Song of the day: J Dilla - Wild

Happy bornday Jay Dee! ...enjoy!

Happy birthday James Dewitt Yancey...

If you know me AT ALL, you already know how much I love James Dewitt Yancey aka J Dilla, Jay Dee, the best producer ever to bless the beats, and all the other nick names he has come to be called. I don't even know what to say beyond that... this man's music has changed so many peoples lives, in so many different ways, it's hard to find the words to even talk about it. ...but more than that, I just straight up and down love him and his music. Period. From beat making and production for himself, his groups, and countless other artists, to his verses, to the type of person he seemed to be.

In this day in age, especially in hip hop, it can sometimes be hard to find artists that you can look at on every level, and respect. J Dilla has my respect. He should have yours too.

I would say take today, and play some of his music, but fuck that... fuck Dilla day, or Dilla month, or any of that shit. Play his music every month, every day. I can't think of a better artists whose music deserves constant rotation more than this man... A Jay Dee beat is an audible expression of love. His music is great. He is Great. Fuck the rest.

...that being said, I collected a few of my favorite J Dilla works, and a few other things to introduce you to him, if by some odd and disturbing chance you don't know him already. Enjoy!

Slum Village - Players


Tribe Called Quest - Find A Way


J Dilla - Mash's Revenge (feat. DOOM & Guilty Simpson)


J-88 - The Look Of Love


J Dilla - Nothing Like This


the Pharcyde - Runnin'


J Dilla - The Stepson Of The Clapper


J Dilla - Say It (feat. Ta'Raach & Exile)


Jaylib - Mcnasty Filth


J Dilla - Love Jones


...by a few, I meant 10. Of 500. He has worked with the likes of Tribe Called Quest, Pete Rock, De La Soul, the Pharcyde, the Roots, Common, Black Star, etc. I could have kept going all afternoon, but I just wanted to hopefully give people who don't know Jay's music a taste of what he did... that didn't even begin to touch the full range of his work, but those are a couple of my favorites.

Lastly, I wanted to put up this interview with Dilla. I have probably listened to this interview 3.7 million times. I can basically recite the whole thing (I know, I have no life, you don't have to tell me... it's clear to me). It's a bit long, but trust me, it's SO worth it... if you haven't heard it already, shit, even if you have. . . give it a listen. This man, his words, his music, his whole being. . . it's love. Period. ...enjoy!



For more information, check out the sites below. The Stonesthrow link offers a full discography, which is soooooo dope. Just, enjoy him. Love him. Respect him. Rest in beats J Dilla. We miss you. <3

The J Dilla Foundation
Stonesthrow - J Dilla
The Story Behind Some Of J Dilla's Great Productions (via Stonesthrow)
J-Dilla.com

Song of the day: Jaylib - Mcnasty Filth

This is one of the hardest songs of all time... tell me that beat doesn't make you want to run like 27 miles. It's not hard in terms of talking about baby murders and heroin addiction and shit, it's just. . . hard. As shit. Amazing. DILLA!

Song of the day: J Dilla - So Far To Go

"Let go and let me live inside you... what your mouth don't say baby your thighs do..." THAT. IS. ALL.

For Dilla... The Suite for Ma Dukes Orchestra - Take Notice

As you all know (if you don't know, I don't even know what to say to you...) I am a J Dilla... what's the right word here? Fanatic? Anyway. I love the man, and his music is closer to my heart than I think anyone else's is, or ever could be for that matter... because of that, this post is giving me the warm and fuzzies... and that happens like once every 16 years... check this shit out:

BEFORE:



AFTER:

FULL SCREEN
The Sounds of VTech / Suite For Ma Dukes: Take Notice

Timeless describes moments outside of time— moments that exist so deep inside history that they break through that finite grid. Timeless: The Composer/Arranger Series is an homage to the composer-arrangers that have influenced hip-hop in the most literal and profound ways. 


The creative center of popular music today is the beatmaker-producer. Whether it is Timbaland, Dilla, Dre, or Madlib, these musicians have an uncanny sense for voicings, a penchant for unusual sounds and catchy rhythms and a magical ability to manufacture a good performance. Today’s beatmakers are the direct descendants of yesterday’s composer-arrangers. Their processes—whether it be writing a memorable line for background singers or finding the appropriate moment for a baritone harmonica — mirror those of today’s musicians. The composer-arranger creates music through the frame of the bigger picture, often more concerned with how things sound together than individually. Similarly today’s beatmakers produce music on a grand scale, but through automation and sampling. 

Timeless brings these two seemingly unlike worlds together. The series honors the musical legacies of some of the greatest composer-arrangers ever.  Timeless celebrates the work of the composer-arranger in the context it should be seen—with full orchestras. 

From Mulatu Astatke to J. Dilla to Arthur Verocai, the Timeless Concert Series touched upon the works of three musical giants. Mochilla is proud to announce the March 30th, 2010 release date of the Timeless Concert Series, a 3 DVD box set with a special downloadable audio portion. The box set will be an extremely limited and numbered edition of 4,000, which will include full liner notes, a free poster exclusive only to the box set, extra features, songs, and slideshows of images used in the presentation. To mark the launch of the DVD, there will be a series of events scheduled around its release, including a SXSW screening. Stay tuned here to The Sounds of VTech http://music.vtechphones.com for more. 

Suite For Ma Dukes:

Timeless II celebrated the music of hip-hop producer, James “J. Dilla” Yancey. Composed and arranged for a 60-piece orchestra by Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, the concert featured special guests Bilal, Dwele, Posdnuos (De La Soul), Talib Kweli and more. This premiere performance is still buzzing in the minds of many, unable to shake the magic of that evening. 

The music has been mixed and mastered by legendary Grammy award-winning producer/mixer Bob Power http://www.bobpower.com/ Power is the man behind hundreds of pop and jazz recordings for such artists as Erykah Badu, D’Angelo, India.Arie, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, and more.  Significantly he also worked with Dilla while he was alive. Bob rarely works on smaller independent projects like this, but was so impressed with Miguel’s music that he blessed this collaboration with an epic mix. We are premiering “Take Notice” today with Bob’s mix. 

In related news, on February 6th, 2010, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony http://www.wcfsymphony.org/ will be perform four of Miguel’s arrangements of Dilla in a tribute to great American composers. Dilla will be honored right along side George Gershwin, William Grant Still, and Duke Ellington. Only Timeless could have made this happen. Deepest congratulations to Miguel and Dilla. 

The performance is also available for download here: The Suite for Ma Dukes Orchestra - Take Notice

For More Info:

http://music.vtechphones.com/

http://mochilla.com/

{Video} 88-Keys Remembers J Dilla (via ONSMASH.com)

Pulled this from ONSMASH.com - 88-Keys discusses meeting Dilla (among other things). . . enjoy!

...just in case you wanted it, here's the original link: 88-Keys Remembers J Dilla

{Download} J Dizle - Best Of J Dilla (if you love Dilla - and you better fucking LOVE Dilla, you don't want to miss this...)

The amazin' people over at RapRadar.com put together a fucking awesome mixtape (well, three technically) of J Dilla's most notable work. . . and these mixtapes are no joke, each having over 50 songs on them. . . if you're a Dilla fanatic like myself, these mixtapes are a reason to get up in the morning... To the good people at RapRadar.com: SALUTE! To everyone else: Enjoy motherfuckers!

Just Dizle - Best Of J Dilla

Song of the day: Que D. - Rock Box

The homeboy and I were talking about our favorite Dilla beats today, and this was one of his... a classic choice, so I chose it... see how that works? Yep. Like that... Enjoy!

Song of the day: J Dilla - Baby feat. Guilty Simpson & Madlib

This is one of my all time favorite tracks. . . like. . . ever. . . it's such a classic with Dilla, Guilty, and Madlib. I mean, honestly, could you ask for a better combo? Also, this just happens to be a very special song for me and my heart. . . I luh ya' boy..!

Song of the day: Jay Electronia - So What You Sayin'

Jay Electrolysis rhyme, J Dilla production, and 2Pac as part of the subject matter. . . I think this is my favorite song ever right now. . . like. . . ever. . .

On this point you shouldn't argue. . .

I love James Dewitt Yancey. In my opinion, he was, is, and always will be the best Hip Hop producer alive. I don't care if you disagree. I just don't give a fuck. You don't have to agree with me, but I will not justify my answer to you, nor will I argue with you about it. Accept that this is my opinion and move on. Period.

J Dilla aka James Dewitt Yancey

February 7, 1974 – February 10, 2006