| Name | J Dilla |
|---|
| Background | solo_singer |
|---|
| Birth name | James Dewitt Yancey |
|---|
| Alias | Jay Dee, J Dilla, Dilla Dawg |
|---|
| Born | February 07, 1974 |
|---|
| Died | February 10, 2006 |
|---|
| Instrument | Turntables, sampler, drum machine, keyboards, bass guitar, drums |
|---|
| Genre | Hip hop, neo soul |
|---|
| Occupation | Record producer, rapper, DJ |
|---|
| Years active | 1993–2006 |
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| Label | Delicious Vinyl, BBE, MCA, Stones Throw |
|---|
| Associated acts | Slum Village, Common, Madlib, Dwele, Guilty Simpson, Frank n Dank Black Milk, Mos Def, J Rocc, Waajeed, Bling47, Bilal, Busta Rhymes, Erykah Badu, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Karriem Riggins, The Roots, RJ Young, Phat Kat, D'Angelo, Talib Kweli, Jay Electronica,Royce Da 5' 9", Moka Only |
|---|
| Url | www.stonesthrow.com/jdilla |
|---|
James Dewitt Yancey (February 7, 1974 – February 10, 2006), better known by the
stage names
J Dilla and
Jay Dee, was an American
record producer who emerged from the mid-1990s underground hip hop scene in
Detroit, Michigan. According to his obituary at NPR.org, he "was one of the music industry's most influential hip-hop artists, working for big-name acts like A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Busta Rhymes and Common."Renowned producer
Pete Rock placed J Dilla on his list of the top five producers of all time,while the editors of
About.com ranked him #15 on their list of the Top 50 Hip-Hop Producers.Andy Kellman of
Allmusic stated that -- by 2004, after being active for well over a decade as a producer -- J Dilla had accomplished enough to be considered "an all-time great."
Yancey's career began slowly. He has now become highly regarded, most notably for the production of critically acclaimed albums by Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Common, Busta Rhymes, A Tribe Called Quest, The Pharcyde, and Erykah Badu. He was a member of Slum Village and produced their acclaimed debut album Fan-Tas-Tic (Vol. 1) and their follow-up Fantastic, Vol. 2.
Biography
Early life
James Yancey was the second oldest of four children including an older brother (Earl), a younger sister and a younger brother, Johnny, also a rapper/producer known as Illa J. The family lived in a house situated near McDougall and East Nevada, off E. 7 Mile in
Detroit. He developed a vast musical knowledge from his parents (his mother is a former opera singer and his father was a jazz bassist). According to his mother, he could "match pitch perfect
harmony" by "two-months old", to the amazement of musician friends and relatives. He began collecting vinyl at the age of two and would be allowed to spin records in the park, an activity he enjoyed tremendously as a child.
Early career
In 1992, he met experienced Detroit musician
Amp Fiddler, who was impressed by what Jay Dee was able to accomplish with such limited tools. Amp Fiddler let Jay Dee use his
MPC, which he learned quickly. In 1995, Jay Dee and MC
Phat Kat formed
1st Down, and would be the first Detroit hip hop group to sign with a major label (Payday Records) - a deal that was ended after one single when the label folded. That same year he recorded 'Yesteryearz' with 5 Elementz (a group consisting of the late
Proof, Thyme and Mudd).
By the mid 1990s Jay Dee was known as a major hip hop prospect, with a string of singles and remix projects, for Janet Jackson, Pharcyde, De La Soul, Busta Rhymes, A Tribe Called Quest, Q-Tip's solo album and others. The majority of these productions were released without his name recognition, being credited to The Ummah, a production collective composed of Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest, and later Raphael Saadiq of Tony! Toni! Toné!. Under this umbrella, Jay did some of his most big name R&B; and hip hop work, churning out original songs and remixes for Janet Jackson, Busta Rhymes, Brand New Heavies, Something For the People, trip hop artists Crustation and many others. This all came off the heels of Jay handling the majority of production on The Pharcyde's album Labcabincalifornia, released in the holiday season of 1995. Jay Dee's largest-scale feat came in 1997 when he produced Janet Jackson's Grammy winning single "Got 'til It's Gone" from The Velvet Rope. The song-writing credit and subsequent Grammy were both given to Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.
Performing career
2000 marked the
major label debut of
Slum Village with
Fantastic, Vol. 2, creating a new following for Jay Dee as a producer and an MC. He was also a founding member of the production collective known as The
Soulquarians (along with Ahmir "
Questlove" Thompson,
D'Angelo and
James Poyser amongst others) which earned him more recognition and buzz. He subsequently worked with
Erykah Badu,
Talib Kweli, and
Common - contributing heavily to the latter's critically acclaimed breakthrough album,
Like Water for Chocolate. When Dilla finished working with Frank-N-Dank on the
48 Hours album, MCA Records requested a record with a larger commercial appeal, and the artists re-recorded the majority of the tracks, this time using little to no samples. Despite this, neither versions of the album saw the light of day, and Dilla expressed he was disappointed that the music never got out to the fans.
Dilla was signed to a solo deal with MCA Records in 2002 and completed an album in 2003. such as Madlib, Pete Rock, Hi-Tek, Supa Dave West, Kanye West, Nottz, Waajeed, Quebo Kuntry (J.Benjamin) and others. The album was shelved due to internal changes at the label and MCA folding into Geffen Records. and people on the internet privately shared and discussed the album.
While the record with MCA stalled, Dilla recorded the uncompromising Ruff Draft, released exclusively to vinyl by German label Groove Attack.
J Dilla died on February 10, 2006, three days after his 32nd birthday and the release of his final album Donuts, at home in Los Angeles, California. According to his mother, Maureen Yancey, the cause was cardiac arrest.
Posthumous music
Upon his death, Dilla had several projects planned for future completion and release.
Ruff Draft was reissued as a double CD/LP set in March 2007 and is sometimes considered his third solo album. The reissue contains previously unreleased material from the Ruff Draft sessions and instrumentals. Most notably, it was also released in a cassette tape format, paying homage to Dilla's dirty, grimy sound (he was known for recording over two-tracked instrumentals). This version, however, is a cut-and-paste job using verses recorded for Biggie's posthumous Born Again album, for which a new beat was used from Nottz.
In 2008, Q-Tip used one of Dilla's beats for his song Move off of The Renaissance.
Yancey Boys, by J Dilla's younger brother John Yancey, was released in 2008 on Delicious Vinyl Records. It is produced entirely by J Dilla and features rapping by his brother, under the name Illa J. Stones Throw Records released a digital instrumental version of the album in 2009.
An album titled Jay Stay Paid (aka J$P) was released in 2009. Despite well-known collaborators rapping over Dilla's music, the involvement of Pete Rock in mixing, and the endorsement of J Dilla's mother, this is the second posthumous J Dilla release whose legitimacy is not fully known. It does not appear in J Dilla's official discography.
In 2009, Mos Def used one of Dilla's beats on his album The Ecstatic. The song, entitled "History", also featured Talib Kweli. Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon also used Dilla beats for his songs "House of Flying Daggers", "Ason Jones", and "10 Bricks" which are all on his critically acclaimed album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II.
In 2010, unreleased production and vocals from J Dilla will be featured on Slum Village's sixth studio album Villa Manifesto, the first album with all five members.
Legacy
J Dilla leaves behind two daughters. In May 2006, J Dilla's mother announced the creation of "The J Dilla Foundation," which will work to cure people affected by
lupus. Besides countless tribute tracks and concerts, Dilla's death created a wealth of interest in his remaining catalog and, consequently, Dilla's influence on hip hop production became more apparent. A recent BBC documentary inspired by the olympic runner
Usain Bolt, contained two J Dilla-produced songs - "So Far To Go" by Common and "
Runnin'" by The Pharcyde.
In February 2007, a year after his death, J Dilla posthumously received the Plug Award's Artist of the Year as well as the award for Record Producer of the Year. In Dilla's hometown of Detroit, House music veteran Carl Craig has fronted a movement to install a plaque in honor of J Dilla in Conant Gardens (where the artist grew up and initiated his career). A resolution for the proposed plaque was passed by the Detroit Entertainment Commission in May 2010, and is currently awaiting approval by the Detroit City Council.
J Dilla continues to be remembered as one of the most important figures of the hip hop generation.
Outside of Hip Hop, Dilla has proven to be highly influential to the works of bands and producers within the United Kingdom. Jack Barnett of These New Puritans has been seen occasionally wearing a "J Dilla Changed My Life" t-shirt. The band subliminally honored Dilla by replicating the notable minimal driving drum pattern of 'Jungle Love' from "The Shining" on "InfinityytinifnI" which is found on the album 'Beat Pyramid'. Southend-on-sea shoegaze-punk band The Horrors, London pop bands The xx, Golden Silvers and Mystery Jets alongside electronic producers Joy Orbison, Darkstar and Micachu & Kwes have all cited Dilla as a major musical influence.
Despite these accolades, there have been documented conflicts between his mother and the executor of his estate Arthur Erik regarding future Dilla releases. In an interview with LA Weekly, Erik described how difficult it was for the estate to "protect his legacy" due to bootlegging and unofficial mixtapes. He stressed how important it was for the estate to gather all possible income related to Dilla's name, as Dilla had to borrow money from the government due to mounting medical bills at the end of his life.
Mrs. Yancey also has mentioned that Erik was in fact Dilla's accountant and not his business manager in his lifetime, and that he fell into his position because she and Dilla were first and foremost concerned about his health and not with getting paperwork in order. Despite these actions, it would appear that little income has been generated, as Stones Throw has just released a charity t-shirt on its website.
In a recent article on the family's troubles in Vibe magazines, his mother revealed that the family lost their old home in Detroit due to her taking care of Dilla in his final days. The mother of one of Dilla's children, Monica Whitlow, also broke her silence on the issue of the estate and his legacy:
On January 24, 2010, an announcement was made on j-dilla.com, regarding the J Dilla Estate and the Yancey family.
"The family of late music producer James “J Dilla” Yancey is extremely pleased to announce the appointment of West Coast probate attorney Alex Borden as administrator of Yancey’s estate, and also to announce the establishment of the official J Dilla Foundation. The developments mark a new chapter in preserving and enhancing the legacy of the legendary artist and secure a means of future prosperity for his mother, Maureen “Ma Dukes” Yancey, daughters Ja’Mya Yancey and Ty-Monae Whitlow, and brother, John “Illa J” Yancey."
The J Dilla Estate will be working with the Yancey family in all business dealings of J Dilla's catalog of music...
Notable musical tributes
Akrobatik pays tribute to Dilla on his album Absolute Value. In the song "Put Your Stamp on It", he raps "If hip hop is dead then it happened the day that Dilla died". The song was produced by Dilla himself.
Erykah Badu's series of New Amerykah albums contains a number of tributes to J Dilla. On
New Amerykah Part One (4th World War), Badu first honours Dilla with the song "The Healer", where she sings "this one is for Dilla". She again pays tribute to him on the song "My People", a re-working of the song "People" from J Dilla's album Donuts. The closing song of
New Amerykah Part One, "Telephone", draws inspiration from J Dilla's final moments as his mother had described to her, with J Dilla himself having visions about his passage to the afterlife. On
New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh), Badu pays tribute again to Dilla on the song "Love", a song that J Dilla posthumously produced as well.
"Show Me A Good Time" from Drake's album "Thank Me Later" mentions J Dilla
Busta Rhymes in collaboration with Mick Boogie, Rah Digga, Q-Tip,
Talib Kweli and others, released Dillagence, a mixtape dedicated to J Dilla's memory and featuring songs created using many previously unreleased beats created by J Dilla.
"Forever Begins" from Common's album Finding Forever is a tribute to J Dilla.
De La Soul pay tribute to Dilla on the track "La La La" off of the NBA Live 10 soundtrack.
StevieThunder.com's 2006 instrumental album "More Donuts" paid tribute to his fellow Detroiter J Dilla with 32 Tracks to represent each year of his life, and a picture of his funeral shrine is featured on the back cover artwork.
Common's album Finding Forever is an album entirely dedicated to J Dilla, where as Kanye even cut up the samples in methods that J Dilla did.
DJ Spinna released an instrumental tribute to J Dilla on vinyl entitled "Dilla is the G.O.A.T." (Greatest of All Time), with Spinna producing a beat in the same vein as J Dilla's song "Nobody Cares About Us" with Phat Kat. DJ Spinna would later release a second tribute to Dilla called "Dillagence", using the same production as "Dilla is the G.O.A.T." and featuring a medley of J Dilla's lyrics performed by
Phonte of
Little Brother.
Dwele on his 2008 album
Sketches of a Man pays tribute to J Dilla all over the album, from the album cover (an imitation of Dilla's instrumental album
Donuts), to the interludes ("Workin' On It" is a medley of various songs found on
Donuts) and the songs "Open Your Eyes" and "Brandi". "Open Your Eyes" is a cover of the Bobby Caldwell song that was sampled by J Dilla for Common's "The Light", from his 2000 album
Like Water For Chocolate. "Brandi" contains a sample from "Go Ladies" from J Dilla's former group Slum Village, who also appear on the song, from their 2000 album,
Fantastic, Vol. 2.
Black Milk mentions J Dilla on various productions of his since his passing. On his 2008 album Tronic, Black Milk rhymes about how J Dilla was an inspiration to him ("Long Story Short") and that he was "the best Hip-Hop producer" ("Bond 4 Life"). On his 2010 album Album of the Year, Black Milk laments that he wishes J Dilla was still around "to hear this new shit" ("Closed Chapter").
Flying Lotus pays tribute to J Dilla by remaking the Slum Village track "Fall In Love" in his own signature sound, utilizing the same melody and harmony with a more electronic aesthetic. The song would later be rhymed over in the song "Paid Homage (RIP J Dilla)", from Detroit emcee Finale's album A Pipe Dream and a Promise. Flying Lotus also produced his own rendition of J Dilla's song "Lightworks" with the song "LTWXRMX" from his white label EP Shhhh! released in 2008.
Take, in his 2008 album The Dirty Decibels of Thomas Two Thousand, pays tribute to J Dilla on two songs, "Lie-twerx" and "Fall in Love Again", which cover theproductions on "Lightworks" and "Fall in Love" respectively.
Robert Glasper, a
jazz pianist, pays tribute to J Dilla with the song "J Dillalude". The jazz composition, requested by Q-Tip in a voice message played at the song's onset, is made up of various Dilla productions such as Common's "Thelonius", De La Soul's "Stakes Is High" and Slum Village's "Fall in Love".
Hip-Hop producer
J. Rawls pays tribute to J Dilla on his side-project The Liquid Crystal Project with a song titled "A Tribute to Dilla", a jazzy rendition of Slum Village's song "Players". J. Rawls later pays tribute again to Dilla with the song "Another Tribute to Dilla" released on vinyl 7", which offers a jazzy cover of the song "Fall in Love".
Kardinal Offishall pays tribute to J Dilla on his album Not 4 Sale. At the end of the song "Due Me a Favour", he performs an a cappella rap, stating, "I believe that Dilla was the number one dude in rap".
Ladybug Mecca former member of Digable Planets dedicates her song and video "You Never Get Over It" from her solo album "Trip The Light Fantastic" in loving memory of J. Dilla and her mother and father.
Madlib and J-Rocc honour J Dilla with two installments of the Beat Konducta series. and (later combined into Vol. 5-6: A Tribute to...) are instrumental tributes produced in the same fashion as J Dilla's album Donuts.
J-Rocc further commemorates J Dilla with a series of mixes and podcasts entitled "Thank You Jay Dee". The series is divided into four acts and was released yearly from 2006 to 2009. The music contained within is a megamix of J Dilla's sample sources, demonstrating the wide variety of styles and songs Dilla was able to incorporate in creating his music.
Producer M-Phazes pays tribute to J Dilla with the track "Raise It Up For Dilla".
Pete Rock pays tribute to J Dilla on the album NY's Finest, on the track "Gangsta Boogie".
Q-Tip Q-Tip pays tribute to J Dilla on his 2009 album The Renaissance with the songs "Shaka" and "Life is Better". On the former, he calls J Dilla a "master" and raps, "Dilla, having you in my past has been blast, you've inspired so many and forever will you last", and on the latter, he makes mention of J Dilla twice during a verse that recalls some of Hip-Hop's most influential figures.
The Roots pay tribute to J Dilla on their 2007 album
Game Theory with "Can't Stop This", a song that incorporates J Dilla's song "Time: The Donut of the Heart" as the beat with emcee Black Thought rapping about the impact he had on his life. The song closes with a number of voice messages discussing J Dilla's legacy and influence on Hip-Hop music and over the years. In 2010, The Roots released the instrumental mixtape
Dilla Jawns, re-interpreting a variety J Dilla's works. The mixtape would later be rapped over by Dice Raw in his mixtape
Dilla, Dice, Pregunte. The Roots again pay tribute to J Dilla, along with deceased
Slum Village member Baatin, on the instrumental interlude "Dillatude: Flight of the Titus" from their album
How I Got Over.
Show & A.G. pays tribute to J Dilla on their song "Business As Usual" from the Live Hard EP, where A.G. rhymes: "Age bitter, J Dilla rest your soul / Gave his life for this hip hop shit, y'all don't hear me though".
Termanology recorded a hip hop mixtape tribute to J Dilla titled "If Heaven Was A Mile Away"
Dan-e-o released a 2 in 1 album/mixtape entitled Dilla Pickles in honor of J Dilla.
Lightworks Recordings, record label based in Hawaii, was named in honor of J Dilla based on the track Lightworks off of the Donuts album.
The Roots made a mixtape called Dilla Jawns (previously "Dilla Joints", renamed by Questlove as "joints" is an ambiguous term) covering 14 Dilla beats on what would have been his 36th birthday in February 2010.
A Suite for Ma Dukes is a live musical tribute to J Dilla arranged and conducted by
Miguel Atwood-Ferguson with the help of Carlos Nino and a 60-piece orchestra. Originally a four-song EP of a selection of J Dilla's works, the project expanded and culminated into a series of live events that were recorded for a subsequent live album release. The concert, the second in the Timeless Conductor Series presented by Mochilla, included orchestral renditions of several J Dilla's productions and featured appearances by soul singers
Dwele and
Bilal, rappers
Posdnous, Talib Kweli and Illa J, along with various instrumental and vocal contributions by some of Dilla's close collaborators like
Karriem Riggins,
Shafiq Husayn,
Thundercat and
Amp Fiddler. Atwood-Ferguson said, "Dilla’s music is so heartfelt, soulful and transcendent. It is perfect for someone like me to reinterpret and celebrate in my own way. It’s really been fun for me to explore his music in an orchestral setting."
On J. Cole's "Knock Knock" from his popular mixtape, "The Warm-Up" the song open's with the line: "Sometime's play the villain, sometimes play the hero. Sometimes I be Dilla, sometimes I be Preemo.
Nottz pays a tribute to J Dilla in the song "Shine So Brite" on the album "You Need This Music".
Lettuce, the funk band pays tribute with their song "Mr. Yancey".
Danny! pays tribute to J Dilla on the track "Check It Out", a re-interpretation of the A Tribe Called Quest single Find A Way, which was produced by Dilla.
Hip-Hop producer
14KT released an instrumental album
Nowalataz, inspired by J Dilla's album Donuts. The album's name is derived from 14KT's favourite snackbar
Now & Laters, and is named in the same way that Dilla titled his album Donuts out of his joy of eating donuts. The music from Nowalataz is in keeping with the methodology and sound of Donuts as well, with regard to the soulful samples and beat production techniques used. Nowalataz is 14KT's second tribute to J Dilla, following the song "Without Dilla (Donut 2 Dilla Feb. 06')" from his debut album
Golden Hour Soundtrack released in 2008.
UK Hip Hop artist Ricta pays tribute to Dilla on the track "'Bout To" on the Expocate EP "This is a verse that I dedicate to J Dilla".
Stray Phrases, a jazz trio from New York City, covered the entirety of J Dilla's album Donuts during live performances throughout the end of 2010 and early 2011.
On Massilo Ohio rapper Stalley's mixtape "Lincoln Way Nights", he refers to Dilla in the song "Tell Montez I Love Her" with this line: "You was the first to introduce me to Dilla, and until this day I ain't never heard nobody realer".
Kansas artist XV released a 6 song EP titled "Thanks For The Donuts", strictly using beats produced by J. Dilla.
Skillz, Q-Tip, and Peanut Butter Wolf pay homage in memory of Dilla on the web series Hip Hop Confessions (episode 6) trading stories about the producer.
On Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller's "The Jukebox" Mixtape, he does his own rendition of "So Far To Go"
Discography
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Year
!Artist
!Album
!Label
|-
|1997
|
Slum Village
|
Fan-Tas-Tic (Vol. 1)
|Donut Boy Recordings/2006 re-release: Counterflow
|-
|2000
|
Slum Village
|
Fantastic, Vol. 2
|Goodvibe
|-
|2000
|
Slum Village (as J-88)
|
Best Kept Secret EP
|Groove Attack
|-
|2000
|Jay Dee
|
Fuck the Police b/w Move 12"
|
Up Above Records
|-
|2001
|Jay Dee
|
Welcome 2 Detroit''
|
Barely Breaking Even
|-
|2003
|Jay Dee
|
Ruff Draft
|Mummy/Groove Attack,
Stones Throw
|-
|2003
|
Jaylib
|
Champion Sound
|
Stones Throw
|-
|2006
|J Dilla
|
Donuts
|
Stones Throw
|-
|2006
|J Dilla
|
The Shining
|
Barely Breaking Even
|-
|2008
|J Dilla
|
Jay Love Japan
|Operation Unknown, official release uncertain
|-
|2009
|J Dilla
|
Jay Stay Paid
|
Nature Sounds
|-
|2010
|J Dilla
|
Donut Shop
|
Stones Throw/
Serato
|}
References
External links
Official sites
.
J Dilla at Stones Throw Records.
J Dilla at BBE Records.
J Dilla Collection microsite.
Resources
J Dilla discography at Discogs.
Jaylib / Slum Village / The Ummah / The Soulquarians / 1st Down discographies at Discogs.
J Dilla discography at Stones Throw Records.
Category:African American rappers
Category:African American Muslims
Category:Delicious Vinyl artists
Category:MCA Records artists
Category:Musicians from Michigan
Category:Rappers from Detroit, Michigan
Category:American hip hop record producers
Category:Deaths from lupus
Category:1974 births
Category:2006 deaths
Category:Underground rappers
Category:Stones Throw Records artists
