?UESTLOVE: 'They've taken away the most important element of hip-hop... the actual music'

?uestlove, co-founder of Grammy Award winning band The Roots, DJ, music journalist and producer, asks us if we have a double standard - is hip-hop's musicianship being lost? He says "They've taken away the most important element of hip-hop - the actual music."

[Sidenotez]

The difference is the color of people taking from other people. Elvis, Rolling Stones, and The Beatles - took from black people and that is not considered theft because they took from people nobody cared about. 

[AbbottSupreme]

I've got an incredible amount of respect for the bro ?uestlove! Bless!

[CaseyJust]

There is a huge difference between something being "derivative" and using the actual recordings from other artists songs as samples to "create" something. It's a strange thing to hear from ?uestlove since he plays an actual instrument.

[dablakryu]

That's the realest shit i've heard in sometime.Questlove hit the nail on it's head!

[bzykolo]

This MAN is right greetings from Poland

[YourCompanyNameCouldBeHere]

I agree with Questlove. I would never looked into old records and hunt down Jazz and Soul gems on fleamarkets and recordfairs if it wasn't for HipHop opening my eyes on all these genres.
Hip Hop is so much more than the old debate on it's language ( Bitch, Hoe, N-word etc..) . It showed me how to express myself, how to DJ, how to rap, how to make a beat, how to record vocals. I even got into the whole visual side of HipHop cos I always loved drawing. To ignore all that would be bullshit.

[metheores]

The roots of hip hop are based on the timeless classics and the obscure joints. That's the foundation of the culture.

[charlesperkinsjr]

In the end the music industry is about selling records. Period. I don't believe companies don't promote positive artists because of some conspiracy to keep hip hop down, its because no one buys it. People do not now, nor have they ever wanted messages of peace and love. As much as we would like to deny it people are brutal and hedonistic, we want sex and violence and that's what mainstream hi[ hop music has come to cater to. It's merely a product of the society.

[NoofGoof]

Hip Hop celebrates Music. What a lovely idea. Yay Quest

[dubstadance]

hip hop is more than just a music..its a whole culture and a way of life...the four elements bboying graffiti mc'ing and dj'ing are very much alive just not to the public eye...

[TheePhantom]

Actually it was quite instrumental *pun intended* with curbing some of the gang violence and self-hate in the early 70's and throughout the 80's. He's saying that due to the greed, it's somehow lost it's way.

[FireEldAzari]

Let people like ?uestlove, KRS-One, Rakim and more discuss Hip-Hop with the people who are looking at this genre in a negative way. These guys weigh just as heavy as Bob Dylan within Rock, start recognizing the knowledge within Hip-Hop.

[stephaniemauro]

I agree, hip hop has gotten the shaft. The Roots and Mr. Lif are my favorites. Peace bro. : )

[Beyonder]

Hold up?
Questlove mentioned one of my heros...Frank Zappa! Oh snap!

[Protagonist]

He was gonna make a point, but he got high, He was gonna stand up and change my mind, but he got high. Now his point is lost and I know why, (why man?!), because he got high, because he got high, because he got hi-igh. do-be-do-do-do-do.

[Mokkari]

They're my favorite rock band but Led Zeppelin gets accused of theft ALL THE TIME. Ever since they released their first record!