Jay Dee RIP

To honor black history month and the contributions that blacks have given us, this entry will be dedicated to the legendary J Dilla(James Dewitt Yancey). For those you who don't know Jay Dee reigning from Detroit Michigan a producer of hip hop and musical ambassador of sorts. He was an inspiration to thousands of young diggers out there, myself included, with hits like Donuts and production of some the most classic mid 90's rap. He died in 2003 after a battle with Lupus, he was 29. His distinct style of beat production, musical knowledge, and formal training made him one a force to be reckoned with in the Hip hop industry. He famously utilized, in ways that had never really been explored prior to his debut album Welcome to Detroit, such artist such as, The Escorts, The Isley Brothers, Zapp etc. and appeared on albums with Common, DJ Premier, among others. There are some good biographies out there celebrating his life more eloquently then I can. J-Dilla Foundation and Stussy, have both created a memorandum for Dee. I have been listening to Slum Village a lot too. Mostly for the production aspect by Jay. The ryhmes are ok, but its all about production in hip hop. It can elevate mediocare rapper(Kanye, Common, Talib Kweli, Guru from Gang Starr, Kool Kieth) to unexpected succes soley based on the music behind and the final package of a song/album. J Dilla was the epitome of creating the elusive total package that evades so many rappers today.


Forever blasting Donuts... 04-lightworking by stelo

02-sniper-elite-feat-mf-doom by stelo