Questlove Says He Quit Making Music After J Dilla Died

You'd be hard-pressed to find a producer more loved by his contemporaries than the late Detroit beat legend J Dilla who passed away back in 2006 from lupus. The Roots drummer Questlove recently revealed that Dilla's death impacted him so much he stopped making music for a time period afterward.

Quest spoke at A.S.C.A.P.'s I Create Music Expo in Hollywood, Calif. on Friday (May 3), where he touched on his relationship with the Donuts producer and how it took him five years to get over the loss. “When he passed away that really hit me super hard,” Questlove revealed. “I stopped making music. Unless it was a Roots album, I pretty much had stopped working and collaborating with other people.”

Questlove went on to praise Dilla as, “the music god that music gods and music experts and music lovers worship,” and commended his second-to-none work ethic.

Dilla, one-third of the act Slum Village, is seen as one of the most influential beat makers of his time. He produced memorable sample-laden soundscapes for the likes of Common, Ghostface Killah, Q-Tip, Erykah Badu, Janet Jackson, The Pharcyde and more.

Kanye West spoke on Dilla's unique set of skills in 2013 remarking, "He had the organic feel, but still the sonics would break through, and he could give you a warm sound that still cut through speakers. It's like he was making Quincy Jones production sessions just inside of his MPC."

Dilla's most recent posthumous project, Motor City, came out in 2017.

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