Questlove has penned another tribute to Prince, this time a humorous Instagram post that lists 40 reasons why the legendary artist was a “hip-hop pioneer.” Inspired by the Prince-dedicated issue of The Source, the Roots drummer broke down what made Prince such an influential artist and cutting edge talent, from the fact that he “turned a long music video into a revolution” to his reputation as the “best drum machine programmer ever.”
As Questlove wrote, Prince “had beef w his peers who hated on him,” “invented the remix (not disco edits, but reimagining the album version),” “ghostwrote for everyone,” “used mad aliases,” “refused 2 b ordinary & eschewed the proper English language as a ways 2 communicate,” and “knew the B side wins again and again.”
The drummer also credited Prince with overcoming poverty and a troubled home as well as his “DIY creed.” “Parental Advisory was invented because of him,” Questlove wrote, adding that Prince, like his hip-hop counterparts, “made dis records,” “dropped music on the net in record time” and “could make an entire album in less than a week.”
Check out Questlove’s list here:
– Rolling Stone
