Scott Storch says his contributions to The Roots were “very underappreciated,” though he still has a sense of gratitude for this period of his life as, simply, “part of my journey.”
During a recent appearance on Patrick Bet-David’s PBD podcast, Storch, whose catalog of hits is undeniably extensive, first emphasized the timelessness of his music. The Grammy-nominated producer and songwriter linked the “substance” of his work to what’s at the core of The Beatles’ songs, noting that “good music has no expiration date.”
Naturally, this led to a quick playthrough of what Storch accurately referred to as “one of the most iconic piano riffs” in “the history of music,” i.e., Dr. Dre’s 1999 hit “Still D.R.E.” When asked to let listeners in on where he was at in his life when he and Dre first linked up, Storch’s Roots exit got a mention.
“I started in The Roots and did a lot of the stuff for them, very underappreciated,” Storch said. “I was the guy who, again, came up with a lot of the nucleus of what that shit was. And I left the group and was told that I was, like, the Pete Best of The Roots. You know, Pete Best is the guy that quit The Beatles.
Storch continued, “Even my girlfriend broke up with me and said, ‘Oh, you fucked up’ and this and that. I was like, ‘No, I didn’t. I see bigger.’ I’m not gonna go on the road with a bunch of guys that don’t appreciate me and be like, ‘That’s the white guy who plays keys in The Roots.’ I’m the fucking guy coming up with all the shit.”
Storch added that he didn’t feel he was appreciated, “not at all,” during his Roots period.
“In fact, they called me the white devil,” Storch claimed, later remembering unnamed Roots members as “all haters” for how they reacted to word of him working with Dre. “I’m, like, the most harmonious, loving, non-racist person ever.”
Storch, of course, has spoken about his Roots exit in the past. During a 2018 Red Bull Music Academy conversation, he looked back on first moving other Philadelphia as a teen. Quickly, per Storch, he met someone who would later become a manager for The Roots, with whom he would audition in the early 90s and eventually land a deal.
“Questlove got on the drums, and it just felt natural,” Storch recalled.
