Hello there, this is KFO (Kent) from the Evening Slump. This week I would like to talk about J Dilla, and the great impression he left on the music industry. I would like to dedicate this blog post to J Dilla to cherish his memory, and ultimately to acknowledge his music. J Dilla was well loved amongst the hip-hop community, although there are many people who are unaware to his contributions towards the industry. Dilla is an amazing producer, and one of my favorites. J Dilla’s beats were very intricate, and most defiantly influential to many hip-hop producers today.
James Dewitt Yancey’s stage name was J Dilla. J Dilla was born on February 7th, 1974 J Dilla was the oldest of four children, in which we had one sister, and two brothers. Jay Dilla His brother John Yancey grew up to produce music under the stage name Illa J.
As early at the age of two, J Dilla began to collect vinyl records. Growing up he spent a great amount of his time spinning his records at the local public park near his house. J Dilla grew up in a household fulfilled with music. His mother embraced classical music, and his father was a passionate bassist, and vocalist.
On his pursuit, J Dilla met a name named Amp Fidder. Fiddler helped navigate J Dillas career for the better in a variety of ways. Fiddler was very informative, and taught J Dilla the wonders of the studio. Fiddler had a beginner’s production studio at his house. Fiddler gave J Dilla unlimited access to the studio, in which J Dilla took advantage of and was constantly developing beats.
J Dillas first solo album was called Welcome to Detroit, which gave him the ability to demonstrate his wide arrange of talents in the studio. This would be one album of many more to be produced, although, this particular album paved the way for his career. At the time, he was not referring to himself as J Dilla quite yet. J Dilla introduced his stage name to the world as he began to step foot into the MC waters. As J Dilla became more self-sufficient producing his music, he wanted to enter the industry with a bang.
In 2004 J Dilla moved to Los Angeles in hopes to focus, and spark his career. J Dilla was enduring dialysis treatments 3-4 times a week, in which he was incapacitated for grave amounts of time. During this time people, J Dilla had lost over 50% of his body weight to this horrific disease. On J Dillas 32nd birthday, he also released his final album Donuts. J Dilla named his final album donuts, simply out of his love for donuts. While J Dilla was in the hospital, J Dillas friends from an LA-based indie record label named Stones Throw visited him. They brought him a Boss SP 303 sampler, and a small 45 record player so he had the ability to produce music while residing in the hospital. J Dilla completed 29 of the 31 tracks on the album Donuts, while he was in the hospital.
J Dilla was diagnosed with Lupus, which is a condition in which the body’s immune system becomes manic, and attacks healthy matter. On February 10, 2006, J Dilla passed away. This was three days after his 32nd birthday. The world lost one of its greatest producers.
Official J Dilla. (2012, January 1). Retrieved September 16, 2014.
