QUESTLOVE LISTS 40 REASONS WHY PRINCE WAS A HIP HOP PIONEER
Questlove has always been outspoken about the legacy of Prince and The Roots drummer went to Instagram to explain why the late, great Purple One was a hip hop pioneer. And you’ll be hard pressed to disagree with him.
- came from troubled home
- limited access to music forces him to create his own world of music
- Overcame Poverty
- creates fictional background tales to keep the press guessing
- lives by the DIY creed
- takes fashion taboos & makes them mainstream and acceptable
- cock blocks & steals yo lady on the low (ask Rick)
- puts his crew on—get them deals & makes them stars
- pretty much wrote the book on gettin some better than any of his contemporaries
- had beef w his peers who hated on him
- invented the remix (not disco edits, but reimagining the album version)
- played mystery card—let us think what we wanted—gave the press middle finger
- ghostwrote for everyone
- used mad aliases
- refused 2 b ordinary & eschewed the proper English language as a ways 2 communicate
- knew the B side wins again and again
- used the exotic honey to his advantage
- used his music to give his views on the po po, politicians, gun control, war, god, squares & “the man”
- turned a long music video into a revolution
- best drum machine programmer ever
- used synthesizers as a way of life
- could make an entire album in less than a week
- balled so hard in Paris & other parts of France—so he made a film about it.
- cut his crew off and got a new crew.
- went all hippie like it was nothing.
- made dis records
- never wifed em, mostly replaced em
- started his own label
- Parental Advisory was invented because of him
- made a Black Album w a chip on shoulder to prove to black people he was still bad.
- plays sports better than u
- had mad songs in the stash
- had an MTV mansion/compound long before anyone did
- changed looks constantly
- dropped music on the net in record time
- looked out for his peeps on the low doing benefits and raising money like a modern day Robin Hood
- tries taking on the man for his complete freedom
- couldn’t tell him NOTHING
- always escaped into thin air
- left us way too early
I agree with the list but Hip-Hop Pioneer?