Sadly today marked the anniversary of one of the greatest Hip-Hop producers to ever lay hands on the MPC, James "J-Dilla"Yancey, known by some as Jay Dee. After being hospitalized for pneumonia at the age of 32, "Dilla" as his friends used to call him, was diagnosed with Lupus which shortly there after ended his life, but not his legacy. Dilla led a remarkable and influential life when it came to music. He produced with some of the greatest including the Pharcyde, A Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes, and his group Slum Village. The dedication that Dilla contained was unimaginable, working on his last album Donuts, from his death bed. The process behind making the album was a simplistic setting, using only a stack of old vinyl and a stripped down set up. The completed album had achieved a sort of resonance that no one forsaw coming. Donuts was released on February 7th, Dilla's 32nd birthday. A few days later on February 10th, he died of Lupus. The album is a testament to his life, and while it is not a defining sound of Dilla's, its a sound that best describes his personality. Throughout the album there are traces of messages left for his audiences, for example the 31 tracks featured on the album are a tribute to his age, despite him having lived a little longer than he expected. Listening to the album gives the audience a sense that Dilla was just having fun, despite his grim conditions, and that creating the album was a sort of therapy dealing with his last days. You could probably make the title out to be a metaphor for the circle of life, however sometimes it could be interpreted that Dilla's favorite food was donuts, and not try to look at it any deeper. 
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Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Last Donut of the Night, Remembering J Dilla...
Sadly today marked the anniversary of one of the greatest Hip-Hop producers to ever lay hands on the MPC, James "J-Dilla"Yancey, known by some as Jay Dee. After being hospitalized for pneumonia at the age of 32, "Dilla" as his friends used to call him, was diagnosed with Lupus which shortly there after ended his life, but not his legacy. Dilla led a remarkable and influential life when it came to music. He produced with some of the greatest including the Pharcyde, A Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes, and his group Slum Village. The dedication that Dilla contained was unimaginable, working on his last album Donuts, from his death bed. The process behind making the album was a simplistic setting, using only a stack of old vinyl and a stripped down set up. The completed album had achieved a sort of resonance that no one forsaw coming. Donuts was released on February 7th, Dilla's 32nd birthday. A few days later on February 10th, he died of Lupus. The album is a testament to his life, and while it is not a defining sound of Dilla's, its a sound that best describes his personality. Throughout the album there are traces of messages left for his audiences, for example the 31 tracks featured on the album are a tribute to his age, despite him having lived a little longer than he expected. Listening to the album gives the audience a sense that Dilla was just having fun, despite his grim conditions, and that creating the album was a sort of therapy dealing with his last days. You could probably make the title out to be a metaphor for the circle of life, however sometimes it could be interpreted that Dilla's favorite food was donuts, and not try to look at it any deeper. 
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