J Dilla: Rest Brother

Producer J Dilla falls into this second category. With a career spanning over 10 years, he produced some of the most influential hip-hop tracks ever recorded. If you appreciate Hip-Hop music, chances are you have nodded your head to several J Dilla tracks. Questlove, drummer for the Roots, proclaimed J Dilla “the greatest� Hip-Hop producer of all time. Other producers like Kanye West and Pharrell Williams have gone on record praising his production sound.

Music lovers are very saddened by the untimely death of Hip-Hop producer J Dilla a.k.a. James Yancey, who passed away on Friday February 10. He had been diagnosed with Lupus three years ago. His mother relocated to Los Angeles to look after him during his lengthy illness. Born in Detroit, MI in February 7, 1974. He became part of the ever growing Detroit underground Hip-hop scene in the mid 1990’s. But things started to happen when he hooked up with Q Tip from Tribe called quest.

The majority of the population has heard of rappers like Snoop Doggy Dog and 50 Cent. So often, producers like DJ Premier, Pete Rock and Jazzy Jeff are the unsung heroes. Producer J Dilla falls into this second category. With a career spanning over 10 years, he produced some of the most influential hip-hop tracks ever recorded. If you appreciate Hip-Hop music, chances are you have nodded your head to several J Dilla tracks. Questlove, drummer for the Roots, proclaimed J Dilla “the greatest� Hip-Hop producer of all time. Other producers like Kanye West and Pharrell Williams have gone on record praising his production sound.

J Dilla’s sound is the alternative to the sound that is the driving force to the bling bling culture. It is a Hip-Hop sound with emphasis on jazz and soul music, quite musical, with raw beats. His sound is a contrast to what other mainstream producers do. J Dilla, along with DJ Premier and Pete Rock have set new standards in Hip-Hop production, which some people label as real Hip-Hop. His production credits are very impressive. He has helped craft albums for Common (Like water for chocolate) Tribe called quest (Beats Rhymes and life) D Angelo (Voodoo) among many other successful acts. His own Slum Village project of the late 90’s has the dubious honor of being the most bootlegged band in history. J Dilla’s last solo project (Welcome to Detroit instrumental) was released last year on indie label BBE. J Dilla was thankful of his life and on his parents insistence that he learn music in his school years. May he rest in peace.

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