“When you learn music, you’re trained to think [in terms of a] “right way” and a “wrong way.” - Jacob Collier, from TFA

Only if you have a lousy teacher. The best teachers are, in a sense, history professors. Their job is to show you how to imitate the masters. In that sense, Collier might be right, given one can objectively measure whether you're close to, or far from, emulating a given artist. But imitation is only a means to an end. You learn to imitate the masters so that you can stand on their shoulders and invent something new. I suspect that's what J Dilla was up to.

"Imitate, Assimilate, Innovate" - Clark Terry, paraphrased.