Questlove is Making The Sly Stone Documentary We Deserve
The Roots drummer’s next documentary treatment will spotlight an eccentric and notoriously reclusive soul icon.
Just a few weeks after premiering his directorial debut at Sundance, Questlove is already on to his next film project.
According to Variety, The Roots drummer has announced his Summer of Soul follow-up is yet another documentary treatment. This time around, he’ll spotlight the life and legacy of Sly Stone. “It goes beyond saying that Sly’s creative legacy is in my DNA,” said the newly-minted director in a statement. “It’s a Black musician’s blueprint. To be given the honor to explore his history and legacy is beyond a dream for me,” the drummer adds. Questlove will be joined on the project by fellow Soulquarian, Common, who will serve as an executive producer for the film.
Questlove’s Summer of Soul premiered to rave reviews at Sundance Film Festival last month. The film’s performance led to a record-setting sale for a documentary at Sundance, where it was picked up for $12 million by Disney’s Searchlight and Hulu.
The incoming Sly Stone doc will mark only the second attempt to chart the hitmaker and bandleader’s impact on modern music in a film. In 2017, director Michael Rubenstone released On the Sly: In Search of the Family Stone, a film that captures his efforts to track down Stone after virtually disappearing from music altogether for more than 30 years. Though he’s appeared on a handful of songs from Bobby Womack and George Clinton, Stone hasn’t released any solo material since 1984 and remains as enigmatic as ever, laying low after a series of poor business deals backfired and left the singer broke, and at one point, homeless. It took until 2016 for Stone to cash in on the streaming rights to his own music.
See Questlove’s announcement of the film below and hold tight for details to arrive in the months ahead.
LET’S DO THIS!!!!!! the way I see it I can teach lessons 3 paragraphs at a time in IG….or we can take it higher. #SlyStone #slyandthefamilystone https://t.co/2Qkq9vZNRS
— B.R.O.theR. ?uestion (@questlove) February 19, 2021