The Questlove Show - A Reaction To The Thundercat Episode Of The Questlove Show
Episode Date: June 26, 2026In this mini, Open Mike Eagle and Cousin Jake unpack the new Thundercat episode of The Questlove Show and the wider universe surrounding it—from Los Angeles' borderless music scenes to the mento...rs and misfits who shaped them. Inspired by Thundercat's custom mask medallion and reflections on MF DOOM, Mike recalls collaborating with the late MC/producer, reflects on processing Daniel Dumile's passing through song ("For Doom"), and shares memories of appearing on television alongside Thundercat and Flying Lotus. Mike and Jake also explore the rewards and risks of artistic reinvention, what it meant to connect with Hip-Hop beyond commercial radio and video shows, and how educator and musician Reggie Andrews quietly influenced generations of artists.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
Discussion (0)
This is an I-heart podcast.
Guaranteed Human.
Take a spin, hit the tables, or join the action live.
With Bet Victor, tons of casino games await,
plus the excitement of the live casino,
all-in-one convenient app for when you choose to play.
For timeless classics, the newest releases, and instant withdrawals,
download the Bet-Victor app.
Bet-Victor since 1946.
19-plus Ontario-only, please play responsibly.
Bet-Victor operates pursuant to an operating agreement with Eye Gaming Ontario.
If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or the gambling of someone close to you, visit connectsonterio.ca.
Joy is essential and it's also elusive, but now there's a new and exciting way to start your journey toward a more joyful existence.
Joy 101.
It's a new podcast hosted by me, Hoda Kotby.
If you're craving inspiration to maximize your joy, tune into these candid, uplifting and moving on-air chats.
Open your free IHeart Radio app.
Search Joy 101 and listen now.
Joy 101 with Hoda Cotfi is presented by CVS.
It's that time to put on your jersey and wave your flag,
whoever you root for.
Why do I watch the World Cup?
That's like asking me, why do I breed?
And it's beautiful.
The guys are young and cute and fit.
It's not just a game.
It's your culture.
I like watching it with my dad.
It's a connecting force.
In Futuro Studios, I'm Fernanda Chavari, and this is American Football, a show about soccer culture in the U.S. and its underdog roots.
Listen to American Football on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
My first guest is Terrence Hilton, Shakira, Luke, and Yerrin.
You have surprises?
Many surprises.
Welcome to the Sweet 305 podcast, where the group check comes to life.
What a!
You're the only person I know that love.
a yellow starburst.
It's lemonade.
This is Sweet 305.
Here, oversharing is encouraged.
Listen to Sweet 305
with Lele Pons
on the IHeart Radio app,
Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Everyone sees me as a football player,
but before anything else, I'm human.
Every single day, I'm still learning
how to live with problems,
mistakes, relationships, emotions
ever since I was born.
This isn't a normal podcast.
Everything here is spontaneous,
real, and genuine.
Just honest, conversations
about what it means.
means to be alive. I'm Javieril Chichariot-O-R-Nand-es and listen to Learning to Be Human on I-Hard Radio, Apple Podcasts, or whatever you get your podcast.
The Questlove show is a production of I-Hart Radio.
Open mic, man. How are you today?
Man, I'm chilling, man. Keeping these plates spinning. As usual, how are you?
I like that. I never added to my repertoire, but I'm spinning a lot of plates myself.
That's what we do these days. That's what we do is people who work in creative industries.
you very rarely get to just focus on one thing.
Man, yeah, and it's perfect because, you know, it's funny.
We're talking about Thundercat on this mini episode of The Quest Love Show.
And his new album is called Distracted.
And, you know, how do you handle distractions?
Oh, man, I, like, distract myself from work with, like, other work.
Like, I tend to have, you know, two or three big things that need constant attention
and then a bunch of little stuff and admin and pop.
throughout the day.
And it's like sometimes my treats to myself
is just the work that I want to do
versus the work I have to do.
That's well said. Well, let me ask you this then.
Like what in your repertoire,
if you can say, like what is your favorite work to do
outside of, I'm going to say,
you know, recording and making music your impetus?
So my favorite work to do is not
what pays me a lot.
And I think that's typically how that correlation goes.
My favorite thing to do this technically work is making beats.
I'm honestly just making a piece of art for myself that's not attached to any expectation.
And it feels a little more creatively fulfilling because of that.
How long into your vocal career have you been making beats?
I've been making beats the whole time.
Whole time. Wow.
I started making beats well before I started recording.
I did not know that. Okay. Wow. You came in on the production tip.
I mean, when I say I was making beats, very, very few of them were worth hearing about other people.
And even to this day, the vast majority of my beats nobody hears.
And it's because I have access to so many really great producers that, you know, I don't try to force the issue on my stuff.
Because I don't, you know, I don't think my stuff is quite that good.
But like I said, oftentimes it's stuff that I hear in my head,
that I want to hear.
And it makes me feel good for having done it,
even if it's not going to be my next song, you know?
Well, I have to imagine, too,
for somebody that loves all music as much as you seem to,
I mean, you and I are still good and know each other.
But, like, I always thought, like,
in my rapper fantasy camp or in my musician fantasy camp,
one of the best things would be, like,
picking beats from other people.
Like, that has to be fun.
Yeah.
You know what?
This is the thing.
It is fun, but what I have found because I have,
been doing some group stuff
with my group previous industries
with video Dave and Steel Rift.
And the
act of picking beats with other people
is very different
than the act of me picking beats by myself.
And so in the fantasy camp situation,
I'm like, oh, that could be fun.
It could also be a little tense
depending on what people's tastes are.
Yeah, my best.
like musical, my best friend
that I can talk week to week about
new music with, we always laugh at the fact
that a new album will release and it could be
in any subsector of
genre, but especially in hip hop
and we're always picking different favorite
sections of it. And so that's funny.
I can only imagine when you have a bandmate,
a groupmate that that creates
I won't say acrimony, but
dissidents, you know.
Yeah, yeah. It's just really interesting how
something can be a complete
you know absolute smash for one person and another person is just like I hate this you know it's
this is really fascinating yeah absolutely and since we last spoke too and when this comes out you know
you have new music on the way a new single out which I truly dig so I appreciate that everyone who's
listening to this and you know I get the sense from reading the comments so many people are very
well versed and open mic eagle but let this be a reminder to uh
Do your DSP Googles and check it out.
Oh, for real. Yeah. I mean, I think especially when it comes to my podcasting exploits,
my music is often not front and center. So I certainly couldn't blame anybody for not being aware
if this is how they came to me because I'm typically not talking about my stuff.
But yeah, there's a lot of legacy, a lot of catalogs. So if people are interested, there's a lot for
them to dig into. So, you know, I live on the East Coast, but one of the things that fascinates me
about the LA music community period,
especially of the last 25 years,
it's just that, you know, walls don't seem to exist.
Like, so many folks have worked together,
have shared studio space together,
done all these different things.
And you know, you and I are here
to kind of as a supplement to the recent Thundercat episode
of the Quest Love show.
And I happen to be there for the taping,
and we're running it with our kind of slate,
which is something that started years ago
with Questlove Supreme of Black Music Month.
and you know I'm curious being that he's an LA guy and you've been in LA I mean
damn near 30 years you shared with me recently um is there is there a relationship uh
have you guys shared air has there like you and Thundercat is there anything you know
in that dynamic well 20 years was the one to say that you didn't move there I got you
but um yeah yeah me and him have been in a lot of rooms together we
famously in my world
performed together once on
Hannibal Burris' television show.
I was sort of making my
television performance debut
and it was in collaboration
with Thundercat and Flying Lotus
when I performed on that show.
And we didn't know each other super well then,
but we got to know each other quite a bit after
and had run into each other
quite a few times since.
We have a lot of shared interests
when he took that deep breath and started talking about comic books,
I was right there with him.
In the room,
I thought of you.
Because that was about,
I think we,
yeah,
we did.
We taped that episode in April about fresh off of coming in LA the first time.
You and I were in the room together and hung out with you,
Amir,
Brittany,
Nick, the rest of the gang.
And,
you know,
I got a sense of listening to you talking about comic books and wrestling.
So when I watched his take a deep breath and then just kind of micro machine man,
through it. I thought of
because that's a passion I don't have. I've actually
never owned nor read a comic book in my life.
You've never read
a comic. It's really interesting. So
the only reason that's really surprising
is because we're around the same age.
And when we were young,
there just wasn't
a whole bunch of stuff to do.
So I'm amazed that
you never found yourself where
a comic book was your only option.
I grew up in a household that didn't
It always sounds like a religious thing.
But, like, my dad would never, like, watch anything science fiction, with, like, one exception, like, the Mad Max Road Warrior Canon.
But, like, I didn't see Star Wars.
I haven't still not seen it the whole way through.
Like, I am.
Wow.
Okay.
Okay.
Yeah.
And so Carmel is the funny thing is, like, I watched the Robert Crum movie back in the day.
And I watched, I remember when American Splendor came out.
And I was like Harvey Pico.
Like, this looks like a comic I can get behind, like a cramagin.
Indie comics, yeah.
Yeah.
But even still, all these years later, I'm sure promo-wise, like, people have sent me, like, when Tsar face or somebody would do, like, an item.
And I'd set it aside or I'd give it to somebody who would appreciate it.
But, yeah, man, I still got my comic book virginity intact, you know.
That's what's up, man?
You know, that's, I'm like, on one hand, oh, it'd be a nice thing to introduce you to.
On the other hand, it's like, yeah, you know, let them cook.
Yeah, you made it this far.
Yeah, you're like, and you're not missing that.
much, you know? Yeah, I mean, I have a compulsive personality. And the funny thing is,
is like, as a kid, I think the other alternative was like in terms of, of tangible media,
it was like baseball cards. Yeah, yeah. You know, not, not at a collector way, but I just loved
looking through them, learning the stats, assessing that way. Yeah, same here. Yeah. Same here.
Um, like, I have, um, I have a, a collection of comic book trading cards from that era,
but in that era it was all trading cars it was basketball football baseball everything and and the
same experience you discuss of just reading through and trying to understand the stats and all of that
i think of every time my mom you know must have handed me a five dollar bill to try to like be a cool
mom or like she knew that like i had waited in the car for three or four hours and i wish i wish i had
now at this age like it brought me delight at the time but i wish that i had done other things
with that money. You know, let alone let her keep it, you know. I feel that. But, you know,
getting back to your point, like, comic books is one thing. Also, you know, and it's right at the top
of the episode, you know, Thundercat, you mentioned him in Flying Lotus, you know, working
with you on the Hannibal show. Also, just his, he walked up at Eyeheart, and I'm not a, I don't
pay attention to jewelry and stuff like that, you know, but he came in with a doom of medallion that he
talks about at the top of the episode and then elaborates on his profound appreciation and
collaborative plans with Daniel Dumalay. And I thought of you as well, because I know he's a
North Star in your life. Hopefully, I'm not misspeaking. No, no, that's absolutely the case.
Not only creatively, historically, I have a lot of doom art here in my home. People send me
a lot of stuff like that and I tend to put it up in the house.
Did you, I mean, similar question to what I asked about Thundercat.
I mean, in your career, did you have any interactions with Doom?
Not directly.
I mean, we have, we got two songs together.
I'm on, you mentioned Zarface earlier.
I'm on a Zarface song.
It features Doom.
And when I had my show on Comedy Central,
the New Negroes, part of it was we had an original song for every episode.
and we did a collab with each one.
And one of them was doing.
We were able to get him on a song
for our Comedy Central show.
Wow. Wow.
So, but did you, I mean, at that point in Doom's career,
I know he was abroad a lot.
I mean, you never got to give him a pound or anything like that.
I never did.
I never did.
By the time I was in the,
even the beginning of having a career,
he was already out of the country and not allowed back.
Yeah.
I mean, to me, when I think of the pandemic,
and I think of the ugly side of the pandemic, which, you know, from a health standpoint was all of it.
And, you know, Amir talks about this a lot. But I think of sort of what you and I are talking about, the lack of distractions that we sometimes have gotten back to.
But I think of the one battle after another emotionally of 2020 into 2021. And I think, you know, the loss of doom learning it and then learning that it was kind of after the fact, at least for me with the general public.
You know, that was one of the hardest blows ever, you know, in terms of just mourning.
your heroes. Yeah, I was, I remember that was a, that was a New Year's Eve when the announcement
came out. And I hadn't heard it either. I remember I took a nap that day so that I, I would be
ready to hang out that night. And I woke up from the nap to people texting me that they were
sorry about the Doom news. And I'm like, whoa. So I'm like, disoriented coming back into
consciousness and getting this terrible news. And it really, it put me down for like three or
four days. I feel like, I feel like New Year's Eve was like a Thursday that year or something like
that. Sounds about right. And I feel like through that weekend, I was just really in a bad, bad
space. But that was when it sort of occurred to me that for the first time of my life, I needed to
directly and in real time wrap my way through something in order to process it. And so the song
that I have that is
an elegy for him is called
for Doom. I
wrote and recorded it
like that weekend. It was like four days
after he passed where
I sort of was
rapping about my feelings of being
a fan of his my entire life,
how privileged it was. I felt
to collab with him, how nervous
I was about it, how it felt
to hear that news. And it sort of
culminated in
me realizing as
as I was writing this rhyme, that this piece of doom art that I have in my house,
that's a photo of him, is not really him.
Oh, wow.
And it was like the perfect coded to the thing.
And that's very open Mike Eagle of you, too, just to kind of pull the rug at the end.
That's so interesting.
And it's funny.
Like, you know, I've worked over 20 years kind of in the hip hop media side.
I don't, the word journalist is weird, but, you know, I led hip hop DX for a number of years back in the mid-200.
Oh, wow. R-IP hip hop DX, man.
Yeah.
Speaking of rest in peace,
like that's an important.
All of our work, but the work that, you know, for my seven years,
they're gone off the internet.
That really bothers me, like, a lot more than people might understand.
Yeah.
I hope it comes back.
I was going to talk to some of the folks that are now at least own it, you know,
try to understand the logic behind that.
But, yeah, it breaks my heart.
But all that to say, you know, in DX and then I spent,
for the last 13 years, I've been part of Ambrosia for Heads.
And I've known.
over the time that, you know, when we've cut still images, sometimes, especially in the later
years, once there were glasses involved, it's not always actually doom and that messes with you.
And I think that only adds to the legend, you know. I always think of like the internet being
shocked that Humpty Hump was Shock G, but sometimes wasn't Shock G. It's like Andy Kaufman and
Tony Clifton, but I think it adds, like when you see both in the same room at the same time,
you're just like, what?
Yeah, I think that contributes to that effect, whatever.
It took me a while to get to the point of being able to appreciate Doom for being able to pull that off because I had the misfortune of being at two of those shows.
Okay.
Where he wasn't there.
I went to one show that he actually was there in like 2004, 2005.
And then I'd say like 0-607 maybe.
I was at two shows where it was not him, and that did not feel good.
Just to be like a paying customer coming to see him perform,
and you can tell very early and easily that it's not really him,
that was not a good feeling.
And I came away from those events feeling like,
oh, that's kind of messed up, that he doesn't care about his audience enough
to actually show up and perform.
But that is also before any of us,
understood what the circumstances were behind that as well.
But, you know, he also didn't put that out there.
Right.
Do you remember on the second time was that when he was on the Lupe Fiasco Food and Liquor as the opener?
No.
One was, I want to say it was Rock the Bells out here.
And another one, it was a New Year's Eve show, a big huge New Year's Eve show here in L.A.
that had a bunch of rappers on it.
And he was the headliner, you know, with the countdown and all of that.
It just was not him.
I talked to, I'm homies with John Robinson,
who was a close collaborator of Dumes.
And John Robinson was on the stage that night.
And he, without saying too much of what he said,
he was telling me that the way that it went down,
it was also a surprise to him.
So, yeah, it was levels of theater happening.
Yeah, shout out to John Robinson.
when I'm in New York, he and I had lunch one time, I mean, 2007, 2008 at this vegetarian spot on West 4th Street.
And he was always cool. I'm a big Signs a Life fan.
Yeah, a little sad.
The stuff he did with Doom, and then he had that whole album.
One of the cool things about Doom, and I think Dilla and Madlib have the same kind of mythology is that before producers were talking about loaning beats, a lot of those productions just felt like they, because they would appear different places.
and especially with John Robinson
and never he made that whole album
over doing production but it felt real
because I knew he was always inner circle
as I understood it.
It is different when you know that
those artists have a connection versus
you know the label has these beats
and they're just pairing them with somebody. Yeah, somebody
trying to get on rapping over Dilla beats, yeah.
Spin, hit the tables
or join the action live
with Bet Victor tons of casino games away
plus the excitement of the live casino
all in one convention.
Beenian app for when you choose to play.
For timeless classics, the newest releases, and instant withdrawals,
download the BetVictor app.
BetVictor since 1946.
19 plus Ontario only, please play responsibly.
BetVictor operates pursuant to an operating agreement with Eye Gaming Ontario.
If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or the gambling of someone close to you,
visit connectsonterio.ca.
I love the sounds.
The buzzing from the stadium, the chanting from the fans,
the announcers calling the place,
soccer, football, at home.
Why do I watch the World Cup?
That's like asking me, why do I breed?
I inherited that fandom from my mom.
I like watching it with my dad.
It's a connecting force.
From Futuro Studios, I'm Fernanda Chavari,
and this is American Football,
a show about soccer culture in the U.S. and its underdog roots.
We go beyond the game to the people and the stories that make it
great. A soccer game is a festival. It's not just a game. It's your culture. I took an elbow to my
head, which cracked my skull. It is an American game. The Brazilians don't like hearing that, though.
Are they the only ones that don't like that? Nobody likes that. As we get ready for the Men's World
Cup this summer, listen to American Football as part of the MyCultura podcast network, available
on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
be host of the podcast, Joy 101 with Hoda Kotmi. Okay, if you know me, you know this. I'm always
searching for inspiration, for support, and useful tools to help maximize joy. So this podcast
lets us uncover all of that together. We're going to have these meaningful conversations with the
world's most fascinating people, like when actress Olivia Munn shared how she overcame fierce health
challenges that she never saw coming. I've gone through breast cancer and then helped my mother
through breast cancer, and that was more difficult.
There's a lot of people who understand postpartum depression.
I was not prepared for postpartum anxiety.
Olympic champ Sean Johnson revealed why she had no choice but to be a gymnast.
There was something about gymnastics that was intoxicating to me.
It's given me a belief that we all have one of those treasures inside of us.
We just have to find it.
Listen to Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
My first guest is Paris Hilton, Shakira, Luke and Yerrin, Samira and Gracie.
I'm so excited.
On the bouncy bed.
You have surprises, many surprises.
Welcome to Sweet 305 where the group chat comes to life.
What a f***.
It's like a way to say like,
Oh, my friend, oh, my friend, oh, my, my brother.
What a...
Look, I never have ever been to have nobody.
Except with my kids.
My kids, my son.
See my amante.
Oof, that's incredible, yeah, the telenovela.
You're the only person I know that loves a yellow starburst.
It's lemonade.
And no, there's someone that you'd like to collaborate with this person.
This is Sweet 305.
Listen to Sweet 305 with Lele Pons as part of my Culturea Podcast Network on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Everyone sees me as a football player, but before anything else, I'm human.
Every single day I'm still learning how to live with problems, mistakes, relationships,
emotions ever since I was born.
And I still have so many questions.
Where do we come from?
What happens after death?
How do you deal with cancellation?
Cristiano or Messi?
Do aliens exist?
What is love?
Real Madrid or Varsa?
From every day and ordinary to the deep and extraordinary.
This isn't a normal podcast.
Everything here is spontaneous, real and real.
And genuine.
This podcast is like a deep talk with your closest friends.
Where vulnerability comes out.
Conspiracy theories end up on the table and goals and lessons are shared.
All in this life has an order perfect and everything is just.
Wait-em me, I'm going to be able to be able to be connect.
The Chicharito.
And together with IHA Radio, we're going to make the ordinary, extraordinary.
Stay close.
It is a carac.
Wow.
Listen to learning to be human on IHA Radio, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your
I'll share my little story. I never met Doom face to face, but I interviewed him in 2003. There's a lesser
known thing that you remember back when like sandbox automatic and hip hop site, the early online
retailers of the hip hop that you and I love. Oh yes. I spent I spent hours on them sites.
I spent not only hours. I spent wages from Burger King, wages, all sorts of jobs. And there was
an exclusive kind of mashup thing that was authorized by Doom called Nostradu.
And it was 2003 and it was when Nas had put out.
It wasn't just the Nostradamus stuff, but it was recent, you know, I Am and kind of the early
2000s, Acapela's, put to Doom.
And Matt Conaway veteran, Amir and I just worked with him on booking DJ Mugs.
He offered me Doom.
I was at the time editor at all hip hop.com and I spoke to Doom for half an hour on the phone.
And it's similar to kind of, I think his music.
Like on one hand, he was super lucid.
super he remembered things that really shocked me but on another hand he was kind of one take jake
and just like some things he would talk about some things he wouldn't and that added to the mythology
but what always kind of blew me away about that is i asked him at one point i'm like you know
kmd comes under the third base story you know as as you've covered with your podcast and so does
naz and you know as i understand it you know pete nice was a big cultivator of kmd and doom
and search obviously, you know, sign Nas, the production company,
and, you know, had a strong hand in the business side of Elmatic.
And it's so wild that at that point, which was about 10 years later, you know, after
Elmatic and around, you know, the same time as the second KMD album,
you have these guys interfacing in a way they might not even know about.
And Doom had memories of meeting Nas being in the same room,
sitting in the same studio sessions.
And the cool thing is, is that was 03, which a year,
later, Doom really starts to occupy that amazing spot, you know, with multiple albums.
Victor Vaughn and Mad Villain and M. Food all dropping into the same.
Danger Doom. Yeah. All of that stuff, exactly. So, you know, and it lends itself to a question.
And obviously, we're talking about Thundercat, talking about Doom. But, you know, to me, he's always,
hip-hop's, like, greatest reinvention story. It's the one that, if I was explaining this stuff to my son's
someday of why it means to me and why it might be like comic books or might be like a great movie,
Doom is that story. And, you know, I want to ask you being a fan that you are, like, can you
speak to what that reinvention means to you as an artist? To me, it's remarkable because it's such
a difficult thing to do when you have your business hat on. Like, it's one thing, you know, we're all
creative forces. We all have this creativity we have access to, and that tends to always perpetuate. But
It's difficult when you have stacked attention and notoriety and you've really nurtured a name.
You have people invested in that name.
You might have companies that invested money to promote this name.
And for you to choose to walk away from that in order to re-approach the business from a different creative lens, I think that's so risky.
And I think that like it is a really powerful move because you're walking away from everything.
But I've also seen it not work because it's such a difficult thing to do.
You're in essence walking away from all of the work you've put in.
And unless you're arming people with the tools to tell the world that this guy is now this guy,
then you're truly starting over from scratch.
And it's a really difficult thing to do.
I always applaud people and commend them.
And I think there is something to be said for how it helps rappers specifically age more gracefully in rap.
Because I feel like oftentimes you come into this business 17, 18 years old,
and you have a particular sort of creative ethos that you're coming at it from.
and you have your experiences in the industry,
you have your experiences in life,
and you come out of that at a different person.
By the time you're 30,
you're probably not very much like you were when you were 17, 18,
and that might have been when people were promoting you the hardest.
So it makes sense that you might want to step away from that
and come with a different perspective, a different direction.
And so I think that when you look at long careers in hip hop,
oftentimes you can point to,
oh, there was a reinvention there.
There was a reinvention there.
And that helped them adapt to the different errors.
Yeah, that's a really good point.
I think Doom exemplifies that.
Like, it was funny.
Like, I meet people sometimes that only know the hits of the Beastie Boys.
And, you know, like, and that speaks exactly to your point.
Who they were in the eyes of Def Jam as 18.
17, 18 year olds is vastly different who they were at 21, you know.
And then how do you manage that image?
How do you reconcile that catalog and talk about it and maybe disappoint people when you're not that?
One thing that I've learned in the process of this Thundercat journey with this conversation,
which I truly love.
And I love the fact, and I'll call him Stephen because that's how he introduced himself to me too.
I love it when an artist, it just enters the conversation to talk about anything.
I mean, very true of your Quest Love Show conversation last year.
I'm just like, hey, I'm going to meet the combo where it's at.
They talked a little bit about distracted and, you know, a dedication to Mac Miller.
But it was also just, I'm going to be human.
And one of the things he spent a lot of time talking about was mentorship.
And he spoke about a figure that I'm always curious about Reggie Andrews.
And I learned about, you know, it's funny, like I own some DAS band records that I've listened to.
And I didn't know that name.
But years ago, I was watching the Farside early in their career in an old interview where they were talking about how this very musical person came into their life and really kind of honed them and cultivated them.
And it was Reggie.
And they were laughing because it was 10 years past the Daz band.
And they were making fun of his hairstyle and, you know, this passe thing.
But to really hear Stephen, to hear Thundercat drive home how this one edge.
educator changed generations of musicians at Lock High and other places in California.
I thought it was just super illuminating.
Yeah.
You know, and what it illuminated to me specifically, I've been in this town, like I said, 20 years.
I didn't meet Thundercat till, like I moved here in 2004.
I don't think I met Thundercat to like 2015, 16, something like that.
what it made me really understand was, yeah, we've all been here and we're all part of this grand creative community.
But the relationships that they have over on that jazz side are cultivated by those years they spent in the trenches running around the city, playing stuff out of the fake book and being mentored in this case by that one person.
And to me, it illuminates the sort of distance between the different creative communities here.
like I was in I was on the rap side so you know we were doing stuff over Project
Blode and which were the descendants of the people from the Good Life Cafe and so we were very
rap heavy to the point where even the producers involved in our circle split off and started
doing the low-end theory thing and then that became a whole other thing and it's funny I ended up
you know connecting with Thundercat through largely through Flying Lotus and the beat scene
which developed over there.
So to me, it was just an interesting peek into a history that was happening while I was here.
But it was like over there in a community that I wasn't involved in.
I thought that was really fascinating.
Yeah, I think that happens a lot.
Like, you know, similar to you, I moved to Philly in O2.
And it's funny, like, I just went to the Roots picnic and spent most of it.
We taped content, you know, taped interviews Saturday and Sunday.
So I wasn't out there mixing up.
But there are so many people in Philly.
that folks will always
oh you must know so and so
and I don't you know
I've heard of them I've heard of them
but you know I spent
my trenches were not in studio
you know they were they were covering they were listening
they were working they were one to one they weren't
necessarily communal and it was always
fascinating to learn that there are so many times
you were in a room with somebody
that you don't even realize and then years later
you form a bond and you realize
you know and Thundercats that I really
dug his energy I um also
just appreciate, I'm a big fan of just self-deprecation.
And I love the way. I found it inspiring the way he leaned into, you know,
handling kind of being bullied or being teased or being ostracized in school.
And also yet coming from an environment that I feel like, you know,
the environment that he described of Compton and other parts of Los Angeles was very much the John
Singleton, you know, Hughes brothers, like literally he said his house was shot at.
And I thought that that's wild because he doesn't lead with that in his public facing persona, you know.
I mean, you know, that's that, I want to say, is that unfortunate?
Something like that.
But it's part for the course.
Like I know, I know that story all too well.
And so one of the things I was connected with that he was talking about was how people he was around, like in school, didn't understand or had no awareness of the music he was listening to.
Because to me, that goes right along with that.
It's like you're all in school with these people.
You might have grown up with these people.
Some of these people are in the streets doing street stuff.
And then some of us are in the house learning how to play an instrument.
Or I was, you know, somewhere learning how to break dance and doing graffiti.
And so my experience and interest would take me away from what my homies were doing.
And my homies would be in the streets creating the stereotype that people understand my neighborhood by, you know.
but I'm having this whole different experience.
And it's like, yeah, throughout my life,
I've just known so many people who like myself kind of have that experience
where you know this environment.
This environment is in you,
but it's just not a part of you in such an overt way
like it can be with other people.
Yeah.
And I'm just curious to you, like what do you think?
I don't,
the term weird, especially in this political climate,
it's such a loaded adjective all of a sudden.
But you and I are just meaning like alternative, different,
out there music, but what do you think, you know, raising yourself on that diet, what do you think
it did for you in those formative years of being an adolescent, regardless of you as a creator?
I mean, I think it was actually, it made my life feel tougher at the time that I didn't have
the same sort of common touchstones that other people have. We would sit around and talk about
music and, you know, they'd be talking about McAvelli and I'd be listening to MF Doom's first 12 inches.
You know what I'm saying?
Like it felt, it used to often feel like socially me and my friend group was on another planet compared to everybody else.
Because we weren't, you know, in my high school, it was do you like Biggie or do you like Pock?
Right.
And we were like, we don't care about either of these people because we're over here spinning on our heads and listening to Diamond D.
And you know what I'm saying?
Like so it didn't feel good at the time socially to have.
have a different set of interests.
You know, we like what we like, and that was cool.
But when I think back on it now, it's like, oh, yeah, right.
Like, that's, like, following our interest to that degree and finding these sources of other music,
this made us who we were.
And oftentimes, I get tickled sometimes when I'll, you know, see something on Facebook,
and it's somebody I knew from high school talking about how they just, you know,
bought a Doom album or something, you know what I'm saying?
saying and I'm like, that's cute.
But you have a vivid memory
of you coming in, you know,
playing something or
you couldn't talk about it then.
Yeah, or not feeling like I could. A lot of times
when I think back on it too, those
the distance
between me and other people oftentimes
was more stark in my mind than it
was in real life. Sure. I just didn't
feel a lot of license to
to
discuss what it was I was into
with people because I didn't feel like there was
enough common ground. When I would go into a record store in 99, 2000, I was in my teens, and I asked,
you know, hey, do you guys have the Blackalicious A to, you know, A to GEP? And they, oh, you like that.
And you could have a conversation with somebody who spoke your language. It meant, like, the world
got real small and it was fun. Right. It was so exciting. And I don't get that same joy in connecting
with people that way.
I mean, do you find that it's different these days with that?
I don't know.
Maybe it's because of just the way we access music.
I'm just like, oh, that's cool.
You got a loaded iPod, or, but like, it just feels different.
I don't know.
Maybe I'm being cynical or jaded about it.
Well, I think that part of what you're describing
is the effort that it used to take to find stuff that wasn't on the radio.
Like, just that alone, the steps you had to take
to find music.
that wasn't just being served to you on television or on the radio,
you know, the people who were willing and interested in taking those steps,
they felt a kinship with each other.
And now, not only do we all have every genre of everything at our fingertips,
we also all live under a different algorithm that's giving us a different
digital product line of music every day.
So now it's just so much more fractured.
Yeah.
And it takes so much less effort that I think it's hard to tell how much you and this person are alike now based on having a shared interest in a particular piece of music.
That's real.
Your point is valid to, like, the algorithms that be are forcing me right now to get really into Tom Mish.
It might be working.
It might not be.
But like, I appreciated our discussion in L.A.
and it's in one of these many episodes where you kind of spoke to the effect of XTC's mummer.
And you were like, that's what I'm listening to right now.
And I still try to do that, whether it's a CD, it's an album.
I'm streaming, like, play it, play it again, play it some more.
And yesterday, Amir was talking about, you know, he's very much on a Steely Dan journey right now
because he was like, I feel like we're always, all of us are always on a Steely Dan journey.
But that is a habit that I'm trying to keep and integrate.
And that way, the person I run into or meet that we get to talking and they are talking about
what's currently in my ears, then it means a little more.
That's real.
That's real.
Yo, man, thank you.
I encourage everyone.
I mean, certainly if you got this far,
you probably checked it out Thundercap,
but it's a great episode.
It really is.
It's a great talk.
Yeah, absolutely.
And more many episodes coming.
The Roots have a lot of dates this summer.
I tried to get a mirror in on one yesterday.
Our guest showed up early.
And sometimes that throws things off.
But he will be back in the mix soon come.
But in the meantime, I'm having fun rapping when you might.
Awesome.
Always a pleasure.
Question of show is a beautiful.
production of IHeart Radio.
Joy is essential, and it's also elusive, but now there's a new and exciting way to start
your journey toward a more joyful existence, Joy 101.
It's a new podcast hosted by me, Hoda Kotby.
If you're craving inspiration to maximize your joy, tune into these candid, uplifting,
and moving on-air chats.
Open your free IHeart Radio app. Search Joy 101, and listen now.
Joy 101 with Hoda Kotopi is presented by CVS.
It's that time to put on your jersey and wave your flag,
whoever you root for.
Why do I watch the walk up?
That's like asking me, why do I breed?
And it's beautiful.
The guys are young and cute and fit.
It's not just a game.
It's your culture.
I like watching it with my dad.
It's a connecting force.
From Futuro Studios, I'm Fernanda Chavari,
and this is American Football,
a show about soccer culture in the U.S. and its underdog roots.
Listen to American Football on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
My first guest is Territ Hilton, Shakira, Luke, and Yerrin.
You have surprises?
Many surprises.
Welcome to the Sweet 305 podcast where the group check comes to life.
What a lot?
You're the only person I know that loves a yellow starburst.
It's lemonade.
This is Sweet 305.
Here, oversharing is encouraged.
Listen to Sweet 305 with Lele Pons on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Everyone sees me as a football player, but before anything else, I'm human.
Every single day I'm still learning how to live with problems, mistakes, relationships, emotions, ever since I was born.
This isn't a normal podcast.
Everything here is spontaneous, real and genuine, just honest conversations about what it means to be alive.
I'm Javier El Chicharito Hernandez and listen to Learning to Be Human on IHard Radio, Apple Podcasts, or whatever you get your podcast.
It just came out.
Jeremy, what did you just do?
You just sit yourself up for failure.
I've never heard you tell this story.
I've never told this story.
This must have been tucked deep, deep in the Jeremy Lynn file.
My name is MC Jin.
I'm excited to tell you about laugh, but not least.
I'll be chatting with guests from all walks of life about the power of humor when it comes to facing difficult times.
These will be conversations that remind us all, life is hard.
laugh harder listen and laugh but not least with mc jinn on the iHeart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your
podcast this is an iHeart podcast guaranteed human
