Scott Storch revisited his early days with The Roots during a recent interview where he aired out long-standing frustrations and said he walked away from the group because he felt “very underappreciated.”
The veteran producer made the remarks to conservative entrepreneur Patrick Bet-David on his “PBD Podcast.”
“I started in The Roots and did a lot of stuff for them,” Storch began. “I was the guy who, again, came up with a lot of the nucleus of what that s### was, and I left the group and was told that I was like the Pete Best of The Roots.”
Pete Best, often referred to as the “forgotten Beatle,” was famously replaced just before The Beatles reached global superstardom.
Storch compared his exit to that moment, claiming his departure wasn’t just professional—it hit him personally.
Storch, who joined The Roots in the early 1990s as a keyboardist, said he couldn’t continue touring with a group that didn’t value his contributions.
“I’m not going to 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’,” he said. “No, I’m the f###### guy coming up with all the s###.”
He also said he was subjected to racial insults. “They call me the white devil,” he claimed. “I’m like the most harmonious, loving, nonracist person ever and it just hurt me.”
Storch claimed that even after he left in the mid-1990s, some members of The Roots mocked him for working with Dr. Dre.
“They were like, ‘Ah, you working with Dre 10 years too late, bro. Good luck,’” he said.
Nonetheless, Storch said and Dre “went on the run of runs” and claimed The Roots were “haters.”
While Bet-David tried to dismiss The Roots by asking, “What happened to those guys?” Storch acknowledged their continued relevance.
“I’m not trying to just dog them,” he said, pointing out their longstanding role as the house band on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Clips from the interview circulated online, drawing mixed reactions.
One person wrote, “This is why everyone shouldn’t be allowed into the culture. His beef with them being played out in front of old white men that could care less about hip hop, is disrespectful. Alchemist would never.”
Another added, “No shade on him – but The Roots are STILL the greatest Hip Hop Band in history – with him or without – They’re doing just fine.”
Others still referenced the recent controversy surrounding his ex. However, Storch did not address his ex-girlfriend’s viral racist rant or the backlash over his public support of Donald Trump during the interview.
In addition to their talkshow slot, The Roots continue to perform live, with recent concerts and appearances. The group also hosts their own annual music festival, The Roots Picnic, launched in 2008.
Furthermore, last year Questlove hinted The Roots are set to drop their first album in over a decade later this year.
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