The enigmatic and influential music legend Sly Stone will release his memoir, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin), on Oct. 17 as the first book to emerge from Questlove‘s new imprint, AUWA Books. Questlove will also write the foreword for the volume, which was created in collaboration with Stone’s manager Arlene Hirschkowitz.
“For as long as I can remember folks have been asking me to tell my story,” says Stone, who turned 80 last week. “I wasn’t ready. I had to be in a new frame of mind to become Sylvester Stewart again to tell the true story of Sly Stone. It’s been a wild ride and hopefully my fans enjoy it too.”
Questlove is also directing an as-yet-untitled documentary on Stone, who appeared prominently in the Roots drummer’s Disney+ Summer of Soul documentary about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. After years of chart success, the former leader of the groundbreaking Sly and the Family Stone largely disappeared from music in the 1980s amid drug. mental, and financial problems, only to re-emerge out of nowhere for a 2006 performance at the Grammys. Since then, he has performed sporadically and released one new album, 2011’s I’m Back! Family & Friends.
“I have been writing books for over a decade,” says Questlove, “so it seemed like a natural step to publish them too. I’m very excited about AUWA Books, from the books we have lined up to the books we haven’t discovered yet. Let’s take it to the page.”
Other books set to be released by AUWA over the next two years include Questlove’s Hip-Hop Is History, the debut from TikTok star Drew Afualo, Josh Luber’s Building the Hype Economy, and Derrick Palmer Handbook for the Revolution: The Essential Guide for Workplace Organizing.
