Saturday, February 11, 2006
My Tribute to Dilla.
Obviously after the devastation of yesterday's news, the weekly institution I have implemented had to take a back seat. Next week we'll commence with Throwback Friday and Headphone Masterpieces, but for now, I'd like to take this weekend to reflect on the passing of one of music's most talented producers, my favorite producer, James Yancey, otherwise known as Jay Dee, or J Dilla when he was on the mic.
For today's entry, I decided to up a bunch of my favorite tracks that he's produced. It won't do any justice to his legacy, but its the most I can do. I am but one fan. If you want to do justice yourself though, buy his recently released album Donuts. It's easily one of the best of this year simply based on how rich with life it is.
Now without further ado, I bring you an assortment of my personal favorites from my own collection (all Rapidshare links).
A Tribe Called Quest - Get A Hold/1nce Again feat. Tammy Lucas/Stressed Out feat. Faith Evans/Find A Way/Da Booty (easy top 5)
Jaylib - The Red/Raw Shit feat. Talib Kweli/Starz
De La Soul - Stakes Is High/Verbal Clap/Much More
Common - Doinit/The Light/Questions feat. Mos Def/Nag Champa/Love Is... (Had to pick one from BE. I could upload so much more, but this is a good enough top 5, I'd say. Like Water For Chocolate is easily my favorite album of Common's, especially due to the production)
The Roots - Dynamite!
Bush Babees - Three MCs feat. Q-Tip
Talib Kweli - Where Do We Go feat. Res/Stand To The Side feat. Novel & Vinia Mojica
MED - Push/So Real
Oh No - Move feat. Roc C
Spacek - Dollar
Big Tone - Party Crasher (from DJ Mekalek's Killer Tape Part III; don't mind the mixing near the end, just focus on the song itself...a total sleeper!)
And, of course, my all-time favorite Jay Dee beat...
The Pharcyde - Runnin'
Aaaand, just to show I'm an even better sport, to make up for not having our traditional Friday fun, the source of the Spanish guitar loop:
Stan Getz - Saudade Vem Correndo
Make sure to remember to ID most of these songs yourself. For some reason my ripping software's CDDB is screwy. Obviously this might end up being the least of your problems since you still have to go through the whole rapidshare process as it is. My sincere apologies to those with slow computers. I figure that most of you have heard these tracks before so I didn't bother with putting them in a whole zip file in case you just wanted individual tracks. Thanks for being patient, guys.
The truth of the matter is that Jay Dee's music goes so beyond hip-hop. With his amazing catalog spanning over a decade, he's managed to create some of the most beautiful music ever. There are very few producers who's work I can listen to over and over again, because the production is just so hypnotic. Jay Dee was probably top of the list of accomplishing such a goal.
It's very telling how dedicated he was to his craft. Having been sick for a few years due to kidney problems, he would stay relentless regardless and lock himself in his studio to churn out some amazing pieces of work. Unfortunately all the unhealthy living got the best of him. But his music lives on. You can hear in all of his music just how much detail he wouldn't let go to waste. The most fascinating observation is how he can make something so simple on paper sound so radiant when recorded. Likewise, when he wants to make a banger as oppose to a soul number, he can really get tap into the right elements: bass, synth, you name it. He really in essence was the guide to the soul of the track's aura, managing to bless a normal track with a life of its own.
Thank you Jay, for making music that inspires. My sincere condolences to all of your closest friends and family, and may you forever rest in peace.
Cheers,
~*E*~
