During his live, streamed Q&A session with Billboard.com, ?uestlove of The Roots explained the behind the scenes moves going on to confirm a headlining act for the 2010 Roots Picnic. Through Twitter and other social media, ?uest hinted that Run DMC would be the headlining act.
“Originally Run DMC were slated to reunite this year,” ?uest explained. “They were going to do a slew of ‘Rock The Bells’ gigs and also our Roots Picnic. But due to a last minute eleventh hour fallout, I guess DMC has nixed the idea of them getting back together.”
While the legendary Queens duo won’t take the stage next month, ?uestlove expressed his excitement about another reunion that has been about five years in the making.
“I’m actually more excited about what I call ‘Wu karaoke,’” he added. “Ghostface, Raekwon and Method Man are going to join the Roots set. When we did the two nights at Radio City Music Hall they weren’t able to come, so I feel like this is about five years overdue.”
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?uest also confirmed the Wake Up Sessions collaboration between fellow Philadelphia native John Legend. The project originated after Legend suggested doing something inspired by both his and ?uest’s efforts on the Barack Obama election campaign in 2008.
“What started out as one song turned into some possible iTunes exclusives,” ?uestlove said. “Then it went from that to an EP to a side project. It then became [John Legend’s] next album, so it’s a collaborative project between The Roots and John Legend.”
?uest added that the project is slated for a September release to coincide with a documentary entitled “Waiting for Superman.”
“It’s a powerful documentary about America’s education system and why we’re fifteenth in the world,” he added. “We’re losing the war on education—kids are dropping out at an alarming rate and test scores are lower than they’ve ever been.”
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