DJ Times: So, as a drummer, someone who comes from a more traditional musical background, what was it about those DJs that you found impressive?
Questlove: I really didn’t get that curious about it because the music was always blaring. You could hear it from all corners of my house. I’d be on my porch and be immersed in it. Then, one day, my cousin and I were almost about to have a fistfight over “Rapture.” You know that part that goes “Flash is fast,” right? He starts cutting it up on my dad’s turntable and I’m like, “Yo! We’re going to get in trouble!”
DJ Times: Like, do you know how much those cartridges cost?
Questlove: Right! So, he was trying to explain to me, “Yo! That’s how the record goes and when it gets to this part, he brings the record backwards.” I didn’t believe him, but about two weeks later, I think Cosmic Kev was spinning on the block, playing “The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel.” That paralyzed the shit out of me. I couldn’t believe what I heard. That’s when I first ran across the street.
DJ Times: So what was it about that record that flipped your lid?
Producers:
Questlove’s
Faves for
DJing
- Dr. Dre. “For a club sound system, very effective. At first, I didn’t like The Chronic—too clean, like modern radio. But it’s almost unfair how clean and superior Dr. Dre’s mixes are. ‘Who Am I? (What’s My Name?)’ isn’t even my favorite Snoop song or Dre production, but that song will stand the test of time.”
- Quincy Jones. “Sounds cliché to say it, but it’s true. His productions, with Bruce Swedien’s engineering, are just very clean, very precise.”
- J. Dilla. “For personal reasons, it’s hard for me to play too much of him—his passing is still too raw. But I love the way his music charges me and, sonically, it’s still awesome.”
Questlove: Sonically, I just didn’t know you could do that. Instantly, it became an invitation to flirt with punishment. I mean, I had half those records [from Flash’s mix]. I had “Good Times.” I had “Another One Bites the Dust.” I had “Rapture.” I had “Monster Jam.” I had “Freedom” and “8th Wonder.” I had everything, but “Apache.”
DJ Times: Punishment?
