Producer of the Week 3/28/07 (J-Dilla) R.I.P

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cinnay_4

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Welcome back to the third Producer of teh week thread, and this week we have one of the most influential, and soulful musicians of all time. The Late, the Great J-dilla. J-dilla was one of the best at what he did. He helped introduce the detroit hip hop scene into the music industry, and he is the mastermind behind some of the greatest hip hop tracks of all time. He loved what he did, and you can definately tell by his music. He puts so much emotion and feeling into his songs, that its almost like they are telling a story. The way he uses a sample, the way he incorporates live drums, and hardware analog synths is incredible. His music inspired so many others. It's a shame he was taken from this world.


Read more on J-Dilla @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J_Dilla


Now to the vids:


Common - The Light

My favorite Common track of all time. This beat is incredible. It is actually not very complicated at all, but it compliments Common in so many ways, and the vocal sample goes hand in hand with commons lyrics. I love how the whole track flows. The drums hit hard, and sound live. Also the bassline doesn't change throughout the whole song. The sample was manipulated though. At certain types there were certain fileters applied to it. The whole track just flows extremely well.
p.s. Don't mind the cute azn girl at the beginning of the vid.


J-Dilla - Won't Do

This is one of my favorite songs on "The Shining." You can hear the heavy influence of synthesizers on this track, probably moogs, which dilla was known to commonlly know. You can also hear the live drums in this song. This song is also extremely creative, and filled with different emotions. I feel like each of the different instruments, has a different personality. It just speaks to me in a way, like the instruments in the song are communicating. It's hard to explain. Just listen chillax, and enjoy.


Slum Village - Climax

From the Fantastic vol 2 album, this is one of the most well known Slum Village songs, and has a crazy video too. In this track, you can hear the influence of the filtered samples again. The backround sample really sets a mood for the track, and brings out the artist greatly. You can see that the Dilla once again used somebody else's voice for the chorus, like in The Light. The bassline and drums in this beat also keep a steady flowing rhythm that never gets annoying, or boring.


Pharcyde - Runnin

Last but not least, Some ol' skool Dilla. I love the great jazzy vibe of this track. Dilla really harmonizes the drums, sample and bassline (which comes every now and then). The sample is very repetetive, but dilla keeps the track interesting by dropping the bass every now and then, and dropping the drums on a few occasions too. There is also one part in the song where a jazzy sax sample comes in for the break. I could listen to this song all day. I love the chorus too, even though it is so simple. All in all, this is some of Dilla's greatest early work, and a very catchy tune.


Well.... That about wraps this edition of Producer of the Week Up.
Peace and Much Love
TACTIX

J-Dilla Rest in Peace
 
Good job, but what's wrong with simplicity? It's kind of like your down-playing J-Dilla? Might not seem like it too you and you had no intention to do it, but for someone like me it seems like it.
 
Mainboi23SX said:
Good job, but what's wrong with simplicity? It's kind of like your down-playing J-Dilla? Might not seem like it too you and you had no intention to do it, but for someone like me it seems like it.

Sorry if I made it seem that way, but i had no intention of it. In fact, Dilla is one of my top 5 fav producers of all time. Simplicity can be a good thing in many ways.
 
Mainboi23SX said:
Good job, but what's wrong with simplicity? It's kind of like your down-playing J-Dilla? Might not seem like it too you and you had no intention to do it, but for someone like me it seems like it.


chill out he gave the guy producer of the week. its a tribute.dont start a silly argument in one of the few good threads
 
Jay Dee was the man. hey Cinnay, is it cool with u if i post a couple more vids?
 
Jersey8five6 said:
Jay Dee was the man. hey Cinnay, is it cool with u if i post a couple more vids?

Yeah no doubt. I just posted a few of my favorites. That's what its all about. Sparking more converstation, and adding to the main thread.
 
this thread was interesting. i never even heard of j dilla until he died. i might have too check some of his work out
 
clarhck5 said:
this thread was interesting. i never even heard of j dilla until he died. i might have too check some of his work out

Definately do it. I recommend any productions by him.
 
PlanetHitzProduction said:
hey can I post my J Dilla blog here?

Sure. Ya'll Don't have to ask to do stuff like that, as long as its on topic, and positively influences the main topic.
 
Peace ya'll....

There is only one.

J Dilla aka Jay Dee aka James Yancey. Rest In Peace 1974-2006

THIS DUDE FINISHED HIS LAST ALBUM (Donuts) ON HIS DEATHBED!! Talk about persistance and dedication.

Can't compare to that. Not to mention his music and creative spirit.

All your favorite producers acknowledge him, Kanye West, Just Blaze, Pharrell, Black Milk, Madlib. Artists show respect, Talib Kweli, Common, Kanye, Slum Village etc..

The ultimate producer's producer. I guess the first works of his I known were on Like Water For Chocolate. Yeah, I'm a late bloomer to Jay Dee's work, but nevertheless I found out who was behind those tracks......around that time I started to cop his earlier works, just anything I saw he produced, I had to get up on it... felt kinda bad for figuring out he did so many of my favorite tracks and he was already gone.

It was beautiful how he got his respect, feel me? It was just HIM and nothing else, he survived in this business on the demand of his sound.

That kind of determination gave him his legacy, lets not forget the music....dude was a genius.

For my readers who are like "who is this Dilla guy?" I'm not mad, I'll just list some of my fav Jay Dee joints for you guys to check out.

It's Your World (BE)
Can't You See (Jay Love Japan)
In The Streets (Jay Love Japan)
Love Is (BE)
Thelonious (Like Water For Chocolate)
Think Twice (Welcome To Detroit)
E=MC2 (The Shining)
Baby (The Shining)
So Far To Go (The Shining)
Dime Piece (The Shining)
Donuts (Intro) (Donuts)
Last Donut Of The Night (Donuts)
Gobstopper (Donuts)
Bye (Donuts)
Two Can Win (Donuts)
The Diff'rance (Donuts)
Airworks (Donuts)
Lightworks (Donuts)
Don't Cry (Donuts)
The Official (Champion Sound)
Say It (Jay Love Japan)
The Question (Like Water For Chocolate)
Nag Champa: Afrodisiac For The World (Like Water For Chocolate)

That's just off the top of the dome. Buy those albums, you owe it to yourself.

Technically, I'd say he's unmatched in the realm of sampling, ?uestlove stated how he chopped drums from breaks for dynamics, he thought like a real drummer so much to even capture the complete feel of a live sound bypassing his limitations in the MPC.

Runnin' by The Pharcyde was NOT a live drummer. His drum work is instantly recognizeable with his combination of swing, sense of phrasing, dynamics, and of course...they make you MOVE.

RIP Jay Dee. I could go on for days.
 
PlanetHitzProduction said:
Peace ya'll....

felt kinda bad for figuring out he did so many of my favorite tracks and he was already gone.

Same here.
 
his music is soulful. alot of his songs like won't do just seem to evoke alot of emotion. rip dilla. too bad i heard about him after he died.
 
A Tribute to Jay Dee - Mix compiled by Audio 1

Guys, check out the tribute mix by Dj Audio 1 on his blog rhymesandbeats...

You`ll get the chance to listen to some stuff he did with A Tribe Called Quest, his work with J-88 ("The Look of Love" is one of my favourite), some Phat Kat and Frank N Dank stuff and 2 JayLib tracks... Madlib and J-Dilla named their album rightly "Champion Sound"...

Cinnay keep up the good work...

P.S.: Yannic, ich hab mich auch hier angemeldet, um bei dir mal ein bisschen mitzuposten. Find ich richtig geil deinen Thread. Supercool...
Mach die Youtube Videos ein bisschen kleiner. Auf der Größe verzerren die Videos so und haben eine scheiss Quali...
 
clarhck5 said:
this thread was interesting. i never even heard of j dilla until he died. i might have too check some of his work out

Oh, gah.

Pretty much all of Ruff Draft is miraculous. Hands down my favorite piece of work by dilla.
 
"Donuts" is amazing. Could you even imagine creating something and knowing that it would be the last thing you would ever make?

Everyone here could learn something from J-Dilla. He was such an incredibly versatile and inventive producer.

I think I appreciate his music more and more with each listen.
 
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