turning on the television, sitting down in front of it, and watching a program.

In a move that should surprise no one, Fallon kept his house band when he made the move. The Roots and their de facto leader, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, are a key ingredient in Fallon’s success as a talk show host, and their move to 11:30 has us reaching for Questlove’s memoir, Mo’ Meta Blues.

Questlove doesn’t tell his story as any kind of hard-luck, rags-to-riches fable, but it's inspiring to look back at his humble upbringing in Philly, his lifelong devotion to music, and the ways in which that passion brought him to be a key player in an iconic, sometimes stodgy, corner of pop culture. Ask someone (like me, maybe) who bought The Roots’ Do You Want More?!!!??! on the day it came out in 1994 where they’d be in twenty years, and the response wasn't likely to be "on NBC." They weren't even on MTV. They were barely on BET -- hell, rap acts didn't even stay together longer than a few years, did they?

Questlove’s story is as much about the music he listened to as it is about the music he played as he burned a singular artistic path for himself. He tells stories about buying Prince’s 1999 album multiple times (because his parents would throw it away every time they found it), or discovering kindred spirits in a new group called De La Soul in the late eighties.

Questlove was doing that hip-hop bohemian thing already, which was why teaming up with Tariq in high school, with whom he’d form The Roots, was such a great move. Tariq was a tough kid who got into trouble, and his street sensibility blended with Quest’s wide-ranging musical background to form The Roots’ unique sound.

After lots of school cafeteria rap battles, some busking on the streets of Philly, plenty of well-regarded albums, and lots of touring, The Roots may have landed on The Tonight Show, but they’re not your average back-up band. For the story behind Questlove and The Roots, and reflections on the musical influences that made them, Mo’ Meta Blues is the place to begin. Read it so you can tell your parents, who can now see them every night at 11:30, what’s up with the new house band.

Nathan Gelgud illustration inspired by Questlove's memoir, Mo' Meta Blues.