School musical spared by Roots drummer Questlove

Musician Ahmir Khalib Thompson, also called Questlove, has offered to aid to fund the twelve-monthly musical at his old school, the Philadelphia High School for Inventive and The stage Arts (CAPA), it was exposed this week.

Questlove, who plays drums for that Grammy-award winning Hip Hop group ‘The Roots’ (the crew presently occupying the position as house band for US chat TV show ‘Late Night with Jimmy Fallon’), is also a extremely asked for record producer, music journalist and DJ.

The 42-year-old drummer heard that his old school was being forced to cancel their 2013 musical due to funding cuts and opted to ensure that next year’s show wouldn’t suffer an identical destiny.

Thompson actually called the school’s principal, Johnny C. Whaley, JR and offered a “sizeable donation” to ensure that the show would go to the fore next year.

As a result of Questlove’s kindness as well as the hard work of other donors (such as local lawyers Charles Peruto and Abe Kasbo) the college’s annual musical custom is predicted to resume in 2014.

Whaley told KYW Newsradio that Thompson has “reached out to our school in the past and given us equipment”, he went on to say that “you have to understand that we’re an extremely close-knit organization, and when our alumni see things changing, when they possess the fiscal ability to aid, they reach out to us.”

The annual event, that’s an important platform both for CAPA as an establishment and for young talent inside the Philadelphia neighborhood, costs about $65,000 (approximately £42,000) to provide, but is not part of CAPA’s annual budget. “There’s a particular standard of brilliance we now have,” says Whaley of that cost, “We don’t compromise when it comes to production”

The earlier show was funded by The Home and School Association, following a grant from The William Penn Foundation.

CAPA is noted for the fostering of imaginative talent and many of the school’s graduates have gone on to successful careers in arts and leisure. Notable alumni include record-breaking RnB vocal group ‘Boyz II Men’, author and ‘Scrubs’ co-producer Angela Nissel and former James Brown and Sting bassist Christian McBride as well numerous more.

Questlove met and befriended MC and fellow ‘Roots’ cofounder Tariq Trotter (better known as ‘Black Thought’) whilst both were students at CAPA.

Sources:

http://www.okayplayer.com/news/questlove-saves-capa-high-school-play.html

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2013/05/06/questlove-steps-up-to-ensure-next-years-capa-musical-will-go-on/

http://articles.philly.com/2013-05-06/news/39044128_1_questlove-capa-the-roots