Questlove has been one of the most outspoken voices honoring Prince and the late pop superstar’s importance to Hip Hop, penning a full article about the topic for Rolling Stone magazine and introducing Madonna’s (poorly received) musical tribute at the 2016 Billboard Awards on May 22.
The Roots drummer recently listed dozens of ways the “Purple Rain” singer fit into the rap landscape in a lengthy caption of a photo of The Source’s Prince-inspired cover.
Check out Questlove’s list below.
1. Came from troubled home.
2. Limited access to music forces him to create his own world of music.
3. Overcame poverty.
4. Creates fictional background tales to keep the press guessing.
5. Lives by the DIY creed.
6. Takes fashion taboos and makes them mainstream and acceptable.
7. Cock blocks and steals your lady on the low (ask Rick).
8. Puts his crew on—get them deals and makes them stars.
9. Pretty much wrote the book on gettin some better than any of his contemporaries.
10. Had beef with his peers who hated on him.
11. Invented the remix (not disco edits, but reimagining the album version).
12. Played mystery card—let us think what we wanted—gave the press middle finger.
13. Ghostwrote for everyone.
14. Used mad aliases.
15. Refused to be ordinary and eschewed the proper English language as a ways two communicate.
16. Knew the B side wins again and again.
17. Used the exotic honey to his advantage.
18. Used his music to give his views on the po po, politicians, gun control, war, God, squares and “the man.”
19. Turned a long music video into a revolution.
20. Best drum machine programmer ever.
21. Used synthesizers as a way of life.
22. Could make an entire album in less than a week.
23. Balled so hard in Paris and other parts of France—so he made a film about it.
24. Cut his crew off and got a new crew.
25. Went all hippie like it was nothing.
26. Made dis records.
27. Never wifed em, mostly replaced em.
28. Started his own label.
29. Parental Advisory was invented because of him.
30. Made a black album with a chip on [his] shoulder to prove he was still bad.
31. Plays sports better than you.
32. Had mad songs in the stash.
33. Had an MTV mansion/compound long before anyone did.
34. Changed looks constantly.
35. Droped music on the net in record time.
36. Looked out for his peeps on the low doing benefits and raising like a modern day Robin Hood.
37. Tries taking on the man for his complete freedom.
38. Couldn’t tell him NOTHING.
39. Always escaped into thin air.
40. Left us too early.
Prince was great, but he wasn’t hip hop. Did he incorporate hip hop into his music, yes. Past that he wasn’t hip hop. Next Questlove will be saying how much hip hop David Bowie. Questlove is just an upper middle class raised jazz drummer residing in hip hop. So really Questlove knows more about other styles of music than hip hop. In fact he is pretty ignorant of hip hop culture, and he has always mocked hip hop. Just another culture vulture whose opinion is irrelevant.
this guy is stupid. Non of this is a good enough reason to say he is hip hop. This is so vague it could be applied to pop music.
Yeah this is probably the worst ish questlove has ever written.
I have to say… I didn’t realize this guys was so damned ignorant. “Never wifed them…just replaced them”
…yeah that’s the type of leaders we need in hip hop (sarcasm). It’s not like our black community doesn’t need real leaders that know what being a role model means.
Now I have to say it: questo, your kind of a sell out. Not sell out for doing late night but for sidestepping the very movement your supposed to be helping lead.
The community needs and I for one prefer you take time to articulate your points.
Instead of publish some bs that you published in between the time you waste on candy crush.
You wrote a moving post when MJ passed…this is what Prince deserved?
Sir you have a chance to move the world this is what we get??
Black lives…..need better leaders!
The thing is some of the list was ignorant but so is a lot of hip hop. Too many hip hop artists are just plain ignorant. So I get what he is trying to say with it. Prince was a great artist who did his thing. A lot of rappers don’t because they follow what’s out there already. Too scared to try and be themselves. Every other rapper now seems to be a gangster when it ain’t really true. Just pretend artists.
27 ain’t right
Folks, Hip Hip is a culture and mind state-so yeah, he was Hip Hop
Same people denying that say that a T-Shirt can be gay while it ain’t got a dick…
“Get it? Got it? Good!”
Exactly. How would Erykah, MC Light and many other women in hop hop feel about that.
Or how about the little girls feeling when reading that. I figured there was a movement against this BS and questlove was apart of it, I mean helping lead it.
I love how all these NON EXPERTS have a negative opinion on who is not a HIPHOP, but a MUSICAL GENIUS. PLEASE, check his resume! Stop it! Its his opinion, and there is HUMOR thrown in there, people simply cant handle humor hunh? Stop it!