Questlove Teases Soulquarians Reunion Inspired By D'Angelo's Death

Questlove has teased a reunion with the Soulquarians, his highly influential musical collective. During a March 7 episode of his podcast The Questlove Show, he revealed that some of the crew's core members are starting a new chapter. "James [Poyser], myself, Bilal—the fragments that are left of the Soulquarians...we spoke," he said, as was first reported by Okayplayer. "The family's going to get back together." The Roots drummer and producer explained that D'Angelo's death in October 2025 has intensified his commitment to continuing the collective's musical "mission," which was birthed during the recording of D'Angelo's 2000 album Voodoo. "Now that [D'Angelo] is not here, I feel that responsibility more than ever," Questlove said. He previously confirmed that a posthumous D'Angelo album is also in the works. The original Soulquarians, which also included artists like Erykah Badu, Dilla, Q-Tip, Talib Kweli, Yasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def), Pino Palladino, and Roy Hargrove, frequently collaborated in the late 1990s and early 2000s on classic albums that included Erykah Badu's Mama's Gun, Common's Like Water for Chocolate, and The Roots' Things Fall Apart. In addition to D'Angelo, Dilla and Hargrove have both since passed away, in 2006 and 2018, respectively. Aside from Bilal and James Poyser, Questlove has not confirmed whether the collective's other surviving members will participate in this new reunion. In his 2013 memoir Mo' Meta Blues, Quest described the Soulquarians as a "utopian paradise" inspired by the Native Tongues movement, though he acknowledged that tensions emerged after a 2000 VIBE Magazine feature highlighted the group.

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