Questlove Reveals Why He Looked at André 3000, D’Angelo and Himself for His Sly Stone Doc When the Music Legend Wouldn’t Talk to Him

variety.com:

Todd Gilchrist Sly Stone, founder, frontman and namesake of Sly and the Family Stone, has deserved to be the subject of a documentary since the heyday of his eponymous, chart-topping, mixed-gender, racially integrated 1960s and ‘70s funk band.

After more than 30 years out of the spotlight — and another 10 in which his personal and legal troubles sadly dominated more headlines than his music — Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s “Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)” aims to rightfully contextualize his artistic legacy.

The film bows at Sundance Jan. 23. Appropriately, the documentarian and fellow musician chronicles Stone’s musical achievements, the cultural barriers he broke and the ups and downs of his tumultuous private life.

But Questlove unexpectedly leans heavier on his title’s parenthetical addendum in order to illuminate some deeper truths about the challenges of stardom (especially for Black artists) that may have started with Stone, but which still persist today. “This film was sort of the lightest, least passive-aggressive way that I can have an intervention talk with all of my peers without me grabbing them by the lapel,” Questlove tells Variety.