Bob Power, recording engineer for the Roots and A Tribe Called Quest, dies at 73

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Bob Power, a renowned musician and engineer, passed away on Sunday at the age of 73. He was known for his work with many popular hip-hop and R&B artists during the 1990s and 2000s, including De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, the Roots, and Meshell Ndegeocello.

Okayplayer, the music platform created by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson of The Roots, announced his passing, but did not reveal the cause or location of his death.

Recognized in a line from The Roots’ song “Distortion to Static” – “Coming to New York to mix / It’s Bob Power with the snares and kicks to fix” – Bob Power was highly respected for his powerful drum mixes and his skill at seamlessly incorporating samples into music. He contributed to many iconic albums, including De La Soul’s “Is Dead,” A Tribe Called Quest’s “The Low End Theory,” D’Angelo’s “Brown Sugar,” Erykah Badu’s “Baduizm,” and Common’s “Like Water for Chocolate.”

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Questlove of the Roots shared on Instagram that Bob was a dominant figure in hip-hop’s early days. He described the music before Bob’s influence as disorganized and unclear, but said that when Bob started making music, it was transformative – a truly divine addition to the scene.

DJ Premier praised engineer Power as one of the greatest of all time in a recent post on X. Young Guru, a longtime collaborator with Jay-Z, called Power a “legend” on Instagram, explaining that Power heavily influenced his own signature sound. Power received two Grammy nominations for his work on albums by Ndegeocello and India.Arie, and also taught at New York University’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music.

Born in Chicago in 1952 and raised near New York City, Robert Power began playing guitar at a young age. He was inspired after his sister learned to play “Blowin’ in the Wind” and he decided he wanted to play it with more energy. Power studied music theory and composition at Webster University in St. Louis, and played with an R&B band called the New Direction. After graduating, he moved to San Francisco and focused on jazz music.

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He moved back to New York in 1982 and took on any job he could find, from composing music for commercials and making less-than-successful dance tracks, to even playing at weddings in Bensonhurst for just $75, as he recalled. In 1984, he got a lucky break when he filled in at Calliope Studios for an engineer on vacation. This led to work on a record with the group Stetsasonic, which included Prince Paul, who later became a key producer for De La Soul.

According to musician Power, a song doesn’t need to be overly polished or promoted if its rhythm is engaging. In a 2007 interview with Tape Op magazine, he explained that many poorly produced recordings and demos fail because their timing isn’t captivating, even with something as simple as a voice and acoustic guitar. The music needs to have an inherent appeal in its rhythm.

James Power, a veteran recording engineer who worked with artists like Ozomatli, Angie Stone, David Byrne, and Brockhampton, taught at NYU from 2006 until his retirement last year. He is survived by his sister, Robin.

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2026-03-03 23:31