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Oh, yo. I know. Oh, yo. IT HITS YOUR TRACHEA.
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HEY, WHAT'S GOING ON EVERYBODY?
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FOR FIRST WE FEAST, I'm Sean Evans and you're watching Hot Ones.
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It's the show with hot questions and even hotter wings.
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And today we're joined by Questlove.
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He's a six-time Grammy Award-winning musician and Oscar Award-winning director.
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His latest documentaries are Sly Lives, chronicling the legendary musician Sly Stone, and set to drop on Hulu February 13th.
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And he's also unpacking the five-decade-long history of music in Studio 8H with his documentary 50 Years of SNL Music.
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And it's also his birthday.
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Happy birthday to you, Questlove, and welcome to the show. Thank you for having me.
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How are you around hot sauce before we get started?
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I hope we just don't ruin the celebration.
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I'd like to think that I'm relatively great with hot sauce.
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Um but my nose is already telling me this was A MISTAKE.
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SO LIKE I SHOULDN'T I shouldn't taste the hot sauce al- already.
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I'm ready to get started. Oh. Okay. There. Mhm. It's actually tasty.
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Are we allowed to keep these like when it's over or no?
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We're going to pack these all up for you and you'll take them to go.
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I actually like this So, I loved your 50 Years of SNL Music documentary, which really put into perspective how culturally impactful SNL is as a platform for artists. Mhm.
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If you were to put together a timeline, what would you say are like the three to four most important watershed musical moments in SNL history?
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I started to notice early that there were more iconic musical sketches on the show than actual performances.
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First, I was just going for the artist that came on the show.
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Artist-wise, Nirvana's performance, Adele's performance was probably a watershed moment for both of their careers in which the aftereffect of being on SNL became immediate.
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But, you know, the cowbell sketch, Eddie Murphy's hot tub, you know, the Wayne's World theme, like music is is I know that people see SNL as a comedy show, but I feel like it's a musical variety show.
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Like, I don't feel as though the generation truly knew who James Brown was until Eddie Murphy put it in context.
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The same for Stevie Wonder.
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Like, Eddie Murphy imitating those artists actually helped sustain them past the so-called expiration date. Okay. This is lip balm. This actually tasty. I'm impressed.
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Well, I hope that we can sustain that all the way through here. Okay.
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Well, while we're on the topic of 50-year celebrations, I have to imagine that it was incredibly stressful to put together that star-studded tribute to hip-hop's 50th anniversary at last year's Grammy Awards. Yeah.
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Can you give us your highest high and lowest low My lowest low?
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reflecting back on all that it took to put that performance together? I'll do it in reverse.
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My lowest low was losing two key artists 20 minutes before we go to air.
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It's a live show, so it's like between commercial breaks, you're running through the choreographer.
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You're you're disappointing a bunch of dancers that are no longer going to be on television.
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The highest high, however, um that moment where Lil Uzi Vert ends the the medley, um totally unplanned.
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I had sent out a desperation text.
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It was like, "When you hear your song, please run on stage." And I press send.
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And then I got the rainbow wheel.
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And then I didn't realize that my phone was on the entire time, so my phone went dead.
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So, I actually left the stage having a panic attack, having no clue that Uzi got my text and did it.
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The Roots had to show me on social media, like, "What are you talking about? Uzi was on stage."
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I was like, "No, man, I ruined it."
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And they literally had to go online and say, "Look, he went on stage."
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And that's when I was like, "Phew."
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So, it it was the most stressful period of of my professional career, and I don't highly recommend it. Wait, time out. Yeah.
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Khaled quit like by wing number three.
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Like You're in the you're on the Khaled zone right here.
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You got one foot on this side and one foot on this side of the Khaled border.
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This is like a a Monday to me. Okay.
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Can you talk me through the mechanics of creating a theme song like "Hey Jimmy" for The Tonight Show?
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Like do you reference talk shows of the past, or how is that like a uniquely singular task for a musician?
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Uh that theme for The Tonight Show was an absolute accident.
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So, the songs that we create for the show are called sandwiches.
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Which I love, by the way.
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I love some industry-specific vernacular. Call them sandwiches.
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Uh Quincy Jones used to call them Polaroids, like small demos that will become a the later.
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We probably have 4,000 plus sandwiches.
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That theme is actually sandwich number one.
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Just like do anything and then it's 1 2 3 4 and that's what came out of it, but we didn't we didn't pay attention to it.
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And then I think it accidentally came on.
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Jimmy's like, "What's that? What's that?"
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And we're like, "Oh no, that was just us messing around, whatever."
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He's like, "That's the theme."
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Like we we had submitted like at least 19 other themes and none of them were making it, so kind of our accident of hey hey hey hey came into play, so. Loco fire.
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Little tag like You're it.
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Little little trailer to the movie that's coming later.
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Yeah, that's exactly right. Taste of what's to come. Okay. So Oh, wow. Okay. Yeah. Okay. I know.
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And that's the road that we're on, Questlove.
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You know, I'm a transparent host over here. Two funds here.
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We're just going to be cool. Oh, wow. Okay.
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So I asked Dave Grohl this question.
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I'm curious your thoughts. Yeah.
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What do you think people get wrong when they debate the greatest drummers of all time?
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Like do you pay attention to that discourse or have any thoughts of your own? Wow. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Wow. Okay. Oh, wow. All right. What number was that? That's four. That's four. Yo, all right.
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Don't think about it that way.
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Four down, you know, glass half full. I'm good. The more Wow, okay.
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So it's like when I inhale, I feel it.
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Maybe I should just breathe out my nose. Right, right, right.
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You're bringing in oxygen to that fire, yeah. Okay.
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I feel like um I'm I'm most rock drummers, especially of this generation, think of like Smells Like Teen Spirit.
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Bagabaga bagabaga and you know, so I'm the opposite.
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The less you play, uh the more effective you are.
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Because I'm also an engineer, I know that the lighter you play, the better your drums sound in in the mix.
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Why am I holding my hands in in prayer?
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I think that's just natural at this time. You know?
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Just like It can't hurt at a time like this. that uh Okay. Most calientes.
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This is still more tasty than it is spicy.
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Did I just lose my voice there? No. Okay. It was musical. That sounded great.
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So, you just seem like the right person to ask, but what worries you the most about the ways that music is consumed and discovered nowadays?
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Like with the extinction of physical media and the rise of algorithms and streaming, does anything worry you about that?
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I will say that uh probably after the invention of the remote control, we kind of became an impatient society where it's like I just want the highlight reel and not to see how you got there.
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So, sometimes I'm guilty of it, too.
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Like when a new album comes out, I I like I'll give the 45-second test. Do I like it? Nope. Do I like it? You know.
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And then, of course, like months go by and then you uh discover that, you know, there there's a gem had you just sat with the music longer.
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So, you can carry a life's work, an entire canon, in your pocket, but the other thing is like how are you going to get through that?
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How do I How do I How do I answer that without It was eloquent.
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It was beautiful to see from this side of the table.
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I got to be honest with you, Questlove. I I you're locking in.
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I'm in a zen place right now.
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I I got up at 5:00 this morning determined not to be I think that's the thing.
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People come on here and they're like, I will not be a meme. I will not be a meme. I will not be a meme. Okay. Wait, am I crying now? No. Okay. I'll let you know.
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And if anything, that's just the dramatic effect of that.
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It plays well in the video.
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I got to be real with you. I'm good, man. I'm good.
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Did you have a biggest wow, I wish I was there for that moment or that concert reflecting back on all the archival footage you looked through to put together your documentary for Sly and the Family Stone?
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So, there's there's a a concert that we were Okay, this is like double Dutch where when I exhale, I don't feel as much, but when I hit inhale, I feel it a lot.
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And so, I got to Just hold that breath and just let it all out. Yeah. the words.
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This is what I feel like right now. Okay.
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In the mid-70s, people just trade war stories of how long they had to sit in the audience until he decided to show up.
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You know, they they caught this concert.
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It just starts out with relentless booing. The audience is pissed. Boo! Boo!
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And the way he single-handedly just like walks out on stage and I don't know if he's doing this to them or whatever, but he single-handedly just talked himself out of an ass whipping or or tomatoes being thrown.
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Like, he literally gets on stage and doesn't even acknowledge.
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He's just like, No, actually he does. He's like, Hey, man. It's my fault. I'm you know, guilty.
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So, I can either play or we can leave.
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Like, what do what do what do y'all want?"
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You know, like he single-handedly He turned the crowd. Turned it around.
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I was like, "Yo, this is like master manipulation."
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Just a level of Jedi mind tricking.
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It would have been interesting to watch him turn a crowd over cuz after 1972, like there was more riots reported and just civil unrest at a Sly concert. Hot house hot sauce.
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Now, you catch kind of like almost a pickle in there.
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I'm trying to analyze this. Mhm. That breaches the door.
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Oh, is this how y'all get me?
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That's some like This is where Blassic went? Yeah.
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That store from the Blassic commercial? Yeah. He invested in Oh, YO. YEAH. OKAY. OKAY.
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How would you describe what a typical talent show is like at Philadelphia's High School for Creative and Performing Arts in the late 1980s?
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You know, in reading about the talent that you were surrounded by as a teenager, it's kind of mind-blowing.
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If I had a time machine uh for the infamous Valentine's show in which The Roots and back then I think we were known as radioactivity going up against a group of unknown singers called Boyz II Men.
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But Boyz II Men we keep Oh, yo. I know. Oh, yo. IT HITS YOUR TRACHEA. IT JUST HIT MY TRACHEA.
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I I HATE WHEN THAT HAPPENS. OH MY GOD. NO. I SAW THAT. I SAW THAT. NO.
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THIS IS a arm wrestling match. Yeah. Yeah. And I'm not going here.
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I want to see some acknowledgement or plaque You're on top.
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that I didn't go to this.
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Uh I was good until this one little piece of stuff got in my teeth, yeah, decided to go down and just tickle the back of your throat.
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What was I What was I saying?
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You were talking about how Boys II MEN OH, YEAH.
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THEY THEY THEY They had glitter in their hands and, you know, second verse they do something and the glitter would go and like all the girls would start screaming like it's Beatles on Sullivan. And I'm like, "Yo, dog.
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Like, they go to school with us.
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Like They're nobody special.
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They go to school with us."
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And, you know, I just I was like, "Man, like, if we just had like some sort of Attica cool moment where, you know, make Tariq do the whatever.
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Maybe I should have done that cuz now All right, man. This is it. Okay. I'm good. Whoa. Whoa. I got you, dog. I will not be a meme. I will not be a meme.
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And that I got TO SAY WAIT A MINUTE. WAIT, TIME OUT. YEAH. TIME OUT. MHM. That's not real.
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Unfortunately, it is real. It's very real. It is too real.
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And what you just did I don't know if I've ever even seen that on the bomb. Okay.
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The answer is I didn't ask a question yet. Oh, yeah. I'm so humbled. Yeah, I know. I know. That's how it goes.
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But, that was an ambitious bite. That was a big jump. YOU GOT THIS, I KNOW.
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WAY TO FORCE ME INTO YEAH. Breathe in. Yeah. Just out. Just breathe out. in the morning. I know. I know. I know.
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I shouldn't have done it.
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What a way to celebrate a birthday.
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When you're booked to do an A DJ EVENT, WAIT. WHAT'S THE WORD? Ice cream. Ice cream. I'm [ __ ] dizzy.
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Let me ask you a question.
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When you're booked to DO A DJ I KNOW. We have ice cream. Do you want ice cream? We have ice cream. It's right there. I feel like it's defeat.
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If you have the ice cream?
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How many people have done this without the aid of a You know, a very elite club.
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We can Just be careful around the eyes. Be careful. Be careful. Be careful.
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When you're booked to do a DJ event, what's like the most annoying thing a party goer or a fan can do while you're performing a set?
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Guy, is this the part of the Oh, is this where like the screen turns pink and all that stuff?
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Yeah, Colin's going to have a field day over here. Yo, my god. Yo, I'm not like high. I'M SO HIGH RIGHT NOW. WAIT, do I look silly?
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This is the meme where you live in infamy.
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Just be careful around the eyes.
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But, whatever I do, I'm not touching this water. It's incredible. Or this ice cream. Incredible. Wait a minute. Why is Oh, wait. I'M WORRIED ABOUT YEAH. I'M WORRIED ABOUT THIS. I'M WORRIED ABOUT THIS. WAIT. HERE, I'll help you.
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Wait, what just happened because I'm worried that the fingers that you used Oh, it's going against my interest right now. I know. Yeah. I'm good. Here's the stack. Here's the stack.
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This is All right, ask the question.
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The most annoying thing that can happen is they ask me to play a song that I just played.
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Which tells me that they aren't paying attention.
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Uh just like I'm not paying attention to whatever is happening right now.
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This is not hyperbole, this is not exaggeration.
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You got me right where you want me. Which is at your mercy. This is cool. I'll do this blind. I can't see nothing.
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Am I touching the wing right now?
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I think you're in a good Yeah, you got it. a Sicilian scorpion? scorpion. Okay. All right.
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So, I see these pictures from these epic game nights that you throw with A-list guests that go from everyone from J. J.
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Abrams to Tyler, the creator, to Taylor Swift. Yeah.
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Do you have a Mount Rushmore of board games, a top four all time?
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There are some people that uh play Jenga.
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There are some people that uh that love uh playing Operation.
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Uh there's even a uh a clue squad.
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Which are for the super dweebs.
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But Uno is a personality tester.
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It shows me who a person is in a matter of minutes.
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Taylor actually uh when she first played Uno with us, like she took it to levels of excitement that I didn't know that one could do in a in an Uno game.
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Um the fact that I can recapitulate all this is is amazing to me right now.
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Like how defeated do I look right now from like one to 10?
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I am looking at a guy who has made it through nine of the spiciest wings in the world and still has his feet.
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I'm going to get through this.
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Nah, don't give me that like you don't have to.
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Yo, it's so hot over Did there used to be ice IN THIS THING? WHERE DID THE ICE GO?
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UM THE next time I come on the show Yeah. Did I do too much? That's partying.
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I want my band to come on here.
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That's what Jimmy was telling me.
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Yeah, and I want them to play through each piece to see what happens to us. I would love that. All right. Cheers, Questlove. Cheers. Cheers. Come on.
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If that's your real name. And you know what? That's it for the wings.
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That's it for the questions. There's some more? No.
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Because the best birthday gift of all We're coming out. Hang on. Hang on. I'm of a certain age.
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You remember those Vicks Vapor Rub commercials? Yeah.
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That's happening right now. I know.
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But the good news is that the wings of death are behind us.
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You've conquered the wings of death. What's ahead of us?
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And did it all on your birthday.
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So, all I want to say is happy birthday, Questlove.
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We've brought for you a red velvet cake.
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I know that that's your favorite.
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And the greatest gift of all, the wings are done. You've earned this. Happy birthday.
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I don't think I can breathe but blow this out. I know. Actually, yeah. Wait a minute. How do I do this?
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Just Cuz if I exhale Oh, good. That was the hot sauce.
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That wasn't And there you go.
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Questlove taking on the wings of death on your birthday.
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Yes, living to tell the tale and now there's nothing left to do but roll out the red carpet for you.
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so accomplished right now.
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This camera, this camera, this camera, let the people know what you have going on here. my name is Questlove.
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I'm founding member of a band that you'll really love called The Roots. We have 17 albums out.
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In addition to that, I also direct movies.
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SNL 50, ladies and gentlemen, 50 years of SNL music will be out on the Peacock channel.
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In addition, Sly Lives: The Burden of Black Genius will be on the Hulu, February 13th.
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I have like seven other projects, but I don't even know what my name is right now. SO THANK YOU. AND NO WATER, NO MILK. I DID IT. CAN YOU SEE ME? OH MY GOD.
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OH MY GOD, you're kidding me.
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It doesn't end here, dude. It doesn't end here. It just lasts all day? It's all week.
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I'll see you when I get to work, man. All week? HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DUDE. THANK YOU, MAN. GOODBYE. GOODBYE. OH, GOD.
23:06
YOU LOVE Truth or Dab in the even spicier refresh edition, and now we're turning up the temperature and raising the stakes with our brand new Hot Ones Roulette.
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It's an explosively hilarious push-your-luck party game filled with suspense, consequence, and of course, hot sauce. The game is simple.
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Roll the dice of doom, flip a card, and try to avoid the dab at all costs.
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Hot Ones Roulette is available at wildertoys. com. That's wildertoys.
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com to get your hands on Hot Ones Roulette.
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Godspeed, and be careful around the eyes.