R.I.P J-Dilla

[Ally Al]

i know there isn't a massive amount of hip hop fans on this site but for the peoples that are, j-dilla has passed away today (now i'm taking this from another site and i'm 99.99% convinced this is true) so you all should pay your respects to one of the hip hop greats, a very very very sad loss to hip hop and music generally

[saml]

fuck :(
rest in peace.

[Auton]

what?! that's freakin crazy! :(

[mickill]

Was it the kidney thing again? That's sad news.

[Guy Incognito]

Dont know much about the guy and only got listenin to him thru this board. Really sad news though

[Rip Round'n Roc]

very tragic

he had an incredible catalog
http://www.stonesthrow.com/jdilla/discography.html

[Monsieur Decuts]

rest in peace J

I just bought 'donuts' yesterday and this man had a bright future, and a great past.

I'm sure he died happy, he lived hip hop.

[Gareth]

messed up, man :(
i got donuts recently too
rip dilla

[The Notorious LOL]

didnt Donuts drop like a week ago?

that sucks, wasnt familiar with his shit but I'll check him.

[Kid Presentable]

Sucks. I was going out to get 'Donuts' too.

R.I.P.

[Ally Al]

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1524171/20060210/j_dilla.jhtml?headlines=true

Jay Dee, a.k.a. J Dilla, the Detroit producer and rapper revered by his peers for his work with A Tribe Called Quest, Slum Village and Common, died Friday (February 10). He was 32.

Tim Maynor, Jay's manager since 1999, said he died Friday




morning in Los Angeles, but he had no details on the cause of death. Dee, born James Yancey, had been battling kidney problems in recent years, but Maynor believed he had recovered.

"He was the best ever, and very underappreciated," Maynor said. "Dilla was very reserved, quiet, all he wanted to do was make beats, make music. It wasn't about the glitz and glory. He wasn't doing it for the spotlight at all. He's a dinosaur who will be missed."

"I am devastated at the world's loss of a musical genius of Charlie Parker proportions," Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson of the Roots said. "Too often we bestow the 'greatest' title upon those who have the attention of the press and the charts and radio. But if you were to secretly ask the most praised hip-hop producers, if given a top three, who they fear the most, Dilla's name would chart on everyone's list, hands down. I am fortunate to have known this man. He inspires me to perfect my craft in every way. Dilla was and will always be my hero."

"Me and Jay Dee were very, very, very, very good friends," said D12's Proof, who got his first tattoo with Jay Dee, an "FC" for Funky Cowboy, their pre-Slum Village/ D12 group. "He produced my first demo. As a producer, he is one of the most influential producers ever, even up to Kanye West or Just Blaze. Jay Dee had a signature sound that a lot of people were influenced by. People will never understand his genius. It's a shame that he didn't get the light of a Dr. Dre or Timbaland or Neptunes, but he took more of a jazz-musician approach to the whole game. He was truly a mastermind."

As J Dilla, the rapper released an album titled Donuts just Tuesday and was scheduled to release another one, The Shining, in April. Maynor said he was also two tracks away from finishing a third release for 2006. "He never stopped working," he said.

In December, Jay toured Europe performing in a wheelchair, due to problems with his knees, Maynor said. When his manager suggested he postpone the trek, the producer said it was something he had to do. "Maybe he knew something we didn't," Maynor said.

Jay came to prominence in the mid-'90s producing tracks for the likes of Common, D'Angelo, De La Soul, Pharcyde and Busta Rhymes, as well as working as part of Tribe's production team, the Ummah, and in his own group, Slum Village.

"He was a trendsetter, the soul sound is really Jay Dee," RJ Rice, founder of Slum's label, Barak Records, said. "I don't know if he'll ever get credit for it or not, most people just copied him."

Jay was born and raised in the Conant Gardens neighborhood of Detroit, attending Pershing High School with his eventual Slum Village mates Baatin and T3.

"I'm f---ed up, my n---a just passed away," T3 wrote on his MySpace page Friday.

After recording 1996's underground Fantastic, Vol. 1, Slum Village signed to GoodVibe Recordings and released 2000's Fantastic, Vol. 2. After releasing Best Kept Secret under the alias J-88 the following year, the group returned in 2002 with Trinity (Past, Present and Future) featuring Jay in a limited role.

Dee left the group that year and released Welcome 2 Detroit, kicking off U.K. indie label BBE Music's "Beat Generation" series. He also formed a group with Madlib called Jaylib and released Champion Sound in 2003.

He spent 2004 working on a variety of albums, including Common's Be, as well as his underground instrumental "beat tapes," but also spent some of the year hospitalized.

"What happened was that the doctor told me that I'd ruptured my kidney from being too busy and being stressed out and not eating right," Dee told Urb magazine in 2004. "He told me that if I'd waited another day, I might not have made it."

"Sometimes that fixation can be a good thing and sometimes it can be bad. There'd be days when I wouldn't eat at all because I'd be in the basement working all day," he said in the interview. "This is definitely my second chance, my wakeup call. I still love the music, but I wouldn't put it first in my life. It's family first, and then everything else."

Proof said Jay always told him he was feeling fine, but the close friends seemed to only talk on the phone in recent years. "It didn't hit me until today, but I think he just didn't want his friends to see him in that light," Proof said. "He wanted us to remember him how it was."



— Corey Moss

[The Notorious LOL]

I read somewhere that dude recorded a portion of donuts in the hospital.

talk about fuckin devotion to your music. damn.

[Ally Al]

>>Influential hip-hop producer J Dilla dies at 32
RYAN PEARSON
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - Hip-hop producer J Dilla, whose soulful beats formed the backdrop to songs by artists like Common and A Tribe Called Quest, died Friday of complications from lupus, his manager said. He was 32. Dilla or Jay Dee (real name: James Yancey) was born and raised in Detroit.

He had been living with his mother in Los Angeles since being diagnosed with the immune system disease about three years ago, said his manager, Timothy Maynor.

Yancey had formed the trio Slum Village in the late 1990s but left after its successful first album to pursue a solo career. In 2003, he teamed with fellow rapper-producer Madlib for the critically acclaimed "Champion Sound" in which each rapped over the other's beats.

Detroit rapper Phat Kat (real name: Ron Watts) said Yancey's unique style blending claps, drum machines and samples helped change the sound of modern hip-hop.

"That's really where all the other cats are getting that style," Watts said. "It came from the soul. Old Detroit soul music."
Yancey contributed tracks to The Pharcyde's second album, 1995's "Labcabincalifornia," produced much of A Tribe Called Quest's "The Love Movement" in 1998, and worked with Common on several albums.

His most recent CD, the instrumental "Donuts," was released Tuesday. He had also finished recording a compilation album called "Welcome To Detroit, Vol. 2" that Watts said will be released.

Although his joints hurt, his kidneys had been weakened and he had appeared sickly recently, Maynor said Yancy remained in good spirits. He had been on dialysis for about two years when his mother found him unresponsive in his room Friday morning.
"He was optimistic about working on future projects and doing future shows," Maynor told The Associated Press. "We went over to Europe in December (to tour). He was sickly but at the same time, he wanted to be there. I told him, I'm prepared to carry you, if I have to carry you down stairs and put you on stage."
Lupus is a disease in which a person's immune system goes into overdrive and attacks the body's normal, healthy cells.

so sad man

[adam_f]

Dammit. :(

[roosta]

this sucks.
R.I.P.

[chrisd]

R.I.P. man, I can't believe he did all that shit for the pharcyde... which is that one song where thy like scratch up his name... j-dilla, j-dilla d, d, d, ?

[Kid Presentable]

That's crazy touring in a wheelchair. What a champion.

[g-mile7]

damn thats sad...and he had just started to become pretty well known outside the underground given his latest work with Ironman...this is sad, only good thing is no more pain...RIP to a killer beat man

[Kid Presentable]

The album is amazing.

Beastie geeks, refer to 'The New'.

[ASsman]

Damn, didn't see this thread. RIP man.

[g-mile7]

XM had a special mix of his entire LP Donuts....have to say I heard some really, really good songs that whole entire hour or so....14th I guess is when he has his funeral or something


A final, farewell will be said to former Tribe Called Quest producer/MC Jay Dee, aka J Dilla, who passed away Friday (February 10th) of kidney failure due to complications arising from lupus. The co-founding member of Slum Village was only 32 years old.

A viewing for J Dilla, born James Yancey, will be held today (February 13th) at the Forest Lawn Mortuary, followed by a funeral Tuesday (February 14th) in the Recessional Hall, according to AHH.com.

A memorial concert is also being planned.

Jay Dee's manager Tim Maynor said, “He was the best ever, and very underappreciated. Dilla was very reserved, quiet, all he wanted to do was make beats, make music. It wasn't about the glitz and glory. He wasn't doing it for the spotlight at all. He's a dinosaur who will be missed.”

J Dilla’s latest album, Donuts, was just released last week, and he was preparing to drop another disc, The Shining, in April.

During a European tour in December, knee problems forced Jay to perform in a wheelchair. When his manager suggested he postpone the outing, the producer said it was something he had to do. "Maybe he knew something we didn't," Maynor told MTV.

Many agree that during his life Dilla was not given sufficient credit for the enormous sonic contributions he made to hip-hop music.

RJ Rice, founder of Slum's label, Barak Records, said, "He was a trendsetter, the soul sound [in hip-hop] is really Jay Dee. I don't know if he'll ever get credit for it or not, most people just copied him."

"He produced my first demo, said D12's Proof. "As a producer, he is one of the most influential producers ever, even up to Kanye West or Just Blaze. Jay Dee had a signature sound that a lot of people were influenced by. People will never understand his genius. It's a shame that he didn't get the light of a Dr. Dre or Timbaland or Neptunes, but he took more of a jazz-musician approach to the whole game. He was truly a mastermind."

"I am devastated at the world's loss of a musical genius of Charlie Parker proportions," Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson of the Roots said. "Too often we bestow the 'greatest' title upon those who have the attention of the press and the charts and radio. I am fortunate to have known this man. He inspires me to perfect my craft in every way. Dilla was and will always be my hero."

Jay Dee will be sorely missed in hip-hop, and may his leagacy live on.

RIP.


streethop.com

[laserx54]

is there a website where i can listen to "Donuts"??


i'm considering buying it

[Videodrome]

damn that is sad to hear. I bumped fantastic vol.2 for years. his production for that was outstanding. I even got his first solo album welcome to detriot. i put him up there with pete rock and premo production wise. dude was nice.
RIP

[Kid Presentable]

is there a website where i can listen to "Donuts"??


i'm considering buying it

You should buy it. It's excellent.

[roosta]

is there a website where i can listen to "Donuts"??


i'm considering buying it

www.hiphopsite.com, selected cuts "In the Deck"

RIP