Questlove Pays Tribute to Sly Stone: ‘You Will Forever Live'

Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson, who directed the new documentary 'Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius),' has shared a remembrance of the subject of his film, Sly Stone. The 82 year-old died of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and other underlying health issues.
'Sly was a giant — not just for his groundbreaking work with the Family Stone, but for the radical inclusivity and deep human truths he poured into every note,' the Roots drummer wrote on Instagram. 'His songs weren't just about fighting injustice; they were about transforming the self to transform the world. He dared to be simple in the most complex ways — using childlike joy, wordless cries, and nursery rhyme cadences to express adult truths. His work looked straight at the brightest and darkest parts of life and demanded we do the same.'
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As songwriter, producer, arranger, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and showman, Stone and his group Sly and the Family Stone dominated the top of the charts with energetic singles and albums. His life and career were documented in Questlove's film, which also features unfiltered commentary from multiple Black artists about the pressures that come with success.
'Yes, Sly battled addiction,' Questlove continued in Monday's statement. 'Yes, he disappeared from the spotlight. But he lived long enough to outlast many of his disciples, to feel the ripples of his genius return through hip-hop samples, documentaries, and his memoir.' He continued, highlighting two lines spoken and sung by Stone — 'We deserve everything we get in this life,' and ''the eternal cry of 'Everyday People': 'We got to live together!''
Questlove writes, 'Once idealistic, now I hear it as a command. Sly's music will likely speak to us even more now than it did then. Thank you, Sly. You will forever live.' Besides his children with Silva and Robinson, Stone is survived by another daughter, L.A. musician Novena Carmel.
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Sly And The Family Stone Owns Half Of A Billboard Chart After The Singer's Death

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3 days ago

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'SNL: Ladies & Gentlemen...50 Years of Music' Now Open at The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

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Hamilton Spectator

5 days ago

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Buy Canadian moment creates opportunity for Roots and its domestic leather business

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Initially, they specialized in negative-heel shoes, which reduced pressure on backs, but when the footwear sold out in less than a month and spawned a waiting list, Budman and Green dreamt bigger. They started pumping out varsity jackets, leather bags ideal for weekend getaways and salt-and-pepper sweats. Eventually, they became a Canadian staple with stores dotting the country, a discount airline shuttling people from coast to coast, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck starring in ads and a coveted contract to outfit the nation's Olympic team. Nowadays, the stores remain but the airline has folded, the business no longer sells shoes, ads aren't quite so star-studded and Lululemon Athletica Inc. outfits Team Canada. Budman and Green? They sold a majority stake in Roots in 2015 to Searchlight Capital Partners L.P., a firm split between Toronto, New York, Miami and London. Roach worked at the firm before joining Roots. 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That plan is still on the table, even now that Trump has chosen Canada as one of his top tariff targets, because she says, 'there's a huge amount of potential there once we get through the current volatility.' 'The thing about being with a brand that's been around for 50 years is you have to look past the short-term nature ... like not what's happening next month or next year but what's going to happen over the next 10 to 15 years,' she said after strolling the leather factory. 'You're thinking what do I have to do and invest in and what are the green shoots I have to build today for this business to be successful more over a longer period of time?' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2025. Companies in this story: (TSX:ROOT)