J dilla

Childhood and Youth

James Yancy was born on February 7, 1974 in Detroit. ^[1] He was the second oldest of four children after Earl's older brother. He also had a younger sister and a younger brother, Johnny (rapper / producer known as ). The family lived in Detroit ^[2] . He inherited extensive musical knowledge from his parents: his mother, Maureen Yancey , a former opera singer, and his father, Beverly Yancey , was a jazz bassist and played the piano ^{[3] [4]} . According to his mother, he felt good harmony at the age of two months, to the amazement of the musician’s friends and relatives ^[5] , and also did not fall asleep until they played some jazz composition ^[6] . He began to collect vinyl records with albums of various artists at the age of two years ^[5] .

Soon, however, parents began to worry about the future of their son. They insisted that he go to study at the Davis Aerospace Technical High School, and after she enrolled in the US Air Force . But even during the training, the love of music did not leave him. Each month, under the pseudonym DJ Silk, he worked as a DJ at school parties ^[7] . Three years later, he decided to quit training, partly due to dislike of form , and go to Pershing High School ^[8] .

Along with a wide range of music genres, Yancy has developed a passion for hip hop music. In 1985, when he heard Whodini's “Big Mouth” track, he decided to start creating hip-hop music himself. Together with his friend Chuck, for whom he created the beats , they begin to record at the ^[9] . During these teenage years, he lived alone in a room with his ever-growing collection of records, improving his skills. Later, a few years later, when meeting with Pete Rock , he said: “I tried to be you” ^[10] .

Early career

In 1992, he met musician , who was impressed with what Jay Dee was able to accomplish with such a limited set of instruments. Amp Fiddler allowed him to use his MPC , which Jay Dee mastered quite quickly, even without using the instructions . Dilla's parents, on the contrary, did not support the initiative of the son. His father threatened to throw away all his son’s tools ^[9] .

In 1995, Jay Dee and MC joined the 1st Down group and became the first Detroit hip-hop group to sign a major label deal with Payday Records. However, the deal was completed after one single due to the closure of the label ^[11] . In the same year, he recorded The Album That Time Forgot, along with 5 Elementz (a group consisting of Proof , Thyme, and Mudd).

In 1996, he assembled a rap group called with classmates T3 (R.L. Altman III, Engl. RL Altman III ) and Baatin (Titus Glavar, Eng. Titus Glover ). In the same year, their debut album, , was recorded, which, however, was officially released only in 2005 ^[12] .

By the mid-1990s, Jay Dee was known as one of the promising hip-hop artists, with a series of singles and remixes for Janet Jackson , The Pharcyde , De La Soul , Busta Rhymes , A Tribe Called Quest , Q-Tip solo album and others. Most of these songs did not mention his name, only group of beatmakers, also including Q-Tip and from the A Tribe Called Quest group, and later Rafael Sadik from the group were in sight) ). As part of this group, he was able to work with celebrities of R&B and hip-hop, creating backing tracks and remixes for Janet Jackson, Busta Rhymes, , , trip-hop group and many others. In 1995, The Pharcyde released an album, most of which were produced by Jay Dee. In 1997, Janet Jackson received a Grammy Award for the song “ Got 'til It's Gone ” from The Velvet Rope , whose co-producer he claimed was Jay Dee. However, his name was not mentioned in the annotation on the cover of the album. He later released another version of this track called “Got 'Til It's Gone (Ummah Jay Dee's Revenge Mix)” ^[13] .

The Rise of a Career

In 2000, debut officially released album as part of the group , in which he acted as a producer and rapper. Despite the fact that sales were low due to bootlegging , this did not prevent the album from gaining popularity in the underground environment. Dill himself, however, was not embarrassed. “They say that we became multi-platinum in the streets <...> bootlegging was so strong that by the time we released the album everyone already had it,” he said in an interview with Gilles Peterson Worldwide on BBC radio in 2001 ^[14] .

Jay Dee was also a founding member of the Soulquarians beatmaker (along with from The Roots , D'Angelo and James Poiser ), which earned him even more recognition. Subsequently, he worked with Erica Badu , Talib Queli and Common 'om (with his breakthrough album , in the recording of which he took a great part).

In 2001, Jay Dee changed his nickname to J Dilla (so as not to be confused with Jermaine Dupri , who used a similar JD nickname) ^{[15] [16]} . In the same year, he leaves Slum Village to begin a solo career ^{[17] [18]} , and also not wanting to see the collapse of the group, which he already saw in A Tribe Called Quest and The Pharcyde ^[19] .

As a solo artist, he debuted in 2001 with the single “Fuck the Police”. It was written after constant problems with the police , which detained him because of his appearance - J Dilla dressed in the most fashionable clothes and had a wardrobe full of clothes at home, which is why the police considered him a drug dealer ^[20] . In the same year, his independent solo album was released by independent British label .

In 2002, J Dilla signed a contract with MCA Records to release two albums ^[21] . The first album was 48 Hours by ^[22] - the only album created by Dilla without the use of samples ^[23] . However, it was never published and reached the public only as a bootleg ^[24] . When J Dilla and Frank'N'Dank finished work on the album, MCA Records was asked to make the album more like commercially successful albums. The musicians re-recorded most of the tracks, but neither the first nor the second version of the album reached the public. J Dilla was disappointed that his music could not reach the fans.

The second album was Dilla's solo recording. Despite the fact that J Dilla was known as a producer, his rapper abilities were often questioned. Spin magazine , in particular, in 2000 called Dilla “arguably the worst rap producer since Warren G ” ^[25] . J Dilla decided to prove to everyone that he was not only a producer, but also a rapper, so on this album he decided only to read the text, and invited his favorite producers, such as Madlib , Pete Rock , , to write music. Dave West, Kanye West , , and Quebo Kuntry (J. Benjamin) ^[26] . However, due to discrepancy with the label's expectations ^[21] , as well as a number of internal changes in the label and its association with Geffen Records , the release of the album was postponed and as a result it was not released during the life of the musician. In 2016, PayJay (a label managed by Dilla's relatives) and Nas's label Mass Appeal released the album, entitled The Diary ^{[27] [28]} .

Disappointed, Dilla decided to focus on making music. In 2003 (according to rumors, in one week) ^[29] he recorded EP , releasing a small batch of vinyl records for his money on his own Mummy Records label. The album was distributed through a small, at that time, German label Groove Attack, which later became one of the largest in Europe ^[29] . Although the album was little known, it marked a change in its sound ^[30] and worldview, and from that moment he began to release all albums on independent record labels . In a 2002 interview, he talked about this change of direction ^[29] :

You know, if I had a choice ... I would have missed the major labels and would have released albums myself ... Believe me! I appeal to everyone: do everything yourself, and let independent labels go to you, instead of going to them and waiting. This is not fun. Look at me - I'm on MCA Records right now, but it feels like I'm still without a label. Thank goodness this is certainly cool, but damn it, I sit and think: “When will my album be released in the end ?! Everything is ready for a long time, how much can you wait? ”

Original text

You know, if I had a choice ... Skip the major labels and just put it out yourself, man ... Trust me. I tell everybody it's better to do it yourself and let the Indies come after you instead of going in their [direction] and getting a deal and you have to wait. It ain't fun. Take it from me. Right now, I'm on MCA but it feels like I'm an an unsigned artist still. It's cool. It's a blessing, but damn I'm like, 'When's my shit gonna come out? I'm ready now, what's up? '

Champion Sound

Since 1996, a community of fans has formed around Jay Dilla, distributing his demos . J Rocc, a beatmaker and member of , provided his record to producer and rapper Madlib , who used several tracks from this record to create his tracks ^[31] .

In 2002, the founder of the label Stones Throw worked on mixtape - a compilation that he was going to use on his DJ sets. He decided to add one of Madelib’s tracks with Dilla’s instrumentals, “The Message,” instead of writing the name of the artist Jaylib (a jumble of the names of musicians Jay Dee and Mad lib ). At the same time, Dill himself was not warned about this. In total, several hundred copies of the mixtape ^[32] (later released under the name Stones Throw Summer 2002 ) ^[33] were printed. J Dilla found out about this and called Peanut Butter Wolf ^{[32] [34]} :

In fact, we didn’t say anything to Dilla, and so later he called me and said: “Hey, what is this bootleg ?!” I was not sure if he meant something like "I'm mad at you." And he says: "Hey, let's do something, but officially." We figured out that on one half of the album Madlib would rap on Dilla's beats, and on the other half, Dilla would read on Madlib's beats.

Original text

We didn't even tell Dilla, actually, when we did it, and Dilla called me up afterwards like, 'Yo, what's up with the bootleg, man ?!' And I wasn't sure if he was like, 'What's up?' like, 'I'm pissed off at you.' And he was like, 'Yo, man, let's do some shit like that but official.' So we came up with the idea of ​​Madlib rapping over Dilla beats for half the album and Dilla rapping over Madlib beats for the other.

However, Jeff Jank, co-founder, creative director and label designer, says the conversation between them was more intense ^[35] :

When Dilla found out, he called Wolf and told him everything: “They don’t do things like that! If you want to do something, then do it right. ” It was at that moment that the idea of ​​creating an album was born <...> If Dilla did not have the courage to call Wolf and express him, there would be no joint album. I always respected him for that. He was absolutely right. It taught us a lot.

Original text

So when Dilla heard about it he calls up Wolf and chews him out. 'That ain't how you do it, if you want to do something, do it the right way.' The plan to do a Jaylib record was sparked right then and there ... If Dilla didn't have the balls to call Wolf and chew him out, there would have been no collab. I always had a lot of respect for Dilla from that, I mean, he was totally right. We all learned from it.

Work on the album was conducted remotely, the musicians sent each other CDs with material ^[36] . The album was released in 2003 under the title Champion Sound , using the old compilation name, Jaylib, as the name for the duo. Champion Sound was well received by critics, but it was overshadowed by another Madlib album, released at the same time - Madvillainy , a collaboration with MF Doom (as part of the Madvillain duo), which later became one of the label’s best-selling albums ^[37] . Despite the low sales, the album allowed Dilla to return to the old sound, which was close to the underground, and made it possible to work as he considered necessary - something that he could not afford while working with the MCA ^[38] .

In the spring of 2004, J Dilla teamed up with Madvillain on Madvillainy's tour, performing in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, and Toronto. ^[39]

Health Concerns, Donuts, and Death

Since January 2002, after a trip to Europe , J Dilla began to notice health problems. After examination in a hospital, doctors diagnosed ( eng. TTP ) ^[40] . Later it will become known that this disease caused complications, including renal failure , high blood sugar, problems with the immune system , various heart diseases and lupus . He left the hospital after a month and a half, but soon returned. The next four years he spent between the house and the hospital ^[41] .

In 2004, at the invitation of Common , and also to be closer to friends with the Stones Throw label (in particular Madlib) ^[42] , J Dilla moved from Detroit to Los Angeles, where they lived with Common in the same house and worked together on projects. Common believed that “the sun, warmth and beautiful girls” would help Dilla ^[43] . However, he began to feel even worse than before. He turned to a specialist who said that he needed to take various drugs, otherwise he would die. In November 2004, Dilla asked her mother to move to Los Angeles to help him. ^[41]

After the arrival of his mother, Dilla went to the hospital, where he remained until March 2005. He was constantly under her supervision. His disease led to kidney failure, which caused him to undergo hemodialysis three times a week. Prolonged lying caused swelling of the legs due to which he could only move in a wheelchair or with a cane ^[44] . Sometimes he had to learn to swallow again. He also lost 50% of his weight ^[41] . In 2005, a few weeks before his 31st birthday, doctors discovered lupus ^{[45] [46]} .

Even while in the hospital, despite pain and discomfort, he continued to work ^[4] . For this, a Roland SP-303 sampler and a turntable were brought into his ward ^[47] .

J Dilla did not tell anyone about his health, but after rumors that he was in a coma , in June 2005, he decided to give an interview to XXL magazine , in which he denied these rumors. Only his mother and doctor knew how bad his condition was. However, the seriousness of his condition became public in November 2005, when during a tour of Europe he acted in a wheelchair ^[45] .

In the last year of his life, J Dilla became a believer. Together with their mother, they studied the Book of Job , which tells of the suffering of the innocent ^[41] .

His doctor said that J Dilla resigned himself to his illness and refused to undergo further treatment. “I do not want to become a professional patient,” he said ^[41] .

February 7, 2006, his thirty-second birthday, he spent in his home in Los Angeles. On the same day, his last lifetime album, Donuts , recorded at the hospital ^[48] , and later becoming Dilla's most famous album, was released. Three days later, on February 10, 2006, J Dilla died. According to the mother, the cause of death was cardiac arrest ^[49] . He was buried on February 14 at Forest Lawn Cemetery . Among the guests at the funeral were Pete Rock, Busta Rhymes, The Roots, Common, Eric Badu , Amp Fiddler and Xzibit ^[50] .

At the time of his death, J Dilla had several unfinished projects planned for release in the future. According to T3, one of the members of Slum Village, J Dilla had about 150 unreleased bits , enough to create 30 tracks. Some of them were used to create their eighth studio album, ^[51] . In total, according to rumors, after the death of Dilla, he left 4,000 unfinished instrumental ^[52] .

was 75% complete ^[53] . Subsequently, the album was completed by after the death of Dilla ^[54] . The album was released on August 22, 2006 via ^[55] .

, originally released in February 2003 as an EP ^[56] , was reissued as a CD / LP in March 2007 ^[30] . Sometimes considered his third solo album. The reprint contains previously unreleased material and instrumental materials. Also, the album was released in audio cassette format, returning the "dirty" sound characteristic of J Dilla.

announced in 2005 as its debut release on Operation Unknown. The official release remains shrouded in mystery, as various genuine and fake versions of this mini-album are sold in online stores.

Champion Sound , a joint album by Dilla and Madlib , was reissued in June 2007 via Stones Throw Records as a two-disc Deluxe edition with instrumentals and additional tracks.

His compositions were also used in the soundtrack for the game ^[57] and the compilation B-Ball Zombie War , released on the label Stones Throw ^[58] .

Dillagence , a mixtape consisting of previously unreleased tracks featuring Busta Rhymes and produced by J Dilla, was released in November 2007. Busta was one of Dilla's most ardent supporters. In an interview on radio, he admitted that J Dilla helped him with production on every album ^[59] . The compilation was released for free download at MickBoogie.com.

Pay Jay , an unreleased album recorded by Dilla on MCA Records , was unofficially released as a bootleg in 2008. Conceived as a demonstration of Dilla’s skills at the microphone, it contains both production from Dilla himself and from Kanye West , , , Supa Dave West, , , Carrim Riggins and Pete Rock .

, the debut album of Dilla's younger brother, , was released in 2008 via Delicious Vinyl Records. The album was completely produced by Dilla. In 2009, Stones Throw released a digital instrumental version of this album ^[60] .

was released in 2009, an album produced by Dilla's mother, Maureen "Ma Dukes" Yensi, and his idol Pete Rock. It includes both early tracks and later works recorded during his stay in the hospital. Although the album is mostly instrumental , it also features tracks performed by from The Roots , , Havoc from Mobb Deep , , from , MF DOOM, and Raekwon ^[61] .

On October 30, 2015, the Dillatronic album was released, consisting of forty-one instrumental tracks, taken from previously unreleased materials by Dilla ^{[62] [63]} . It was compiled by Dilla's mother in conjunction with Vintage Vibez Music Group ^[64] and released on CDs by the same label, as well as in the form of a set of three LPs ^[65] . The album is very different in its electronic sound from the rest of the musician’s albums ^{[66] [67]} .

In February 2016, the label, run by relatives of Dilla PayJay and Nas ' label Mass Appeal, announced that they were preparing to release the unreleased album The Diary ^[68] . Scheduled for release on the MCA label in 2002, the album was delayed and was eventually never released ^[69] . But after almost 15 years of resolving all the formalities, obtaining permission to use samples and restoring all the project files, the album was prepared for release. The former manager of the Stones Throw label, hired by Dilla's relatives, was in charge of work on the album Egon because he talked a lot with him and knew how J Dilla saw the album ^[70] . The album also featured Snoop Dogg , Bilal , , , and . The producers of the album are: J Dilla, Madlib, Pete Rock, , Nottz, , Supa Dave West, and Carrim Riggins ^[71] . The album was announced by Nas on Beats 1 radio ^[72] , where he also presented one of the album’s tracks, “The Introduction”, and noted that in his opinion J Dilla “was still in development” ^[71] . The album's release is scheduled for April 15, 2016 ^[73] .

The death of Jay Dilla has had a significant impact on the hip hop community. In addition to numerous tributes and concerts, the death of Dilla generated great interest in his work ^{[56] [74]} .

Dave Schappel dedicated his documentary, , to him, which he states at the beginning of the film. The film was released on March 3, 2006, a month after Dilla’s death ^[75] . The film focuses primarily on the Soulquarians , a hip hop group of which J Dilla was a member.

In May 2006, Dilla's mother announced the creation of The J Dilla Foundation, created to help patients with lupus ^[76] .

In February 2007, one year after his death, the awarded Dilla the Record Producer of the Year and the Artist of the Year ^{[77] [78] [79]} .

In May 2012, Dilla's mother announced the creation of the label Ruff Draft Records, named after the musician’s self-titled album ^[80] . In addition to the release of Dilla's unreleased material, he will also be involved in the release of albums by young performers. “We want to make it easier to work with these children; we don’t know how many more Jay Dill is there. Someone needs to find them, ”said Mrs. Yancy ^[81] .

In the summer of 2012, one of the streets in the French city of Montpellier was named after Jay Dilla ^{[82] [83]} .

In memory of Donuts ' album and nephew, in 2013, Jay Dilla's uncle, Herman Hayes, decided to open a donut shop. “I want to honor the memory of my nephew correctly, and this is a good way,” he said. The store will sell about 20 different types of donuts, named after Dilla, his tracks and the places where he lived ^[48] .

In July 2014, his mother presented the several son tools, including a custom-made synthesizer and an Akai MPC 3000 Limited Edition sampler ^{[84] [85] [86]} . Representatives of the museum said that Dilla's tools will be on a par with the items of George Clinton , Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald ^{[77] [87] [88]} . The musician’s mother herself claims that several museums wanted to get these instruments in their collections at once, but this particular museum was chosen and the instruments were transferred only after five years of waiting ^[89] .

In February 2016, the official NBA socks supplier, released a limited edition of 1,000 pairs of Dilla socks. They were executed in dark blue and orange tones, with a painted donut and the inscription "Dilla". All funds received from sales went to the aid of the musician’s family ^[90] .

Family and their difficulties

Despite all the honors, conflicts were recorded between Dilla's mother and his estate manager Arthur Erk ( English Arthur Erk ) regarding future releases of J Dilla. In an interview with Erk described how difficult it is to “protect his legacy” due to bootlegging and unofficial mixtapes . He stressed how important it is to collect all the possible income associated with the name of Dilla, because he owed a lot of money due to the large number of medical bills at the end of his life ^[91] .

A few weeks after this interview, Dilla's mother expressed her opinion. In addition to stating that Erk does not communicate with Dilla's family, she stated that he forbade anyone from using her son’s name or image ^[92] :

One of the things that J Dilla wanted me to do with his legacy was to help sick people, children who were musically gifted but had little hope because of poverty. I wanted to use my contacts to help people, but all this was crushed, because we could not deal with the authorities and there was nothing that we could do about it. I am Dilla's mother and I cannot use his name or image, but I know that I can still honor him while doing his work.

Original text

One of the things Dilla wanted me to do with his legacy was to use it to help others, people with illness, kids who were musically gifted but had little hope due to poverty. I wanted to use my contacts to help people and out and it was squashed because we weren't in compliance with the state and there was nothing we could do about it. I'm Dilla's mother and I can't use Dilla's name or likeness, but I know that I still can honor him by doing his work.

Mrs. Yancy also mentioned that Erk was actually Dilla's accountant , and not managing his affairs in general, and owed his position only because she and J Dilla were primarily concerned about the musician’s health, not the documents. She also stated that Dilla's friends in the hip-hop community, such as Erica Badu , Busta Rhymes , Madlib , Common and The Roots , contacted her personally to use her son's materials in their future projects, but the heirs vetoed all future projects. not added to the contract until his death. She also said that J Dilla would not prosecute or sue others ^[92] :

Dilla did not like arguing; he would like everything to be peaceful. Dilla was about love in various forms, and when the heirs do exactly the opposite thing - this is disrespect for him and who he was.

Original text

Dilla wasn't about controversy, he would've liked things to have been peaceful. Dilla was about love in many formats and for his estate to have done the exact opposite is not having any respect for him or who he was.

Dilla left behind his two daughters ^[93] . He planned to pay bills and support the family by releasing new albums ^[41] . However, due to Dilla's debt to the government, the family does not receive income from his projects. Dilla's children are supported by the social security that their mothers receive ^[94] . The mother of the musician himself still lives in the Detroit ghetto and works in kindergarten ^[92] . A few years after the death of her son, she was diagnosed with lupus - the same disease that caused her son to die. Despite this, in an interview with The Fader, she admitted that she was feeling fine ^[95] .

In an interview with Vibe magazine , the musician’s mother said their family had lost their old Detroit home because she was preoccupied with caring for Jay Dill in his last days. The mother of one of Dilla's daughters, Monica Whitlow ( English Monica Whitlow ), also spoke on the issue of the state and its inheritance ^[96] :

It freezes me, everything that happens to this legacy! This is just unbelievable! Three years passed, and my child did not see anything from this inheritance.

Original text

But it pisses me off, everything that's going on with this estate. It's ridiculous' cause it's been three years, and my baby has not seen anything from this estate.

To help pay the cost of treatment and help the family, Delicious Vinyl Mrs. Yancy all of the proceeds from the compilation album . In 2008, The Giant Peach clothing store created a PayPal family fundraising account, and RenSoul.com released a mixtape to support the family. In addition, in 2009 the Stones Throw label released Raise It Up for Ma Dukes! T-shirts in support of Jay Dilla's mother ^[97] . In 2013, part of the vinyl records from the personal collection of the musician was put up for sale. The sales revenue went to the J Dilla Foundation, and the rest of the collection will go to the hip-hop museum that Afrika Bambaataa is planning to build ^[98] .

Impact on Hip Hop Culture

Dilla’s work has greatly influenced hip-hop ^{[21] [84] [99] [100] [101] [102] [103]} , and he is considered by many performers and music critics to be one of the best producers in hip-hop history ^{[8 ] [56] [104] [105] [106] [107]} , which, in addition to hip-hop, influenced other genres, including R&B , neo-soul and ^[108] . Pitchfork calls it “a limitless encyclopedia of musical knowledge, capable of manipulating structures, samples and drum machines, creating some of the most amazing works of his era and of any era in general” ^[109] .

In Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton: This Is Stones Throw Records , a documentary released by the Stones Throw label in 2014, Kanye West , whom Dilla himself, like Common , highly appreciated, ^[110] tells how J Dilla influenced his work: “We make music and we should think: if J Dilla were alive, would he like it? I have to create in the name of Dilla ” ^{[111] [112]} . In an interview with Juan Epstein , a joint podcast of and , West also said that he considered Dill a genius and the sound of his drums was unique ^[113] . In an interview with the BBC, he also stated that J Dilla was a great inspiration to him and that the day Dilla presented him with a drum record was one of the best days of his life ^[114] .

Pete Rock , whose fan was J Dilla in his youth, stated that Dilla has expanded his musical tastes and that he is now a fan of Dilla himself ^[115] . In the Still Shining documentary on Jay Dill, he also stated: “At the beginning of my career, I did a lot of new things. "[J Dilla] took them as a basis and raised all this two to three levels higher."

Dr. Dre in his The Pharmacy show on Beats 1 radio said that J Dilla is one of the artists that inspired him. “One of the most amazing things I like about Dill is the way he continued to work in the hospital, lying in bed shortly before his death. If we talk about the dedication of the profession, to what you love and do all your life, then this is the best example. That's why I like J Dilla, ”he said. ^[116]

Big Sean called Dilla “perhaps one of the best, if not the best producer in history,” and added that he grew up listening to the tracks of Slum Village ^[117] . also considers him the best hip-hop producer: “A lot of musicians will come and surpass him and do something more incredible, but comparing with what my eyes saw in these short nine years, that I knew him, this it will be a very difficult task ” ^[118] .

Joey Badass calls him his favorite producer ^[101] and says that if he had a choice between Dilla and DJ Premier , he would choose Dilla, despite the fact that he worked with DJ Premier on several occasions ^[119] . DJ Premier himself says that “... Dilla formed his own incredible world of sampling, which I have not heard from anyone. No one worked like Dilla. And no one has been able to repeat it so far ” ^[120] .

also calls him his favorite producer. “It seems to me that some musicians are stuck in a certain era and it is difficult for them to continue to improve or even think about music from a different angle. That is why I consider Dilla the best in history. He was the most progressive hip hop producer. What he did on the drum machine was 5-10 years ahead of everyone else, ”he said ^[121] .

believes that Dille "does not pay tribute to how much he influenced the sound of neo-soul , R&B and music in general" ^[122] .

, founder of Stones Throw , told magazine, “He constantly changed hip-hop. I believe that the transition of hip-hop to soul sound in the mid-90s is his merit ” ^[9] .

Erica Badu , who worked with Dilla, said in an interview with Vibe Magazine: “He influenced all current musicians. <...> They may not admit it ... producers and artists take something from Dilla, but the ego does not allow them to admit it ” ^[123] .

In November 2015, Justin Timberlake tweeted : “I (and the music) lack Dilla” ^[124] .

American singer Farrell Williams ^[125] , rappers Common ^[122] , MF Doom ^[126] , ^[127] , Eminem and the band D12 ^[41] , producer and DJ Flying Lotus ^[128] , experimental musician pop Panda Bear ^[129] , Scottish producer and DJ Hudson Mohawke ^[108] , French beatmaker Onra ^[130] , British rock band The Horrors ^[131] , indie rock band ^[132] and Mystery Jets ^[133] , DJ ^134] and the electronic duo Disclosure ^{[135] are} also among the artists influenced by J Dilla.

Lifetime solo albums:

• 2001 : Jay Dee - Welcome 2 Detroit ( Barely Breaking Even )
• 2003 : Jay Dee - Ruff Draft (Mummy / Groove Attack; 2007 re-release - Stones Throw )
• 2006 : J Dilla - Donuts ( Stones Throw )

Posthumous solo albums:

• 2006 : J Dilla - The Shining ( Barely Breaking Even )
• 2008 : J Dilla - Jay Love Japan (Operation Unknown / PayJay)
• 2009 : J Dilla - Jay Stay Paid ( Nature Sounds )
• 2010 : J Dilla - Donut Shop ( Stones Throw / Serato )
• 2015 : Jay Dee aka J Dilla - The King of Beats (Yancey Media Group)
• 2015 : J Dilla - Dillatronic (Vintage Vibez Music Group)
• 2016 : J Dilla - The Diary (PayJay, Mass Appeal )

As part of Slum Village:

• 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 (like J-88) - Best Kept Secret EP (Groove Attack)

As part of Jaylib:

• 2003 : Jaylib - Champion Sound ( Stones Throw )

• Jordan Ferguson J Dilla's Donuts . - USA : Bloomsbury Publishing , 2014 .-- (33⅓). - ISBN 9781623563608 .
• Kelly Louise Carter Jay Dee's last days (English) , Detroit Free Press (February 23, 2006). Date of treatment December 24, 2015.

Official links

• The official J Dilla Myspace page
• Official site
• J Dilla on Stones Throw Records label website
• J Dilla on BBE Records label website
• J Dilla Collection microsite

Discography

• J Dilla on Discogs
• Jaylib on Discogs
• Slum Village on Discogs
• The Ummah on Discogs
• The Soulquarians on Discogs
• 1st Down on Discogs