Questlove: I think good DJs respect what I do. I mean, I was a hard sell. A lot of DJs have those rites of passage. You gotta carry crates for Funkmaster Flex or Jazzy Jeff—that’s how Vikter Duplaix got his start, carrying records. Or you gotta open for this DJ. You gotta pay your dues.
DJ Times: So you had to pay your dues differently…
Questlove: I paid dues, but there’s a whole other room that nobody went into [laughs]. In the beginning, people had one eyebrow raised skeptical, like, “Oh, you’re The Roots’ drummer—you’re not a real DJ.” So I figured maybe the best way to display what I have is through my [knowledge]. There’s no way I’m ever going to cut “Rock the Bells” or “Peter Piper” like Jazzy Jeff does, or like Cash Money. However, I use my knowledge of music…
DJ Times: That’s your angle.
Questlove: Yeah, my angle is that I’m going to teach you music lessons without you knowing. The thing is, I’m not dumbing it down, but I’m not letting you know that I’m so earnest. A lot of people get criticized for being too earnest, like, “Oh, I wanna teach the world music.” Nobody wants to hear that. It’s like, “Play the song I want to hear.”
DJ Times: Just rock the crowd…
Questlove: And that’s the challenge. My challenge is never… what’s right record to play? My challenge is: What’s the wrong record to play? I’ll focus on one person and just read their body language. I’ll know when I play a good record and they’ll be into it. Then I’ll say, “OK, let me play a down record,” and they’ll still move to it. Then I’ll say, “OK, let me play a riskier down record next.” And I’ll let ’em down so much, but then I’ll play that record they like and… pow!
DJ Times: They can’t leave.
Questlove: They play the “1 o’clock game,” which is, “OK, I’m going to leave on the next song,” but then they like this song, then that song, and so on. The whole thing is that you’re going to miss something. But I even go a step further. I have to predict the night before I get to the place—I don’t even real-time DJ anymore. I have an initial plan of how I’d like the night to go—I have 200 songs—and then, for some gigs, I have to figure out what I call “potholes.”
DJ Times: What’s that?
Questlove: So, like, whenever ESPN calls [for me to play their party], it’s risky. I know where I want to take them, but then, I’m like, “Alright, what if one of the Knicks wives insists that I play something?” I have to adjust to a B plan…
DJ Times: They’re forcing you to turn a corner you don’t want to take?
Questlove: Nobody ever forces me, but also “50 million Elvis fans can’t be wrong,” you know? It’s my integrity vs. their insistence. I still believe the customer’s always right, but I have to figure out how to give us both what we want.
DJ Times: What’s the balance between spinning a regular residency like Brooklyn Bowl, where it’s a more artistic endeavor perhaps, and playing corporate events? It’s a nice check, but you know what they’re looking for, musically.
Questlove: I hate to say this, but the corporate gigs are so much fun now! The corporates—and I mean things like the Viacom office party or the Def Jam Christmas party—have a lot of people who believe in me and what I do. I got a lotta these people in college. I mean, The Roots survived on money from college gigs from about 1994 to about 2004 or 2006—that was our meat-and-potatoes. So if all our audience came from colleges, they all became professionals. A lot of times, these corporate gigs are when they get the babysitter and, you know…
DJ Times: Right, they’re not clubbing anymore, but it’s the big night out for them.
Questlove: Yeah, I got them. When were they in college? Like ’94 to ’98? Play this exact stuff and it works like gangbusters. It just comes off as really fun. But I use Brooklyn Bowl just as a testing ground. All my life, I’ve always had that one spot where I can just experiment. People expect a life-changing set every time, and I hate to disappoint them, but I’m there to experiment, really.
DJ Times: I’ve been going to the Brooklyn Bowl gigs a lot this year and I’ve really enjoyed the different kinds of approaches I’ve seen. One night, Das-EFX played before you, then you spun a set of that old-school thing. Another night, it was more regulation funky. Then, right after Valentine’s Day, it was all slow jams—Atlantic Starr, Norman Connors, Prince…
Questlove: That’s my favorite party of all time, the slow jams! I wish I could find a way to do that, maybe, monthly. It’s such a winner. The only downside is that I can’t slow dance with anyone. Every ex comes that night, so I like the setup of being in the fishbowl [laughs].
DJ Times: Tell me about “Remixing the Clips” on the Late Night show. That was with a Pioneer DVJ-1000, right?
Questlove: Yeah, oh man… When we first came aboard, there was skepticism [among the network]. I mean, they knew that we [The Roots] were good for what we do, but they didn’t know if we had the range and the knowledge. Can they play with Bruce Springsteen? Do they know jazz and ragtime? Now they’re used to it. It’s like, The Roots can do anything, but back then… no. So after we had knocked it out of the park, one of the writers asked me, “Hey Ahmir, can you drum and DJ at the same time?” I thought, “Well, in theory, yeah—I once drummed and ate cereal at the same time…”
DJ Times: And…
Questlove: He said, “Great! So we have this new sketch called ‘Remixing the Clips’ and blah-blah-blah…” [laughs] I’m so happy that bit is over! It was like tightrope walking above earth—you better not mess up. All I wanted to do was get past that 30-second bit and get on with my week. [laughs]
DJ Times: So what is a DJ’s job?
Questlove: I always thought it was our job to make people forget, just for a little while. To channel into someone’s inhibitions and to let them get loose… I think people just want to forget what life is handing them at that moment and just escape.
DJ Times: And what’s in it for you?
Questlove: People all the time ask, “You have one job too many—so how the hell can you do a [TV] show for three hours, then DJ for five hours?” I joke about it, but really, DJing is my recreational drug. That’s my cocaine. That’s why people develop problems, especially on the road; it’s all the downtime. But I learned from [The Beastie Boys’] Mike D on the Check Your Head tour—The Roots were opening for them. And Mike would wear these silly disguises and go out and DJ. Word got out that it was him and eventually he let me DJ. I just thought it was cool that, “Oh, you set the mood. You’re actually in control. You affect people’s mindstate for a two-hour period.”
DJ Times: How much music do you have?
Questlove: About 90,000 records. Digitally, I’m not quite terabyte-status yet, but I have about 982 GB of scrutinized, well-thought-over music. People say it’s the danger of so much access that anyone can come onboard, but I feel like I’m the good part of that. Back in the day, I’d have to bring my 150, 200 good records…
DJ Times: Less isn’t more, then?
Questlove: Tell you a story: One of the most amazing things that I learned at the Playlist Retreat [this past summer] with Jazzy Jeff was that I was in the room with some of my favorite current beat makers—JoRun Bombay, Stro Elliott, Tall Black Guy, Z-Trip—and I’m wondering, “What studio are you using? Are you using Reason? Logic? Ableton?” Naw, dog, they are using, like, ACID by Sony…
DJ Times: Software that’s more than 15 years old…
Questlove: Yes! These guys are changing my life with creativity, but the lesson is that less is more. So yeah, when you’re given too many options…
DJ Times: Some DJs have told me that they like the challenge of bringing limited music to a gig and making a two- or three-hour set with it.
Questlove: Where I go with that—and I don’t know if this is selfish or not—but I am going to force my will on you. I know my celebrity affords me a pass or two to make me a mistake or two. Sometimes I’ll use that to my advantage, like I just came across an awesome collection of 8-bit stuff. Yeah, I’ll play this 8-bit version of “Rock With You” or “Give It Away” that I almost like more than the original. And I know that if I weren’t me, I wouldn’t get away with that. I mean, there was a time when I was playing all Muppets songs. [laughs]
DJ Times: Get out…
Questlove: “Moving Right Along” from The Muppet Movie was in my set. It that really worked in the ’90s, but now, Kermit is more of a meme drinking tea than he is an iconic figure [laughs]. But the Nintendo 8-bit shit works like gangbusters. I never heard anyone front on the “Golden Girls” theme—everyone just knows it. But does it have to come right after Easy E? [laughs]
DJ Times: You’re a Serato guy. What would you like to see in future versions?
