But it seemed to me that Dilla sat in on the recording sessions or at least was able to bounce ideas off of ?uest during the making of TFA and Phrenology. At least that's what I was able to piece together.

But others on here have talked about Dilla's influence, or more to the point, lack of influence, on the band and I've backed away from my idea that Dilla's passing affected the band's sound anymore than The Roots innate impulse to make music that was less funky and upbeat than what DYWM and TFA.

The other posters and IIRC some of Quest's interviews later on in the history of the band mentioned that over the years The Roots consciously decided to make serious records. If that's the case it's only natural that they would avoid sounding like TFA because it was a decision and not a lack of inspiration.