Questlove and ASCAP President and Chairman Paul Williams speak onstage during 'Creative Quest: Questlove in Conversation with Paul Williams' at The 2019 ASCAP "I Create Music" EXPO - Day 2 at Loews Hollywood Hotel on May 03, 2019 in Hollywood, California.
At yesterday's ASCAP "I Create Music" expo, Questlove revealed he was unable to make music following the passing of J Dilla, who died from lupus complications in 2006, according to Billboard. “When he passed away that really hit me super hard,” Questlove said during his on-stage conversation with ASCAP chairman Paul Williams. “I stopped making music. Unless it was a Roots album, I pretty much had stopped working and collaborating with other people.”
He went on to talk more about Dilla's work ethic, which he says involved waking at 6 a.m., listening to hours worth of music before working on his own, and what working alongside him was like. "My position in life is I am in the passenger’s seat for a lot of great moments," he explained. "Being in the passenger’s seat watching J Dilla at his zenith, at his most creative ever....and creating D’Angelo’s Voodoo album with him for those five years.... that to me was that moment."
