So I know this is like blipster blasphemy in '08, but let me be the first to say that I wasn't in the least bit affected by the passing of Detroit-based super producer, J. Dilla. In fact, for the life of me, I couldnt help but feel that many 80's babies who claimed to owe their entire being to Mr. Yancey Sr.'s nuts, were simply bandwagoning or as we say after a few shots of E & J... "dickwatching, cuz" (shouts to J-Rob). Its easy to be touched by someone posthumously, but it just aint seem right.
Yes, I was quite familiar with Dilla's place in the game, his founding membership in Slum Village (who I honestly felt were pretty overrated... i know, bad blogger bad), and his involvement with the Soulquarians collective, 90s backpacker wet dream, yada yada. Maybe I just missed the boat. Somewhere in my dreadlocked, corner-cypher crushing, poetry slam-hosting, rawkus records lusting, back-room djing, fruity loops producing, freight-hopping for graffiti teenage years of lore, I failed to understand Dilla's true merit to the game.
Upon recently (admittedly two years after his 2/10/06 passing) discovering his production discography, I realized that some of my favorite under-the-radar jawns of all time were banged out by Mr. Yancey himself.
So here's to tardiness...
Slum Village - Climax
Q-Tip - Lets Ride
Pharcyde - Runnin
and inadvertantly, Mya - Fallen
De La Soul - Stakes Is High
Common (Feat. Pharrell, Q-Tip & Erykah Badu) - Come Close Remix
Janet Jackson (Feat. Q-Tip) - Got Til Its Gone
Q-Tip - Vivrant Thing
Forgive me for my ignorance.
R.I.P. Dilla
2/7/74-2/10/06
2 comments:
I was the same way brotha...then Wikipedia put me in my place. He could do anything, and you might not know it was him, which to me is the sign of a great composer. I mean from Climax to Fallen? The sad thing is YA BOY (said like Tony Kornheiser) Kanye is taking this whole imitation/flattery thing too far. It's one thing to be inspired by; It's another thing to channel; and its another thing to COPY.
If you wanna copy Dilla, then be like him in being original.
Wish Kanye West read this blog/ this comment.
It may have been you I was talking to about this whole concept(and discography), but I agree with the sickening diefying of Mr. Yancy. I respect the shit out his work but the out pour of clones in Chicago and abroad (there are a couple of cats out west getting called "progressive" or some dumbshit like that) is amazing. At the same time, whats a better (though, by hip hop standards, pitiful) way to honor a mans career?
The answer is to not bite his shit and keep it fresh but imitation will work too.
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