?uest loves Clipse

Erykah Badu and The Roots hit Chrysler Hall Friday, and in advance I spoke with the lovely singer and the too-cool ?uestlove of The Roots. Check the Pilot tomorrow for what's happening with Erykah. Here are some of the highlights from my convo with ?uestlove, The Roots' bandleader and drummer and quite possibly one of the smartest people in music today.

- He has been campaigning for Barack Obama. 

“I’ve been doing low-level stuff. Making phone calls, going door-to-door. For the last two hours of the California primaries, they had me knocking on doors in South Central. People would open their door and be like, ‘What the…?’

- The Roots make complex music that almost always surveys and critiques society. But is he preaching to the choir? 

 "I’ve thought about that. Does the message make sense if your audience is already like-minded? But you have to lead by example.”

- The Roots do a lot of campaigning for the environment; they hosted a 'Green Carpet' event at the Grammys last year and attempted to have a big celebration in D.C. for Earth Day this year, though it was rained out.

"Where we come from the code of respect is what kind of SUV you drive. But people don't think long term about what happens when you pollute the air. Those causes are usually looked at like 'granola' causes, something you would see a Michael Stipe or Patti Smith doing but never a hip hop group. It's like some people are like 'Those are 'white' issues -- that doesn't concern us.' But it concerns me."

- What Jay-Z is really like

"I know him as a cat that's much more like me than he really wants to let on in the media. That's why he is so guarded and secretive with his image, because if the truth comes out they're really just going to discover a geek that watches one too many Family Guy episodes and knows too many Stewie quotes."

- How he prepares to make a new album

"I spend about four or five months over-analyzing every Roots record. I listen to them all in a row. If the album is going to come out in September, I start in June, listening to Roots songs til I can't take it no more."

- What kind of music does he hate?  

"I could sit here and play holier-than-though hip hopper and say **** Soulja Boy! He's bad for the kids, but if 'Yah!" comes on at 1 in the morning and I'm buzzed off Patron am I going to start acting a fool when I hear it in the club? Of course. Does that make me a hypocrite? Meh, that makes me human."

- And finally, props to the 757...

"I think Clipse's last album is a masterpiece."

 The Roots new album "Rising Down' is out now. Reviews are very good.

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