I’m a cynic when it comes to astrology,” says the Roots drummer Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson. “But when the members of the Soulquarians [Thompson, D’Angelo, beatmaker Jay Dee, and keyboardist James Poyser] realized that we all share a love for “sickness” in our work—offbeat rhythms, unorthodox chords, stacks of haramony, an overall rebellious attitude to the status quo—and to top it off, that we’re all Aquarians, we knew it wasn’t just a coincidence. Perhaps the stars play a role in our genuine love for the unknown. –Questlove in Vibe Magazine September 2000
It takes a village to change a nation.
The Soulquarians were a collection of neo-soul artists from the late 90s/early 00s that have reshaped the landscape of Black art. The members are a Dream Team assortment of the left-of-center legends.
The full list of members:
- Questlove
- Bilal
- Common
- Roy Hargrove
- Erykah Badu
- D’Angelo
- James Poyser
- Mos Def
- Talib Kweli
- J. Dilla
Producer and drummer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson of hip hop band The Roots acted as the “musical powerhouse” behind several of the collective’s projects during the late 1990s and early 2000s, including The Roots’ Things Fall Apart (1999), D’Angelo‘s Voodoo (2000),Erykah Badu‘s Mama’s Gun (2000), and Common’s Like Water for Chocolate (2000). In an interview for Spin magazine, Common discussed the production of those albums, stating “It was one of those time period that you don’t even realize when you’re going through it that it’s powerful.”
Each one of them received Grammy Award nominations, and all but Common’s LWFC went platinum. From its inception, there was a concerted and conscious effort to continue the legacy of great artistic movements such as the Harlem Renaissance, the Motown era and most recently, the Native Tongues movement.
Common’s “Heaven Somewhere” from his 2002 album Electric Circus may be the largest collection of Soulquarian artists on one song. Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Bilal, Common, Questlove and James Poysner.