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picture via dstrbo
If you've been checking most of the other hip hop blogs this past week, you're no doubt aware that the one year anniversary of producer J Dilla's passing is coming up tomorrow. Hard to believe that a year has passed already.
I had been a fan of Dilla's work from the beginning, when I first heard the beats he produced for Pharcyde's Labcabincalifornia and A Tribe Called Quest's Beats, Rhymes and Life, though I was unaware at the time that they were "Dilla" beats. In fact, it wasn't until several years later that I even heard the name Jay Dee, and I was surprised to hear such complex beats being produced by the man behind pop-rap acts Kris Kross and Da Brat. It took me a minute to realize that J.D. and Jay Dee were two different people. My bad.
I must confess, though, that Dilla never "changed my life." Some of his work I don't particularly care for, most notably the production he did with The Ummah on A Tribe Called Quest's The Love Movement. Its not that the beats weren't good on that album, its just that they were not what I wanted from a Tribe album.
That's what I thought the first time I listened to The Love Movement, anyway. What I eventually came to realize was that many of Dilla's beats, at least for my ear, require a few listens before they can be fully appreciated. Its rare that Dilla ever put out a beat that was ready for radio play, but all of his work will outlast anything that can be heard on Hot 97 these days.
Some links:
J Dilla featuring Jay-Z - Song Cry (Assorted Donuts remix) (zShare link via DJ Soul)
J Rocc and Stones Throw's Tribute to Dilla - Thank You Jay Dee Act 2 (direct link to mp3 - hour long mix)
Dallas Penn's Jay Dee Tribute
Videos of a few songs that Dilla produced (all YouTube links):
A Tribe Called Quest - 1nce Again
Pharcyde - Runnin'
Common - Be
Janet Jackson - Got 'Till Its Gone (Dilla didn't actually get production credit for this on the album, but he did produce it)
Dilla - Nothing Like This (yeah, that's about the third time I've linked to this video in the past few weeks, but its my favorite Dilla track)
For links to several articles about J Dilla, as well as some more audio links, hit up Stones Throw Records.
And finally, here's a great interview with Dilla where he discusses a lot of the artists he's worked with and the inspiration for some of his beats. Its long (10 minutes), but if you're into Dilla at all its definitely worth your time.
Be sure to go buy the double cd rerelease of Dilla's Rough Draft in March.
2/9/2007 9:05:17 AM posted by Fresh