The Dilla Feel ala (questlov/chris dave etc)

Don't know if you've read the thread I started on this a while back... but I had the same question. ?uest often plays the kick as a flam right before the downbeat - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Btt1mYFZpIM. Gives the beat a solid lurk, and is hilarious to pull out on people I jam with. You get all kinds of looks. Yea, I'm that guy.

Learning flams and how to play on top of or behind the beat is all you really need to get a solid start. Honestly, you just gotta listen to everything you can. Chris Dave, Dilla, ?uest, Daru Jones - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gAOAdJNDWg, Sa-Ra - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeHTEUmxNT0, old funk and soul. I've noticed that on a lot of these grooves, the drums are on top of the beat, and the bass is MEGA late. Like this kind of late - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW6gDOSVVCw. As long as the pulse remains consistent, you're good.

When practicing, always play with a track to get the groove down perfect. If you start to change at all, even 1/64th of a note on one hi-hat note, its noticeable. When I first started, I used to record myself playing a Dilla-esque groove, thinking it sounded just like the tracks I loved, but my consistency was so horrendous I got discouraged. Start simple.
Not to say I've mastered it now, but having taken some time off and then having come back to it, I think I know the common failings pretty well. Just listen, listen, listen!
 
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