J Dilla Essentials Guide: The Afterlife

James Dewitt Yancey passed away just three days after the release of Donuts, which many critics consider the crown jewel of his catalog.

The Afterlife
Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

The Afterlife

James Dewitt Yancey passed away just three days after the release of Donuts, which many critics consider the crown jewel of his catalog, although others have dismissed it as a “glorified beat tape.” Appropriately enough, the album opens with an outro and ends with an intro. Without getting too deep, a donut is a circle that never ends—unless of course someone takes a bite.

In one of his last interviews, Dilla described the project as a “compilation of the stuff I thought was a little too much for the MCs. That’s basically what it is, ya know, me flipping records that people really don’t know how to rap on.” Not that that stopped some from trying. Following the Wu-Tang joints that Dilla created expressly for Rae and Ghost, dozens of MCs have recorded Donuts-based “tributes.” The best of these were laid down by artists who had some sort of genuine relationship with Dilla in life. The continuous flow of new material attests to Dilla’s enduring reputation as an artist for the ages. And the seemingly endless supply of compilations and unreleased material suggests that we’ll be discovering new dimensions of his creativity for some time to come.

“This guy took it at least two or three levels higher than me,” said one of his heroes, Pete Rock, in Brian “B.Kyle” Atkins’ documentary Still Shining. “It’s like a chain reaction. Basically it was like Larry Smith to Marley Marl, from Marley Marl to Pete Rock, from Pete Rock to Jay Dee…. I’m proud to say that he’s the brand new king. He’s been the king for a long time. I’m an old king, but I passed the torch to Jay Dee. The brand new king of the beats. He’s ridiculous.”

Dilla’s body of work transcends genre. The world view expressed through his music was expansive enough to embrace viewpoints as divergent as those of Common and Slum Village without any apparent conflict or contradiction. Although the music industry didn’t know quite what to make of him during his lifetime, Yancey did share some of his plans and ambitions with Chairman Mao in a brief 1996 VIBE profile: “I’m steppin’ back and lookin’ at everything,” he said. “I’m tryin’ to stay on some new shit. ’Cause people fall off every day. And I ain’t the one.” Not at all.

J DILLA, ‘THE SHINING’

The Shining Album

(1996)

Originally envisioned as BBE Records’ sequel to Welcome 2 Detroit, the working title for this album was rumored to be Welcome 2 L.A. Because it was not complete at the time of Dilla’s death, his friend Karriem Riggins was enlisted to finish the job. It would become the first of many releases to surface in the decade since his demise. Many of his friends and colleagues—from Busta Rhymes to Common, D’Angelo, Black Thought, Guilty Simpson, and Madlib—lent their voices to the project. The first cut released was “Love,” which features Pharoahe Monch rapping over an uplifting Curtis Mayfield sample filled with shining strings and smooth harmonies. “Won’t Do” finds Dilla making the case against monogamy. “I needs space for all of my womens,” he raps, and sings the hook over a warm, effervescent beat that one woman is “not enough for me, no.” According to his mother, the lyrics were true to life. “He never lied to a girl,” she said. “He always told them where home was and who he was with, and let the chips fall where they may.” The song “So Far to Go” was based on the wistful Donuts track “Bye,” marking a final intersection between the Soulquarians and Donuts eras.

POSTHUMOUS TRACKS

Guilty Simpson J Dilla

(2006-2014)

The Roots’ Game Theory album dropped in August 2006, six months after Dilla’s passing. They chose to open it with a track based on the first interlude from the first Slum Village demo tape, and closed it with “Can’t Stop This,” which is based on “Time: The Donut of the Heart” from Donuts. Frank-N-Dank’s 2006 album, Xtended Play Version 3.13, featured three Dilla joints, the strongest of which was “M.C.A. (Music Cemetery of America),” which aired out all the foul manuevers that went down between Dilla and the major label. The bass on Guilty Simpson’s “I Must Love You” sounds like a case of indigestion, and the ominous background vocals set the tone for a disenchanted lover’s lament. He opens “Stress” by shouting out “R.I.P. Dilla Dog” then pours out his blues over a deceptively upbeat track. DOOM’s “Gazillion Ear,” off the album Born Like This, utilizes the unreleased Dilla beats “Dig It” and “Phantom of the Synths.” Elsewhere on the album, he touched up the bizarro Donuts beat “Lightworks,” which features an oddly menacing TV commercial theme. Mos Def’s Ecstatic albumreunites Black Star and Dilla for the first time since “Little Brother.” On “The Apartment,” British rapper Dynas makes good use of Dilla’s gloomy “Track 12,” taken from a 1998 beat tape. Dilla’s younger brother and Frank Nitti rip up an irresistible unreleased Dilla joint on “Throwaway” off The Lost Scrolls Vol. 1. On “Dear Dilla” Phife—who has long battled diabetes—recounts a dream of sharing a hospital room with the late producer. “I’m stressed out, but what gave me motivation is you pulling out that MP and banging out some bangers as usual. Nothing ever fazed you fam, and for that I miss you.”

PHAT KAT, ‘CARTE BLANCHE’

Phat Kat Carte Blanche

(2007)

Bonafide Dilla disciple Phat Kat’s aptly named Carte Blanche album takes full advantage of the access afforded to members of his inner circle. No fewer than five Dilla beats brighten up the tracklist. “Cold Steel,” featuring the supremely gifted Slum Village associate Elzhi, may be the hardest beat Dilla ever produced—snarling vocal samples, guitar riffs, and icy synths—and their raps are as lethal as the title would suggest. The tension-inducing “Game Time” combines a Japanese zither with rattling percussion, leaving plenty of space for Kat’s aggravating flows to be heard clearly.

BUSTA RHYMES, ‘DILLAGENCE’

Dillagence

(2007)

Few rappers outside of Detroit had a more consistent working relationship with James Yancey than Busta, and the respect he had for the man as well as his music infuses every aspect of his Mick Boogie-hosted mixtape. Tastefully opting to devote the first track to “Words from Ma Dukes,” Busta then proceeds to destroy 15 of Dilla’s choicest instrumentals, riding them with the energy and aplomb of a true master. “My musical chemistry with J Dilla is just something that…I don’t really think that words can do the justice really describing it,” he shares on the tape’s outro. “It’s more of a feeling thing. It’s more of a vibe thing. It’s an energy thing. I ain’t trying to get too deep with it, but at the end of the day, Dilla was always the one producer that was always able to find that pocket in terms of how the beat felt, that the average producer was never able to find…. He was just one that was always able to capture that zone that felt like it was always right, and it can never be wrong…. That was J Dilla. What he did was something that could not be duplicated. He was a one of one.”

ILLA J, ‘YANCEY BOYS’

Yancey Boys

(2008)

The debut album from John Derek Yancey, Jay Dee’s younger brother, was released on Delicious Vinyl using beats created during the producer’s time with the label, approximately 1995-1998. As a result the sound tends to be more rugged and gritty than the later productions. The uptempo drums on “We Here” knock hard, chopping through a dreamy cloud of synthesizers. Like his brother Illa J sings on the hook before laying down rhymes for “my people with ice to rock” and bragging about his “fancy watch.” The second single, “Sounds Like Love” f/ Debi Nova sets more of a chill mood with reverberating vibes and lyrics designed for the ladies.

YANCEY BOYS, ‘SUNSET BLVD.’

Sunset Blvd Yancey Boys

(2013)

For the second Yancey Boys project, the “boys” in question include not just the late James and his younger brother John (a.k.a. Illa J) but family friend Frank Nitti of the duo Frank-N-Dank as well as former collaborators Slum Village’s T3, Slimkid3 of the Pharcyde, Posdnuos of De La Soul, Common, Guilty Simpson, and Madlib’s DJ J Rocc. It’s definitely a case of the more the merrier. “Quicksand” features Common and Dezi Page over a breezy beat flavored with acoustic guitar licks. The bouncy “Jeep Volume” interpolates the Ruff Draft joint “Reckless Driving” as T3 and C-Minus from Nairobi, Kenya, ride riot all over the constantly morphing beat.

DE LA SOUL, ‘SMELL THE D.A.I.S.Y.’

DE LA SOUL, ‘SMELL THE D.A.I.S.Y.’

SLUM VILLAGE, ‘YES!’

Slum Village Yes

(2015)

The eighth studio album from the group that was first put together by James Yancey boasts no fewer than nine Dilla beats. The group is now officially a duo, with founding member T3 alongside newcomer Young RJ. “Expressive” features B.J. the Chicago Kid, Illa J, and Rosewood riding a crispy Jay Dee breakbeat. Other guest appearances on the album include Illa J, De La Soul, Phife Dawg, Black Milk, Frank Nitt, and Bilal, all paying respect to the life and work of one of hip-hop’s greatest.

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