No matter how many Roots albums you've bought, concerts you've attended, or Okayplayer.com message boards you've posted on, you don't really know Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson. Take the swollen middle finger on his right hand. You might think it's from drumming, but it's actually an injury from his bowling habit. And who knew the 35-year-old musician often performs in bunny slippers, or that he once chatted online with a person he thought was Lauryn Hill for three weeks, only to find out it was an imposter? We learned all this and more as we kicked it with ?uest before the Roots performed songs from their Def Jam debut, Game Theory, in Atlanta.

1:50 p.m.
?uestlove polishes off a juicy Georgia peach as he follows his personal trainer (a.k.a. "the calorie Nazi") into the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead gym. After popping a few GNC Mega Men vitamins, he boards the Cybex Olympic machine and pumps his arms and legs. "This shit is easy!" says ?uest, who's much slimmer than when the Roots broke through in 1995. "I ain't trying to be Nicole Richie," he says after the vigorous workout. "The hard thing is staying away from Waffle House. I'm addicted to that place."

3:03 p.m.
Killing time before sound check, ?uestlove is on his Mac laptop-replying to messages and confirming his comp list on MySpace. "I run the world on MySpace," he says. "It's like New Orleans. If I don't check my account every six hours, the levees will break."

3:18 p.m.
?uestlove's oversized suitcase is stuffed with shoes and more shoes, in the form of crispy clean, limited-edition adidas, Nikes, Bapes, and Reebok Pumps. "These look weird," he says, holding up a pair of pink and green Ice Creams. "But they're arguably the most comfortable shoes I've ever drummed in."

4:14 p.m.
Standing in front of the mirror, ?uestlove holds two of his most important instruments-a pick and a blow-dryer. In ritualistic fashion, he alternates the two like a jab and hook, carefully grooming his 'fro. "I've gotta do this to get the dandruff out," he says. "I don't usually let anybody in on my secrets."

5:18 p.m.
The sound and lighting crews fiddle about Atlanta's cavernous Tabernacle as ?uestlove chats onstage with Talib Kweli. He then plops down at his drum set, and adds some ATL flavor to sound check, joining the band for impromptu versions of Young Jeezy's "Go Crazy" and Yung Joc's "It's Goin' Down." "Those are the Atlanta anthems, right?" he asks tourmate Skillz, who's spitting along. After a few takes, ?uestlove adds them to the show.

6:56 p.m.
?uestlove is in heaven. Well, actually he's in ATL's Sole Munki, a sneaker collector's paradise. Eyeing a trio of Nikes, including the Paul Rodriguez Cinco de Mayo and the SB Golf, he says, "If you have those in a size 13, I'll take all three of them." Eight pairs later,
he admits: "This sneaker thing is becoming a bit of a fetish for me."

7:46 p.m.
?uestlove sneaks through a parking lot en route to the Tabernacle's private entrance. A bashful girl, who claims to be his "Number one fan" scurries over for a picture. When the camera phone fails, he warns, "When opportunity arises, you've got to be ready." But he patiently poses anyway. "I didn't think he would do it," says the teenager, smiling later. And she thought she knew ?uestlove. . Home » CELEBRITIES » Cruisin' with... » Cruisin' with... ?uestlove