Veteran producer Scott Storch is making headlines again, this time for calling out his former bandmates in The Roots. In a recent interview, the hitmaker opened up about his early days with the legendary Philadelphia collective and how things soured after he left to pursue bigger opportunities.
Storch, who played a key role in The Roots from 1993 to 1995 and contributed to several of their projects even after his departure, said he felt deeply undervalued by the group. Speaking with controversial podcaster Patrick Bet-David, the producer recalled how his input was often minimized, despite being, in his words, “the nucleus” of their early sound.
See the full interview HERE
“I started in The Roots and did a lot of the stuff for them—very underappreciated,” Storch explained. “I was the guy who came up with a lot of the shit that made that sound what it was. And when I left, I was basically told I was the Pete Best of The Roots,” he said, referring to the former Beatles drummer who was replaced just before the group reached superstardom.
The fallout wasn’t just professional. “Even my girlfriend at the time broke up with me. She said I messed up, that I’d regret it,” Storch continued. “But I knew I saw something bigger. I wasn’t going to keep touring with people who didn’t respect what I brought to the table. I wasn’t just ‘the white guy on the keys.’ I was crafting the sound.”
Storch also claimed that after he started working with Dr. Dre on the 2001 album, an era that helped cement his place in music production history, he felt a wave of resentment from his former bandmates. “They called me the white devil,” he alleged. “They were all haters once I started making moves with Dre.”
So far, The Roots have not publicly responded to Storch’s comments. Whether they will weigh in or let it slide remains to be seen, but Storch’s remarks are sure to stir conversation about recognition, race, and respect in Hip-Hop’s creative circles.