Questlove Talks With Dante Ross About the ‘Renaissance Era of Hip-Hop’ on ‘Questlove Supreme’

If you haven’t been able to catch Questlove’s fantastic new Pandora radio program, "Questlove Supreme," you are missing some great conversations about music. On Wednesday’s episode (Sept. 21), Questo, along with Phonte and Steven Mandel, talked the “Renaissance of Hip-Hop” with Dante Ross, one of the most influential A&R directors and unsung heroes in hip-hop history.

If you don’t know who Dante Ross is, “Join the Quest” on Pandora and listen to this great interview.

Questlove who called Ross “"Dr. Renaissance" talked with the 48-year-old rap veteran about his upbringing in New York's Lower East Side and his first encounter with rap music beyond the Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight.”

Ross recalls his stint at Rush Productions before moving on to Def Jam where he produced tracks for 3rd Bass. The veteran producer also talked about his A&R stint at Tommy Boy Records where he worked on De La Soul's classic debut album, 3 Feet High & Rising. "That was a wild job," said Ross, "but I was a wild kid." He also signed Queen Latifah.

Ross shares priceless anecdotes from his historic A&R run at Elektra Records. From Leaders of the New School ("they might get in a fist fight in the middle of anything”) to working with KMD and Brand Nubian, Ross' reflections are captivating.

Questlove also talks to Ross about his production history as a member of production team Stimulated Dummies as well. So yeah, Questo covers all the bases.

Overall, you have to “Join the Quest” and tune into Questlove Supreme on Pandora radio every Wednesday at 1PM ET. It's a music lovers' dream radio show. And you might learn something.

Listen to Questlove's interview with Dante Ross at Pandora.com.