The Roots are working on a record with Elvis Costello that should be out later this year. Roots drummer and resident good guy Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson tells Billboard that the collaborative project was sparked by Costello’s three appearances on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. “It was really love at first sight,” Questlove said. “The second time he came on, we surpassed the first one. So by the third time, he was like ‘Let’s stop messing around and do something together.’” That "something" turned into Costello and The Roots recording about 20 songs together, 12 to 14 of which should make the final product.
The Roots are also working on their own new record, & Then You Shoot Your Cousin, which Questlove says the group is “in the genesis” of right now. That album is expected to see the light of day sometime in late 2013 or early 2014.
In very tangentially related news, Questlove has also been producing D’Angelo’s long-awaited Voodoo follow-up, which he says is “99-percent done” and should be released by RCA Records sometime this year.