-That is hard work right there. [ Cheers and applause ]
-This is so heavy, man. -Can I feel it?
-Yes. They told me to never put it down,
because people have been known to steal it.
You know, occasionally,
I'll just set it down to talk to somebody.
And they told me that they stole Frances McDormand's last year.
So no matter what you do, keep it on your person.
So, literally, on the plane the whole time, I'm spooning...
I was spooning with -- -With your Oscar.
-Yes. -Let me just feel it.
Oh, my gosh.
-Yeah, it's -- -Wow. It feels great.
It's a legit -- It's a great award.
-It's -- Yes, it's a weight I'm willing to carry.
-Well, thank you for making it back here.
Welcome home. -I made it back.
Yes, I barely made it back. [ Laughs ]
-What have the last 24 hours been like for you?
Did you -- Have you slept?
-Oh, no, absolutely not. -Yeah.
-I did the, you know, the -- whatever they call
the exit where you, like, just back out the room
and kind of just disappear, you know,
'cause I was wise enough to --
'Cause when you're nominated for an Oscar
and it's that far in advance, anxiety starts to set in.
And, for me, I was wise enough to figure out
how to distract myself in this moment.
And, of course, anyone who knows me well,
either on the Internet or you personally,
you know that there's no
deejay gig I won't ever turn down.
And to do the Jay-Z/Beyoncé Gold Party
is one of the hardest things ever to do in life,
like, to please that many people in that --
-Yeah. So you purposely chose that you're gonna deejay
Beyoncé's and Jay-Z's party
because that'll be more pressure in your head.
-Oh, up until that -- Once I accepted that gig,
then it was like, "Oh, what Oscar?
I don't care."
But, at night, I'm like, "Oh,
I got to pick out the right song."
-What are they saying -- Yeah, yeah.
-Right. So, I...
-Did you end up playing Smash Mouth?
-I forgot we had a bet. [ Laughter ]
I mean, I played "Smells Like Teen Spirit,"
which is -- No, Jimmy and I had a bet that my first song
was gonna be Smash Mouth, "All Star,"
which I don't think is what Jay-Z really wants to hear.
-But what if they were like, "Oh, here comes Questlove.
What's he going to play?"
-I know no one that fronts on "All Star."
So it's like, when you put it on,
you're forced to sing it against your will.
-You have to, including Jay-Z.
-Exactly. So -- -He would be like...
♪ Somebody once told...♪
-Right. -And he would get into it.
Anyway... -So, I'll tell you this much.
And there was one point where it just became, like,
a cyclone of a mosh pit.
And inside this mosh pit of just jumping people,
I see Anna Wintour sort of, like, in the thing.
-So I think -- -No way. You did well.
-Yeah. I think that if I do the Met Gala,
then I'll start off with Smash Mouth.
-Alright, alright. Perfect. -There you go.
-When you're in the crowd and they announce your name
that you won and everyone gives you a standing ovation,
when you're next to your mother, what is going through your head?
And how -- Did you -- I mean, you got emotional,
but I would have been -- I was crying in my living room.
-We were the only two people in the room.
Like, it was that moment that I realized that, like,
we went through so much, like, from, you know,
them sacrificing to put me in music school,
and, you know, it's like either our bills or my future.
And I just thought about all those moments
and -- You know, and, of course, you know,
that happened in the cyclone of a whole 'nother situation
with two very good friends of mine.
And I really wasn't aware of that.
It's weird to say, because, you know,
they tell you ahead of time, "This is your category."
And so, in that moment, you are either going to be
full of anxiety, or, for me, like, I've been, like,
meditating for like the last two years.
So I do trans-med -- Actually, Seinfeld taught me about that.
Like -- -T.M.
-Yeah, T.M.
And, you know, a minute -- When the commercial break was
happening, I was just in my "Mmmmm."
So, when I opened my eyes, I didn't realize --
like, "Why is everyone so quiet?"
Like, I literally was not present
for that whole, entire moment.
And as I'm walking to the stage,
I'm kind of putting 2 and 2 together
and I realize that that was a real moment like
maybe three seconds before I spoke words.
But, in my mind, they're just doing a sketch or whatever,
and I'm just like, "Okay, Ahmir.
Remember to thank your mom, your dad, thank..."
-Really? -So I was not present at all.
I was just in a blank space.
-And did people sitting around you have a vibe, too?
-I was in the fun section.
I was -- I was right -- Like, I was in the documentary --
They put the documentary people and the animation people,
so the "Encanto" -- Like, that whole --
They were having, like, Hot Takis and Fritos.
-How did they smuggle that into the Oscars?
-Dude, it -- We had a picnic.
Like, they were sharing, like, snacks with me.
-You looked great. Your mom looked great.
I want to show a picture of you and your mom, just so --
-You know, I've not --
I purposely have not watched the highlight reel,
but I hear that -- My mom loves crying at anything.
-Dude, I lost it.
-Like, my first-grade recital, she cried.
Like, she always cries at anything.
Like, "Mom, I got a C-minus."
"Oh, my baby!" Like...
[ Laughter ]
-I just know her from sitting
right in the audience up there and saying hi to her.
-So, they did a close-up of my mom?
-Whew! Dude... -Aw, man! I already know.
-No, dude. I lost it, dude. I was -- I lost it.
Nancy, everyone.
-I'm not one to go in the -- Like, I don't --
This is an old reference, but you know, like,
Al Bundy does the whole, like, Polk High School,
four-touchdowns, highlight-reel thing.
-Yeah.
-Ask your kids -- Ask your parents.
But, you know, I've not watched any highlight reel or anything.
So I don't want to get stuck in that thing where I'm like,
"Just watch it.
Okay, watch me walk to the stage right now."
-Yeah, yeah.
I can't tell you -- Obviously,
you know we love you and we're proud of you,
but everybody -- everybody -- who knows you
loves you and is so proud of you, dude.
It couldn't have happened to a better dude.
-I'm gonna -- [ Cheers and applause ]
Let me just tell you.
I'm gonna tell you, what's -- Just real quick.
And I'm not world-famous for deflecting any praise
or love or whatever, but I have to say that, you know,
my true reward in this whole thing is that, you know,
I'm in this creative atmosphere.
Like, I consider this 30 Rock universe --
Like, I don't say like, "Oh, I'm going to
'The Tonight Show' or 'Fallon' or what --"
30 Rock is, like, the best college I've ever been to,
where I can go to different floors
and watch people work, and then they're creative.
And the fact that I, like, get to create with my friends
over there and with you, that, to me, is the real --
And I know it sounds like so a Hollywood answer.
Like, "Oh, that's my real reward,"
but that, to me, is what matters.
And the fact that I get to live out my dreams,
and you provided this platform for me to --
if I want to write a cookbook one day or if I want to,
you know, teach class or start a radio show.
And, like, I didn't even start to listen to my dreams
until I came here in 2009, so I really want to thank you
for giving me that platform.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-Academy Award-winning director Questlove.
-Thank you.
-Academy Award-winning director Questlove, everybody!
Check out his Oscar-winning documentary, "Summer of Soul,"
on Hulu.