Taken too soon, hiphop remembers one of its vital figures
It will be nine-years-ago Tuesday since we lost one of the most influential hip-hop producers of all time. J Dilla, born in Detroit on Feb. 7, 1974 as James Dewitt Yancey, left his mark not just on hip-hop, but on the world.
Dilla left his legacy with a hall-of-fame worthy track-record. In the 90s, he already proved his worthiness of being a standing figure in hip-hop, producing timeless joints like Pharcyde’s Drop, De La Soul’s Stakes is High, or Slum Village’s Fall in Love. Even posthumously, Dilla is still leaving his stamp on hip-hop. Mos Def’s History, a personal favourite of mine, saw the reunion of the power-duo of Mos Def and Talib Kweli, known as Black Star, over the classic Dilla sound all hip-hop heads are all too familiar with.
His soundscapes were beautiful beyond words.
His soundscapes were beautiful beyond words. One can bump any of his beat tapes or instrumentals and be transported through the world of one’s emotions. From our highs to our lows, from our dreams to our realities, Dilla brought us there. And he did this all with the art of sampling. That’s the funny-thing about hip-hop: it is original in the way it takes past artist’s sounds and reinvents them. And Dilla was the master of reinvention. Sampling from motown to jazz to rock-and-roll, his limits knew no bounds. He could sample a funk bassline and add the sensual bounce that every great love-track needs. He could sample a jazzy piano chord that gives a track a meditative feel. A joint like “Flowers,” has a heavy introspective vibe. It’s a track you just want to bump on an evening car ride through the city, thinking about life, beauty, and art.
This is why we hip-hop heads are obsessed with our man Dilla. He was the catalyst that allowed us to see the world through hip-hop. He provided the ambience, the emotion – the already coloured and textured canvas. Dilla gave MCs like Common or Q-tip, or singers like Erkayh Badu and D’Angelo, so much weight and raw emotion on their collaborative projects in which anyway could be brought to tears. We hip-hop heads look up to the sky and see his face among the greats. We see him with Biggie, with Pac, with Big L. As a general music-lover of all sorts, I put his face next to the G.O.A.Ts (greatest of all time). The John Lennons, the Jimi Hendrixes, the Johnny Cashes, even the Bachs. He changed his art form forever, and, on behalf of all humanity, I thank you J Dilla. Rest in Beats.