J Dilla

Essential Albums

  • Donuts
    Donuts
    Donuts

    There should have been more records like Donuts, many more. When J Dilla, aka Detroit’s James Yancey, made the album, he was 31 years old and widely celebrated as a producer of rare talent, having worked with Erykah Badu, D’Angelo and De La Soul, among many others. He had an encyclopaedic knowledge of obscure jazz, funk and soul, and as a talented drummer in his own right, he brought a rare sense of groove to the samples he chopped up on his trusty Akai MPC. An entire tradition of beat music has been constructed atop the unique sense of swing that Dilla brought to the classic boom-bap cadence; “Dilla-esque” has become shorthand for a certain sensibility—a mixture of taste, timing and restraint—that was present in all his productions, and almost impossible to imitate, no matter how many have tried. But Donuts was Yancey’s final missive, notwithstanding a flood of posthumous releases: he suffered from lupus—he recorded some of Donuts in his hospital bed, in fact—and died just three days after the record hit shelves in February, 2006. It’s likely the album would have become legendary under any circumstances. Where his 2001 vocal album Welcome 2 Detroit ably showed off his chops, the all-instrumental Donuts proved how much was possible from sampling alone. Drawing not only from staples like Dionne Warwick and The Jackson 5 but also soft rockers 10cc, Sex Pistols impresario Malcom McLaren and Looney Tunes composer Raymond Scott, Dilla wove brief loops into hypnotic sketches, most of them barely a minute long, that flowed into one overarching whole: the elegant expression of a state of mind that is by turns playful, defiant and tender, in which the smallest details snowball into the biggest feelings. Dilla’s legacy left generations of fans mourning his loss, but his final completed statement is bursting with joy.

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About J Dilla

Affectionately known as Jay Dee, J Dilla was one of hip-hop’s best-kept secrets when he was alive. Born James Dewitt Yancey in 1974, Dilla was raised in Detroit, where he formed Slum Village with school friends Baatin and T3 in 1996. Introduced to the MPC drum machine by Detroit session musician Amp Fiddler, Dilla developed his calling card: drums that had the offbeat cadence of live sticks and an alchemical ability to morph samples into warm creations beyond recognition. As Slum Village gathered an underground fanbase, Dilla produced for De La Soul, Janet Jackson and Busta Rhymes, often uncredited. And by 1999, he joined the Soulquarians—a musical collective of prolific Black artists—to produce albums for Erykah Badu, D’Angelo and Common; shared a set of now-mystical beat tapes online; and released his solo debut, Welcome 2 Detroit. Around this time, Dilla also formed the group Jaylib with Madlib to create Champion Sound, an album that showcased both of their brilliant production skills behind charismatic, syncopated rhymes. Dilla’s health began to deteriorate from a rare blood disease and lupus in 2002. Still, he left two albums on his way out, a final display of his undeniable prowess behind the boards. The instrumental album Donuts, released just days before his death in 2006, served as a master class in sample flipping and a heartwarming farewell to his loved ones, and The Shining, which Dilla entrusted collaborator Karriem Riggins to complete, posthumously showcases his potent mic-rocking skills alongside friends like Common, Pharoahe Monch and Guilty Simpson. Dilla’s immeasurable influence still inspires countless acts years after his death: Knxwledge, Flying Lotus and Earl Sweatshirt study his unconventional rhythms and sampling, and an annual Dilla Day in Detroit marks his unforgettable legacy.

HOMETOWN
Detroit, MI, United States
BORN
7 February 1974
GENRE
Hip-Hop/Rap

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