WEBVTT - Questlove Remembers The Great Bob Power

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<v Speaker 1>Quest Loft Show is a production of iHeart Radio. They

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<v Speaker 1>are What's Up so check it. We are still dealing

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<v Speaker 1>with the passing of really of hip hop's greatest advocate,

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<v Speaker 1>Bob Power, master engineer, producer, musician. I would like to

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<v Speaker 1>say that Bob really really enhanced what we know as

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<v Speaker 1>boom bap hip hop. I felt it was rather apropos

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<v Speaker 1>for us to pay tribute to him by replaying his episode.

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<v Speaker 1>And what's notable about this episode is that it's the

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<v Speaker 1>second episode of Questloft Supreme.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, right now, Jake, we are where.

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<v Speaker 1>At least three hundred plus Yeah, so we're three hundred

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<v Speaker 1>plus strong. So for you to agree to be our

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<v Speaker 1>second guest, I mean, that's just that really speaks of

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<v Speaker 1>Bob's character of really being there for you. Like I

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<v Speaker 1>would have to say this, probably I've gotten narry a

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<v Speaker 1>no from Bob for any thing that I've requested to

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<v Speaker 1>mix the song or recall this mix or any of

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<v Speaker 1>those things. And the thing that I want people to

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<v Speaker 1>really know about Bob, besides all of his achievements, is

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<v Speaker 1>just what a really and I know, like words like

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<v Speaker 1>a sweet guy, a lovely guy, all heart and all

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<v Speaker 1>those things. But I mean, Bob was like even based

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<v Speaker 1>on how hip hop heads meant by if you are

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<v Speaker 1>a Daylight fan, you can hear the various times on

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<v Speaker 1>Tribe Records or Daylau Records, and you know, kind of

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<v Speaker 1>in their humorous stratosphere, in the galaxy of humor, that

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<v Speaker 1>is the native tongues.

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<v Speaker 2>Bob plays a big part of that world. And also

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<v Speaker 2>I will say that.

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<v Speaker 1>Bob kind of entered my life in a transitional period.

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<v Speaker 1>We started recording what you guys know as do You

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<v Speaker 1>Want More in the third week of December of nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>ninety three.

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<v Speaker 2>The music world normally shuts down for.

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<v Speaker 1>The second half of December, you know, for the holidays,

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<v Speaker 1>and usually gets back into business maybe the second week

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<v Speaker 1>of January. So this quite unspoken month that's taken off

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<v Speaker 1>for the industry people. But Bob was so much in

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<v Speaker 1>demand because of the albums that he's done, De La

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<v Speaker 1>Soul's Dead Blue Mind State, all the Tribe called Quest Records,

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of remixes, any remixes that Q Tip or

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<v Speaker 1>Ali Shahid or the Daylight guys have done, be a

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<v Speaker 1>bush Baby's, the Foosh Nickings, any of those, Like Bob

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<v Speaker 1>was pretty much the unspoken. I mean he was George

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<v Speaker 1>Martin of a tribe called Quest Beatles or Dela Soul's Beatles,

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<v Speaker 1>and so he I think, newly married, had two weeks

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<v Speaker 1>off before he had to start work again, and immediately

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<v Speaker 1>it was like an instant Yes, I'll do this, because

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<v Speaker 1>that's how enthusiastic he was about the idea of the Roots.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, Richard played them some rough stuff, and you know,

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<v Speaker 1>Bob just loved the idea of a live band doing stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>He had just did Blue Mind State, which really I

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<v Speaker 1>mean quite as it's kept as influential was day La

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<v Speaker 1>Soul is on the Roots. I think I rarely put

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<v Speaker 1>two and two together, how like the Roots are probably

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<v Speaker 1>the manifested result of the seeds laid by day La

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<v Speaker 1>Soul for Balloon Mind State, Dayla Soul, like three Ft

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<v Speaker 1>and Hine and Rising that allowed Trek and I to

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<v Speaker 1>discover who our true selves were, which were we were nerds.

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<v Speaker 1>We weren't thugged out, we were like nerds, and that

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<v Speaker 1>album allowed us to be that. Day Last Soul Is

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<v Speaker 1>Dead was the album that I credit that made me

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<v Speaker 1>Tuik want to start a group because every song was

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<v Speaker 1>just blowing our minds and it was like, well, we

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<v Speaker 1>want to do that too.

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<v Speaker 2>We want to make music that blows people's minds.

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<v Speaker 1>And then you know, come the very dark Balloon Mind

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<v Speaker 1>State record, which has a lot of jazz overtones and

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<v Speaker 1>live musicianship. It probably birthed organics without me knowing it,

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<v Speaker 1>but Bob is really responsible for those sounds, and probably

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<v Speaker 1>what is notable, I realized that Bob is quietly also

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<v Speaker 1>responsible for my writing career, and that's only because Bob

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<v Speaker 1>just had one request. He's like, I want to make

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<v Speaker 1>the best record for you that I can. I need

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<v Speaker 1>complete and absolute silence if you're in the studio now,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, I've been to some sessions at D and

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<v Speaker 1>D during the hip hop renaissance doing the height of

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<v Speaker 1>that era, and usually, like if there's a session, there's

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of weed, a lot of your boys coming

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<v Speaker 1>over the producer asking you to, like, yo, turn that

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<v Speaker 1>shit up, man, and you know they'll put it on

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<v Speaker 1>the big speakers. And none of those songs that we

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<v Speaker 1>did on Do You Want More until the final mix

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<v Speaker 1>was done, we never played on like the giant large.

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<v Speaker 2>Speakers to blast it.

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<v Speaker 1>Bob always insisted that you know, well, they're called Genolik

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<v Speaker 1>speakers or sometimes Yamaha NS tens or even like those

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<v Speaker 1>clock radio. Yes, if you're of age and you know

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<v Speaker 1>what a clock radio is, basically the cheapest speaker that

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<v Speaker 1>you listen to music on. Bob mixed our entire discography

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<v Speaker 1>almost at a whisper, like at a low volume, because

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<v Speaker 1>his theory was if this sounds beautiful on shitty speakers

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<v Speaker 1>and as low volume as possible, then when you really

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<v Speaker 1>back blasted, it'll be amazing. And so Bob was just

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<v Speaker 1>always famous for it and really didn't hesitate to say, guys,

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<v Speaker 1>I need to concentrate.

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<v Speaker 2>And we would go in the break room and whatever

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<v Speaker 2>and eat. And so.

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<v Speaker 1>I guess when I started doing the liner notes for

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<v Speaker 1>Do You Want More? I decided to give Bob a

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<v Speaker 1>new quote for each of the songs listed, like if

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<v Speaker 1>you look on the first song, it's like engineered by Bob, guys,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm trying to concentrate power, and the next all be

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<v Speaker 1>engineered by Bob.

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<v Speaker 2>Hey, guys, really like can you keep it down? Power?

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<v Speaker 1>And that's been the running joke so at the age

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<v Speaker 1>of the Internet, especially with social media, the music version

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<v Speaker 1>of IMDb, which like what are those websites like discogs

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<v Speaker 1>or whatever, when they give like complete liner notes of

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<v Speaker 1>who worked on it.

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<v Speaker 2>Bob called me laughing one day.

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<v Speaker 1>It's like, I got you to blame for this, and

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<v Speaker 1>I'm like, what do you He's like, have you looked

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<v Speaker 1>me up on discogs?

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<v Speaker 2>And I looked up.

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<v Speaker 1>And because of the technicality factor, Bob has like at

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<v Speaker 1>least over thirty different you know, Like for me, I

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<v Speaker 1>am I'm under brother question and then I was Questlove

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<v Speaker 1>and that was quest Love with a question mark, question

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<v Speaker 1>mark with a Q like various names, or a mere

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<v Speaker 1>Colleias Thompson, a mere quest Love Thompson. Like I have

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<v Speaker 1>five credits, Bob had over like thirty five of them,

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<v Speaker 1>and with a straight face, they typed out all of

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<v Speaker 1>his tech.

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<v Speaker 2>Nicole I was like, ah, guys.

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<v Speaker 1>But that's who Bob was. And I didn't expect this news.

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<v Speaker 1>I know, I know that I try to not normalize

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<v Speaker 1>pain and death, but sadly, you know, we're at a

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<v Speaker 1>place now, in this time period where it's like yo,

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<v Speaker 1>da da Da died and you're like, yeah, that checks

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<v Speaker 1>that checks out. But when Michelle and Diocello texted me

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<v Speaker 1>while I was on stage at the tonight show. That

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<v Speaker 1>was a gut punch I was not ready for. But

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, besides just really being an ass kicking engineer,

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<v Speaker 1>which I'm sure I say this on the podcast, but

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<v Speaker 1>just to let you guys know, like if you see

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<v Speaker 1>all this outpouring of love of Bob Power, you know

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<v Speaker 1>what makes him unique is just from a technical standpoint.

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<v Speaker 1>As much as we like to turn up the music

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<v Speaker 1>and make it louder and all those things, if you

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<v Speaker 1>engineer too then and too loud, if you play it

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<v Speaker 1>on record, your record will skip. We once had issues

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<v Speaker 1>with Melo my man on do You Want More? The

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<v Speaker 1>mix was coming in too hot, and you know, we

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<v Speaker 1>would back in the day, we would complete a mix

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<v Speaker 1>and then you would send that complete mix to get

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<v Speaker 1>it pressed up on like what they call lacquer or

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<v Speaker 1>test press, yeah, acetate, to test it to see how

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<v Speaker 1>it sounds on your stereo. And then you come back

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<v Speaker 1>with notes and say, well, you know, the snare drums

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<v Speaker 1>a little too low. You bring it up and then

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<v Speaker 1>you adjust it and the record kept skipping, and Bob realized,

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<v Speaker 1>like too much bass, like you know, bass and drums

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<v Speaker 1>will make a record skip on wax. Of course, now

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<v Speaker 1>we live in the age where everything is streams, so

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<v Speaker 1>you know, you get muddy mixes. But for the most part,

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<v Speaker 1>if you study boombat hip hop, a lot of the

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<v Speaker 1>beauty of it. If you listen to the Wu Tang record,

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<v Speaker 1>if you listen to the Jungle Brothers, there's like a really.

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<v Speaker 2>Dirty, do it yourself aesthetic.

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<v Speaker 1>And Bob was really the one that said, guys like,

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<v Speaker 1>if I clean this up, you're still gonna have the

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<v Speaker 1>grit if you let me clean it up. So oftentimes,

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<v Speaker 1>especially with the Tribe guys, he would ask them, hey,

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<v Speaker 1>that loop you sample is that available on CD?

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<v Speaker 2>Is there a digital version of it? Can we do

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<v Speaker 2>it cleaner?

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<v Speaker 1>And of course you're like a man, but you know

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<v Speaker 1>you need all the static and the dirt and the

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<v Speaker 1>grime of this old record that's like forty years old.

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<v Speaker 1>And somehow, you know, as a result, the reason why

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<v Speaker 1>the low End Theory and Midnight Marada sounds so big,

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<v Speaker 1>big drums big. You know, it's just that Bob had

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<v Speaker 1>just a bigger vision for voices and music to be

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<v Speaker 1>like loud enough but not loud enough to destroy your

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<v Speaker 1>wax of your DJ. But I mean, I can go

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<v Speaker 1>on and forever about Bob, But I thought I'd put

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<v Speaker 1>this little intro on top, just to really explain to

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<v Speaker 1>you the.

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<v Speaker 2>Loss that we experienced.

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<v Speaker 1>I really was looking forward to working with him on

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<v Speaker 1>this new roots album. I'm glad I got him to

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<v Speaker 1>complete the mixes of the like seven or eight songs

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<v Speaker 1>from d onet More that didn't make the original round.

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<v Speaker 1>If you get the box set, you can hear all

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<v Speaker 1>those things.

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<v Speaker 2>And it was like he never left. So we love you,

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<v Speaker 2>Bob Power, Thank you. Quest Loam Show is a production

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<v Speaker 2>of iHeartRadio