In demand? Popular? No ?uestion: The Roots' Ahmir Thompson is booked up & ready for more

JAMES BROWN may have claimed the title first. But today, Ahmir Khalib Thompson, better known as ?uestlove, Questlove or Questo, earns our vote as the "hardest working man in show business."

And here in his hometown, the guy's also the most visible, by far. "I don't know how this has happened, but I seem to have become the Musical Diplomat of Philly," he only half joked.

We caught up on Tuesday, on "what was supposed to be my day off," mused the man, best known as drummer/titular head of The Roots, the alt-funk 'n' hip-hop group whose mission is to touch and play "for all the people."

The day began with a news conference announcing the city's Wawa Welcome America! July Fourth celebration, where ?uestlove was introduced by Mayor Nutter as the musical director of the event. Thinking big, the musician shared his vision for turning it into "Philly's version of Bonnaroo [a multiday, internationally recognized super fest that annually draws tens of thousands to rural Manchester, Tenn.] or a more mainstream version of the Roots Picnic." (Its 2011 edition is scheduled for June 4 at Festival Pier.)

"We'll be the backing band for almost everyone at the Welcome America! show on the Parkway," Questo shared, "literally supplying the fire behind Earth, Wind & Fire and Mike McDonald, Estelle and Sara Bareilles. And while we didn't talk about it at the news conference, I'll also be curating two other stages, featuring the best Philadelphia talent, that'll play throughout the day."

Later on Tuesday, ?uestlove took a meeting about this weekend's "Philly-Paris Lockdown," the mashup of classical, pop and funky free jazz he's lording over from the drum kit Sunday at the Kimmel Center, as a key event of the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts.

In theory, the guy had Tuesday evening off, at least from the Roots' regular gig as the house band on NBC's "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon." "This is one of the 14 weeks a year we get off, when the show's in reruns."

Yet ?uestlove was still hustling back to the Big Apple on an early evening train to do one of his DJing gigs for the New York club event Kiss-n-Grind, then to pop into a studio for his "second night of recording [as producer/player] on D'Angelo's decadelong awaited third album." (Worth a story in itself!)

But wait. There's even more.

This glutton for punishment had agreed to a 5 a.m. Wednesday wake-up call for a commercial shoot that would put his iconic, fuzzy-Afro-headed hipster self into a spot for "one of Honda's hybrid cars."

"It was a last-minute rush thing," Questo explained. "They need to have it ready for airing next week for Earth Day."

Yesterday, he had to be back at the Kimmel for the first of two full-fledged rehearsals for the Philly/Paris slam. They'll be celebrating French-spawned early 20th-century classical touchstones by the likes of Satie and Stravinsky (both faves since his days at the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, aka CAPA), presented in both straight-ahead and jammed-up fashion.

Joining ?uestlove (billed as "drummer/curator") in the pursuit are noted sax improviser David Murray, Roots keyboardist James Poyser, a string section arranged by Larry Gold and Daniel Felsenfeld, the France-based pop chanteuse Keren Ann and the trio of femme singers from Dirty Projectors, among others.

"The hard part will be curbing our enthusiasm, to the 90-minute target show length we've be given," ?uestlove said. "When I usually jam with guys like Murray, the thing goes on for hours."

OK. So after this troupe's second full rehearsal today, you might think the front guy will be taking a little breather, right? Only in his fashion.

At 5 p.m. today, ?uestlove's boarding a plane bound for Palm Springs, Calif., and the desert-based Coachella Festival for yet another evening DJ gig "in the Rolling Stone Hut tent." Even Questo's calling this booking "a nightmare."

'Cause then early tomorrow morning he will be on yet another plane bound for Burlington, Vt., and an 8 p.m. Roots headlining gig at the University of Vermont.

I got so tired just hearing his schedule, I didn't even think to ask how they'll get back to Philly after that show, in time for Sunday night's soiree at the Kimmel. Or if he ever worries about overexposure.

And truth is, the musician might not even know himself. "I've got four people on my case, sending me messages on my BlackBerry, telling me where to go, what to do next."

It helps to know that Ahmir ?uestlove Thompson is a second-generation musician, offspring of the great, long-retired soul singer Lee Andrews, of Lee Andrews and the Hearts fame. Their lilting, rootsy, street-corner harmony sound was quite popular in the 1950s and early '60s, especially in the Northeast corridor. But then doo-wop abruptly fell from favor - suddenly judged quaint, old-fashioned. So Andrews' son has always faced the hard truth and inevitability that a popular musician's career can flame out fast. And he's never lost that hunger, that "gotta store nuts for the winter" mentality.

Put his name on drumsticks? On wacky expensive Nike kicks? Sure! Add some street cred playing on a poppy girl's album? OK. Sign The Roots as house band for the Comedy Central Awards? Available.

All so maybe if he has a kid someday, and that child gets into Juilliard (as ?uestlove did), dad won't have to say "can't afford it," the bad news he was handed.

"While most artists can't tell you what they're doing the week after next, we're plotting our career moves like a chess game, always looking 12 steps ahead," ?uestlove said. Jeez, the guy has even suggested to bandmates that they ought to, um, plan ahead for new family arrivals to show up in December or January, so as not to interfere with The Roots' prime international touring season.

This Sunday's gig has actually been on the books for "almost two years, since shortly after we started the Fallon show. Given the way the TV business is, who knew it would still be around? Hey, look at Conan O'Brien."

?uestlove willingly calls himself and the band "relentless, ruthless, neurotic, paranoid and starving." He also has to answer to the description of savvy survivor.

"We never thought the Roots would last nearly 20 years, make it to our 13th album [now in preproduction] when so many other hip-hop groups that were much bigger than us, that didn't take us seriously, have come and gone," he noted.

"But when your records keep scoring in the 80s on Metacritic [an online review annotator], that shames your record label, makes them think it's their fault you're not selling more copies. So they have to keep you on the roster." Also part of his master plan was gathering the Roots and kindred spirits like Erykah Badu, D'Angelo, Jill Scott and Common under the umbrella term of "Neo-Soul" and with their own online home base, www.okayplayer.com. That way, they'd collectively represent a musical movement that was newsworthy, serious and marketable. Hey, it worked well for all the British Invasion bands, the San Francisco acid rockers, the whole Motown and Philly International scenes, he pointed out.

all music

?uestlove lives, breathes and appreciates all kinds of music. And has, for almost all of his 40 years. "Most kids get into music when they're a teenager. And it trickles down from an older sibling. When I was 2, I thought everybody knew and loved Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. I was already obsessed with music, especially old-school soul."

And clearly still is, as listeners of the recent triple Grammy-winning John Legend/Roots collaboration album "Wake Up Everybody" will attest. Coming out next month is a Roots project with Booker T. Jones (of Booker T and the MGs fame), "The Road From Memphis." Then after the next Roots album, "a concept project with a plot line," is done, they'll be working on yet another comeback cause with Betty Wright of "Clean Up Woman" fame.

"Apart from longtime friends like D'Angelo, my plan now is to only work with artists 60 and older," ?uestlove declared.

At 5 he was already playing the drums, talking with his dad about a future career as a session musician. And commuting from West Philly to Center City's private Performing Arts School of Philadelphia, where school principal and ballet grande dame Nadia Chilkovsky Nahumck "signed me up for tap dancing lessons, to improve my rhythm." She also got him playing all kinds of music, including classical, in the school band that accompanied dance recitals.

Later, the young musician landed at CAPA in a particularly fertile talent pool and "wanted to be a part of every gang." So he played mainstream jazz with Joey DeFrancesco and Christian McBride, and "Frank Zappa/Captain Beefheart/Mahavishnu Orchestra style" freaky fusion rock with Kurt Rosenwinkel. And out of the view of either camp, he started making hip-hop with CAPA rapper Tariq Trotter, now much better known in the Roots as Black Thought.

"We originally called ourselves the Square Roots, and the first place we played as a duo was out on South Street, where it intersects with Passyunk," ?uestlove mused.

"Our goal then was to make enough money to buy a 99 cent lemonade and a big hoagie at Wawa. So Tariq and me had a big moment, when we got to meet the president of Wawa [this year's lead sponsor of the Welcome America!]. And would you believe, the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program is now talking about putting us up on a mural at the same location."

No question you've arrived, dude. And feeling the love.

Philly-Paris Lockdown takes over Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce streets, at 8 p.m. Sunday; limited tix available, $35-$65. ?uestlove also will DJ, along with DJ AfroDJiak and Rich Medina, at a PIFA Underground postshow party in the Kimmel's Perelman Theater at 10 p.m. Sunday, free, 215-893-1999, www.kimmelcenter.org.