#8 
Name: ?uestlove
Associated Bands: The Roots
Needless to say, as one of the few full-time rap drummers, ?uestlove has a unique style. The Roots identity is built around the fact that they’re a live band, not just a series of programmed beats and ?uestlove’s heavy percussion really drives that point home. While he still provides the sharp, crisp rhythms you’d expect from rap, his clattering drumming also has an organic, immediate quality to it, far removed from the slightly stale cut-and-pasted feel you get on normal rap beats. Add in his penchant for unorthodox drum sounds, like the trash-can-like crashes throughout “In The Music”, and you’ve got a wonderfully compelling and original drummer on your hands.
Required Listening: “The Seed (2.0)”, “In The Music”, “Get Busy”
#7
Name: Ginger Baker
Associated Bands: Cream, Blind Faith
Ok, so, sure, Ginger Baker has unleashed more than a few horrendously long drum solos in his lifetime. He’s definitely part of an older generation of drummers, who held showmanship and extravagance higher than the post-Bonham crowd might. But what separates Baker from the rest of those showoffs is his thunderous, tribal rhythms and intricate, jazz-influenced syncopation. In many ways, he’s just not a rock drummer. His patterns and fills are too nuanced and expressive to fit into the stereotype of the snare-pummeling lunkhead. Inventive and hard to predict, Baker has rightfully been given a place in the pantheon of great drummers.
Required Listening: “We’re Going Wrong”, “Deserted Cities Of The Heart”, “Had To Cry Today”
Name: ?uestlove
Associated Bands: The Roots
Needless to say, as one of the few full-time rap drummers, ?uestlove has a unique style. The Roots identity is built around the fact that they’re a live band, not just a series of programmed beats and ?uestlove’s heavy percussion really drives that point home. While he still provides the sharp, crisp rhythms you’d expect from rap, his clattering drumming also has an organic, immediate quality to it, far removed from the slightly stale cut-and-pasted feel you get on normal rap beats. Add in his penchant for unorthodox drum sounds, like the trash-can-like crashes throughout “In The Music”, and you’ve got a wonderfully compelling and original drummer on your hands.
Required Listening: “The Seed (2.0)”, “In The Music”, “Get Busy”
#7
Name: Ginger Baker
Associated Bands: Cream, Blind Faith
Ok, so, sure, Ginger Baker has unleashed more than a few horrendously long drum solos in his lifetime. He’s definitely part of an older generation of drummers, who held showmanship and extravagance higher than the post-Bonham crowd might. But what separates Baker from the rest of those showoffs is his thunderous, tribal rhythms and intricate, jazz-influenced syncopation. In many ways, he’s just not a rock drummer. His patterns and fills are too nuanced and expressive to fit into the stereotype of the snare-pummeling lunkhead. Inventive and hard to predict, Baker has rightfully been given a place in the pantheon of great drummers.
Required Listening: “We’re Going Wrong”, “Deserted Cities Of The Heart”, “Had To Cry Today”
You forgot the part where Baker is a raging asshole and would kill Jack Bruce if he ever got the chance. That being said, he is still an absolutely fantastic drummer.
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