Elvis Costello & The Roots perform “Wise Up Ghost” live at Brooklyn Bowl September 16, 2013.

A simple lyric visual from the Elvis Costello & The Roots collaboration “Wise Up Ghost”. Directed by Mariana Blanco.

Questlove writes, “Guess What Just Got Mastered Kids? The New #WiseUpGhost by Elvis Costello & The Roots. Gotta say this sounds incredible!”, and posts the accompanying image, outlining the album’s tracklist. Look for the release September 17th on Blue Note Records.

?uestlove sat down with NYU Local to discuss his new course with Clive Davis, Classic Albums. The in-depth conversation also finds him speaking on upcoming Roots collaborative projects with Elvis Costello, Al Green, and the long-awaited D’Angelo LP. Read on, party people:

Questlove: You know one of our big experiments on the Fallon show – our room is a studio. So, after Elvis Costello’s third appearance, we liked him so much we were like hey why don’t we make a record? Well what went from being one song to be released on Record Store Day became – why don’t we try four songs? Now we have a brilliant album. And, in the whole history of The Roots, I have never bragged on an album first, but I actually love this record.

NYU Local: Does it have a title?

Questlove: Yes, but he doesn’t want me to release it yet. More likely, it’s going to go to some subsidiary of Universal, like Def Jam or Blue Note.

NYU Local: It would be so cool if it’s on Blue Note.

Questlove: Yeah, I want it to go on Blue Note. Speak of which, we’re going to start the next Al Green record, um what else, I’m going to go back to my comedy roots and start working on Amy Schumer’s comedy special.

NYU Local: Really?

Questlove: Yeah I haven’t had a feeling in my stomach since I first saw the early Chappelle’s Show sketches and scripts.

NYU Local: I remember you being on it.

Questlove: That’s how I got Fallon – I worked all of season two and season three on the music.

NYU Local: It was awesome.

Questlove: Thanks. Schumer has the same team – Neal Brennan. It’s just as edgy. Again, I don’t want to put her in such a position because it’d just become a soundbite – ‘Questlove said Schumer’s going to match Chappelle’ – but for real, the last time I felt like ,“Oh shit are you allowed to do that?”, was back when they showed me the Chappelle dailies. She’s breaking every rule and hopefully people will be open to it. Also! My restaurant’s opening at Chelsea Markets. People have been wondering what’s happening with my food truck and I got rid of the truck and Chelsea Market offered me a position there so in March – it’s called Hi-Bird.

[Snip]

NYU Local: Any word on the D’Angelo album? I heard he may appear at a Brooklyn Bowl show.

Questlove: They announced that already?

NYU Local: It’s a rumor going around.

Questlove: Nice rumor! [Laughs] On that note, I have to go to class.

NYU Local: Any legitimacy to it?

Questlove: I don’t know…. It’s definitely not in February, but at Brooklyn Bowl on Thursday nights I can do whatever I want. I’ve asked a lot of luminaries. I have someone – not D’Angelo – that I’m trying to pull a coup on to perform there. They’re of god status and they’re considering it.

NYU Local: Professor King just gave me a copy of the D’Angelo reissues and I’ve been playing it nonstop.

Questlove: Wait until you hear the new album.

No stranger to collaborating with artists outside of their field, like John Legend and Betty Wright, for their next trick, The Roots will release an LP with Elvis Costello.

“It was really love at first sight,” ?uestlove told Billboard, in regards to their collaborations with Costello on Late Night. “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.’”

“We had 13 or 14 songs, but then we said, ‘Ooh! Wait a minute! Let’s replace four of these songs with four better songs! And now we have the tightest 12-14 song collection out of about 20 songs that we made,” he revealed.

There is no current title or release date set, as the project will still need to be mixed and mastered, which will be handled by Roots engineer Steven Mandel, who will also co-produce. “We kind of have the freedom to take it around, whether it’s to Elvis’ people or Def Jam’s people…. I can just say that it is brilliant.”

Also on deck is the next Roots LP, & Then You Shot Your Cousin, either at the close of 2013, or early 2014. Also be on the look out for D’Angelo’s long-overdue follow-up to Voodoo, which ?uest has a heavy hand in, and says is “99% done”.