J Dilla Nothing Like This Video

Hip hop producer. Passed away on February 10th 2006.

James "Jay Dee aka J Dilla" Yancey was born and raised on the mean streets of Detroit`s east side. Little is known of his musical upbringing, but what is known is that he has become one of the most talented, innovative producers of our time. Gaining inspiration from listening to Whodini`s "Big Mouth" back in the day, Jay began to try his hand at making beats by using the "pause" and record buttons on his tape deck. After learning to work an MPC-60 back in 92` from Amp Fiddler, Jay Dilla was on his way to becoming one of hip-hop`s illest beat makers.

After hooking up with two high school friends, T3 and Baatin, they formed the crew called, Slum Village (circa 1988), and Jay started to polish his rhyming skills to match his dope production. As Slum Village began to show themselves in Detroit and around the east coast Jay was also busy getting his production noticed by other artists in the music industry. One thing led to another and by the end of 1996, Jay Dee had produced joints for the likes of The Pharcyde, Keith Murray, Busta Rhymes and De La Soul. After hearing Jay`s ill production`s Q-Tip (A Tribe Called Quest) brought him in to lend his production to their 1996 release "Beats, Rhymes and Life". Jay Dee became one-third of the ghost production team now known as the Ummah, which included Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed. That year also saw the first release of Slum Village with "Fantastic Vol. I", a classic hard to find item. A chance meeting with Janet Jackson, led to his 1997 remix of the chart topping "Got Til` Its Gone" single that paired Janet`s smooth vocals with Jay Dee`s intoxicating drum kicks.

Now dabbling in other music genre`s, Jay went on to lace beats for artists like Macy Gray, D`angelo, N`Dea Davenport and Erykah Badu. 2000 was a stellar year for Jay Dee, with his group Slum Village finally releasing their critically acclaimed "Fantastic Vol. II" through Goodvibe Recordings, he also received notoriety with many other acts. With the Ummah production team defunct (due to the breakup of Tribe Called Quest in '99), Jay Dilla became a member of The Soulquarians, which includes Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson (The Roots), James Poyser and D`angelo. Jay produced a substantial amount of Common`s 2000 release "Like Water For Chocolate" which not only reached the homes of 500,000 consumers (LWFC went gold) but also secured Jay a distribution/recording deal with MCA Records for his McNasty label.

In 2001 we have been blessed with Jay Dilla`s first solo effort entitled "Welcome 2 Detroit" (BBE Records). The "W2D" album showcases a few emcee`s from the Detroit area, but shows the versatility of Jay Dee and his craftiness. This 16 track ensemble of lyrical tracks, classic "instrumental" covers and bouncy grooves should solidify Jay Dee as one of the illest producers of his era and beyond. The future will see the releases of Frank N Dank, a new Slum Village album (with some production by Jay Dee), Jaylib (Jay Dee & Madlib), as well as an instrumental series at Bling47.com and more solo efforts.

As for the video in question, it can only be described as enchanting, weird, *ADJECTIVE* (you know you love madlibs), and for the track J Dilla contributed to the Stone Throw/Adult Swim Chrome Children release. Directed by Daniel Garcia and Mixtape Club, it's worth a watch.