Soulquarians: the influence of Questlove

On August 3rd, 1995 everything changed for hip-hop outcasts – Andre and Big Boy aside – Black Thought and Amir Thompson aka Questlove. The Roots are a creative achievement.

Hip-hop music was initially produced by a duo, the “MC” and the “DJ,” and it was later developed by The Roots, who backed rapper Black Thought’s vocals with a live band. Questlove was the “DJ” and Black Thought was the “MC” at the beginning of the band, but after a live band was added, transforming the group into “The Roots,” Questlove took on the role of drummer. When they first came out, in 1995 with the release of their album “Do You Want More?!!!??!”, they were well received by critics but did not receive the same level of commercial acclaim as other hip-hop artists.

Jazzy, groove sounds like a Tribe were very different than anything made before and didn’t gain much commercial success until the Source Awards – the climax of one story and the beginning of another, among the height of the East and West Coast beef. What followed this event was a revolution of the redefined genre led by Questlove himself.

It was Diddy and his Bad Boys record crew representing the East and Snoop and Death Row representing the West. Tension had been rising for some time, nonetheless, they all decided to all come together at the height of the beef for the 1995 Source Awards. The night went how you might expect. The East and West spent the entire time mocking each other, and when Outkast won best new artist everyone booed.

“The South’s got something to say,” Andre had shouted back.

After Dr. Dre won Producer of the Year and everyone was again booed Snoop ranted, “The East Coast ain’t got no love for Dr. Dre and Snoop Dog.”

At that exact moment Questlove got up from his seat and fled the theater, concern for what might happen next. As he was on his way out the door someone passed a cassette tape into his hand: Brown Sugar.

Prior to this, The Roots didn’t weren’t part of the East or the West or the South, theyt were simply the Roots. They didn’t have any other acts that they were associated with. What Questlove began to realize at this point was that there were advantages to being associated with other groups.

When he was handed the D’angelo tape he didn’t think much of it. He even turned down a chance to record with him. However, after taking the time to sit down and listen to the tape he immediately knew there was something special there. Questlove explained in a 2020 interview how he had realized that D’angelo was singing over music that a Tribe called Quest could make. So D’angelo Tribe influence was a no-brainer to Questlove. He finally discovered another music act that he wanted to be a apart of. Knowing the power of the group Quest realized he needed to win over D’angelo.

In April of 1996, the Roots were playing a show at the House of Blues in Los Angeles. Questlove and D’Angelo had never met but Quest was now on a mission to win him over. He was an early fan of producer J Dilla especially for his unique time feel. The first time he heard a J Dilla beat he was floored. It was apparent that D’Angelo began to experiment with the looser sound that J Dilla perfected in songs like Bullshit by Pharcyde.

On that night in April, Questlove spots D’Angelo up on the balcony and decides to hint at him. Now before Questlove had briefly experimented with J Dilla style drumming but had never before played it with the Roots. However, this had been his chance and he had to take it. All of a sudden he started playing an obscure Prince beat also slipping into that loose almost drunken J Dilla style. History is made. This is the beginning of Questlove’s signature style of playing and the beginning of his musical relationship with D’Angelo.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Roots are falling apart. They’re trying desperately to keep it together while looking at Quest like he’s crazy. Little did they know Erykah Badu had been beside D’Angelo the entire time. Quest had then solidified a partner. D’Angelo had asked him to play on his next album and a few weeks later they would enter Electric Ladies Studio in New York for what would turn out to be their musical home for the next five to six years.

Electric Lady Studios was built by Jimi Hendrix and though he only got to spend ten weeks recording there before his death in 1970 it became a favorite for artists like Stevie Wonder and David Bowie. But not in 1996. It hadn’t been busy there for a while. Though that wasn’t a bad thing to D’Angelo who was hoping to channel some of the music from his favorite records. This meant that D’Angelo was playing the exact keyboard that Stevie Wonder played on Talking Book.

The two would spend hours together buying records and studying what made them so good, listening over and over again. Then they jam for hours, recreating the songs they had just been listening to. At night they’d watch Soul Train episodes or bootleg videos of Prince. The original plan had only been to record his next album Voodoo, however, Quest was also trying to simultaneously record the Roots’ next album Things Fall Apart. Greats like James Poyser and J Dilla were called in for their incredibly innovative production and musicality. But the four of them together were the start of what we would now call the Soulquarians.

The name came from their shared Zodiac sign, their love of soul music, and their love of strange chords, offbeat rhythms, and other underground musicalities. Many others joined and soon the silly group began a huge melting pot of musical experimentation. From this experience came Common’s “Like Water For Chocolate,” D’Angelo’s “Voodoo” and Erykah Badu’s “Mama’s Gun.”

In the past, the hip-hop genre was mostly associated with hotspots like California and New York, and the music scene was centered around the musicians that were headquartered there. That was altered by the Soulquarians, who created their own music scene by assembling a diverse group of musicians from around the nation. In their brief existence as a group, the Soulquarians produced several highly acclaimed works of art, with three of their albums ranked among Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums and the majority of their releases reaching the top of the charts. Their impact can be heard in everything from the way modern music collectives are created to how collaborative music might be.