by galen

So, as I’m leaving the club, I’m hearing the vibration of the kick drum, and it was the most life-changing moment I ever had. Like, I had to get out of the car and run back in the club to make sure, like, “Did I hear that?” Whereas the backbeat is normal, it sounded like the kick drum was played by like a drunk three- year-old. And I was like, “Are you allowed to do that?”

And they let me hear the beat tape, and I just never heard someone not give a fuck, and that, to me, was the most liberating moment. Like, “Oh, so, all this pleasing my father, being perfect... I can now...” Now I got to undo all the education and all the hours of preparation that I did. I got to undo that.

Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, 2013

Further reading:

https://tinysubversions.com/essays/dontcry/

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jan/27/j-dilla-suite-ma-dukes

http://www.j-dilla.com/biography/