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The Diary | |||
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Studio album by | |||
Released | April 15, 2016 | ||
Recorded | September 16, 2001–April 2, 2002 The Spaceship (Clinton Township, Michigan) Studio A (Dearborn Heights, Michigan)[1] | ||
Genre | Hip hop | ||
Length | 36:59(Standard) 41:52 (iTunes) | ||
Label |
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Producer |
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J Dilla chronology | |||
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Singles from The Diary | |||
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Professional ratings | |
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Aggregate scores | |
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 73/100[2] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
Clash | 7/10[4] |
Consequence of Sound | B[5] |
Drowned in Sound | 5/10[6] |
The Guardian | [7] |
Mixmag | 8/10[8] |
The New York Times | (favorable)[9] |
NME | 4/5[10] |
Pitchfork | 6.2/10[11] |
XXL | (XL)[12] |
View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 2016 Vinyl release of The Diary on Discogs. The Diary of J Dilla might not rival its maker's best output, but it's a pivotal and illuminating chapter, even when heard out of sequence. Just as importantly, it fulfills the wish of a master musician.
The Diary is the posthumous sixth studio album by Americanhip hop recording artistJ Dilla. The album was originally intended for release in 2002 via MCA Records under the title Pay Jay.[13][14] This long-lost album is the final batch of unissued material that J Dilla had assembled for release during his lifetime.[13] It also represents his first rap album released since Ruff Draft (2003) and Champion Sound (2003).[15] Unlike previous full-length releases – from Jay Stay Paid (2009) to Dillatronic (2015) – all edited with unreleased instrumentals, The Diary is a collection of Dilla's vocal performances over his production and that of other producers, such as Madlib, Pete Rock, Nottz, Hi-Tek and Karriem Riggins among others.[16] The album also features vocal performances by Snoop Dogg, Bilal, Kokane, Frank n Dank, Nottz, Boogie and Kenny Wray.[17] Recording sessions for the album took place from September 16, 2001 to April 2, 2002 at The Spaceship in Clinton Township and Studio A in Detroit, and it was mastered by Dave Cooley at Elysian Masters in Los Angeles.[1]
The Diary was released on April 15, 2016 through Pay Jay Productions, Inc. in conjunction with Nas' record label, Mass Appeal Records. The album was supported by the singles 'The Anthem', 'Diamonds', 'Give Them What They Want', 'The Introduction', 'Gangsta Boogie', and 'The Sickness', and also includes the 2001 underground classic 'Fuck the Police'.
- 3Singles
Background[edit]
Pay Jay, as it was originally titled, is a vocal album James Dewitt 'J Dilla' Yancey completed over eight months in the early 2000s, following the release of his first solo album, Welcome 2 Detroit, in 2001.[14][18][19][20] Yancey was signed to a two-album solo deal with MCA Records in 2002.[21] This album, which was to be his mainstream debut, was his attempt to take advantage of the attention he gathered after his brightest period as a behind-the-scenes hitmaker and influencer.[13][22] Although he was known as a producer rather than an emcee, he chose to rap on the album and have the music produced by some of his favorite producers such as Madlib, Pete Rock, Hi-Tek, Supa Dave West, Kanye West, Nottz, Waajeed and others.[23][24] However, the project stalled and the album was shelved as it was not what MCA had anticipated when it signed Yancey, leading to him being dropped and recording Ruff Draft out of frustration with the major label system.[21][25] The album was kept in his storage unit in Detroit while he transitioned into living and creating in Los Angeles, before passing with lupus and an incurable blood disease in 2006.[25][26][27][28] The album also suffered as select songs were leaked online and bootlegged on vinyl in April 2008.[18][22][25]
On February 11, 2013, it was reported that the album, retitled as The Diary, would be released via Yancey's own Pay Jay Productions imprint, a company he founded in 2001 to house his production company and his publishing company, which The Estate of James Yancey has revived as a functioning imprint.[29] The album's completion was overseen by the estate's Creative Director Eothen 'Egon' Alapatt—former general manager of Stones Throw Records and A&R for Champion Sound and Donuts—who previously oversaw the remastering of Ruff Draft in 2007.[17][30] In February 2016, Alapatt disclosed to Rolling Stone that The Diary was 'the last record that [Yancey] actually wanted out.'[31] How to download torrent through limited wifi.
The album was tentatively scheduled for release in spring 2013 and was pushed back for another year.[16][32][33] However, no update regarding its release date was provided for two years.[34] Pending the release of the posthumous album, eight tracks have surfaced as singles. Alapatt explained the lengthy delay: 'Just unpacking the files, finding the software that [Dilla] used, getting it again, because at that point it was already archaic, unpacking the files so that we can actually look at them, took years. Literally years. Bear in mind, we were able to get some low-hanging fruit earlier than we were able to get others, that's how the Ruff Draft record with the instrumentals and unreleased tracks were able to come out. That was easy to find. It was really well labeled. The record had already come out, so we had a reference point, you know what I'm saying? It was quite simple. This record was a pain in the fucking ass.'[31]
Release and promotion[edit]
On February 18, 2016, New York City rapper Nas announced on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 radio program that the much-delayed album is expected to be released on April 15, 2016 via his own label Mass Appeal in collaboration with Yancey's imprint. How to download from dropbox to computer mac. He also unearthed an unheard-track entitled 'The Introduction'. The same day, the album was made available for pre-order exclusively on iTunes where its cover art and track listing were unveiled.[35][36][37]
A week later, it was announced that the album would be released on vinyl as a Record Store Day exclusive on April 16, 2016.[38][39] The LP set contains a 16-page booklet with an introduction by Eothen Alapatt and liner notes by Ronnie Reese—who previously wrote the liner notes for J Dilla's Ruff Draft—detailing the story of the album. Along with this accouncement, the production credits were revealed.[38]
On March 17, 2016, Nas previewed a previously unheard collaboration with J Dilla during his headlining set at Mass Appeal's Live at the BBQ showcase at SXSW in Austin, Texas.[40][41][42] Titled 'The Sickness', the Madlib-produced track is a recording that originated in 2001 and was completed in 2015 with a verse from Nas.[43] Though the track is not included on The Diary, it came as an iTunes exclusive bonus track with pre-orders of the album for its April 15 release.[44][45] Two days prior to the release, 'The Sickness' was made available to stream on SoundCloud by Mass Appeal.[46] https://letsgreat.weebly.com/blog/the-shift-wayne-dyer-free-download.
In anticipation of the album's release, Mass Appeal published online a series of short videos featuring some of the artists who contributed to the project, including Snoop Dogg, Bilal, Hi-Tek, Nottz, and Karriem Riggings among others.[47][48]
Singles[edit]
Fuck the Police[edit]
'Fuck the Police' was released on 12-inch vinyl on September 18, 2001.[49] The track is built upon a sample of René Costy & His Orchestra's 1972 track 'Scrabble', from which the drum break and violin sample are taken from.[49] 'Fuck the Police' was originally recorded for The Diary.[49] However, it was turned down by MCA Records, who was perhaps concerned as the song was released just a week after the September 11 attacks.[50] The label seemingly did not want to receive any ominous, unsolicited letters from the FBI.[49] Thus, Dilla instead brought the song to California-based indie imprint Up Above Records, who would release it.[49] Out of print for over a decade, 'Fuck the Police' was remastered and reissued by Pay Jay Productions exclusively for Record Store Day 2015 (April 18). The song, using original mixes, was released on a badge-shaped 9-inch picture disc single designed by Stones Throw Records' Jeff Jank.[29][51] Both the vocal and instrumental are sourced directly from mix-downs that J Dilla himself created.[52][53]
The Anthem[edit]
On February 11, 2013, 'The Anthem', featuring Detroitrap duo Frank n Dank, was made available to stream on Rappcats' SoundCloud.[54] It was made purchasable at Rappcats.com on 12-inch vinyl on April 15, 2013, packaged with B-side 'Trucks' – Dilla's take on Gary Numan's new wave classic, 'Cars' – which was previously leaked as an unmixed, unmastered MP3.[16][21][55][56] Both tracks were produced, and feature complete vocal performances, by J Dilla.[16] According to a press release, multi-track masters of the tracks were found on 2-inch tape shortly after Dilla's passing in 2006.[57] They were finished by engineer Dave Cooley, who worked extensively with Dilla during his years in Los Angeles.[29] While preserving all of the elements from the original demos, Cooley attempted to finalize Dilla's vision for these tracks, using the late musician's original demo mixes as his guide. The 12-inch features Dilla's original mix of 'Trucks', which includes an extra verse and alternate vocals.[29][57] 'The Anthem', which interpolated R. Papa roach fear album download. Kelly's 'Fiesta' on the chorus, was initially recorded on an aggressive beat composed by Kanye West, who was unaware that Dilla had used the beat which he originally made for Jay-Z.[24][25][58] That version, entitled 'We F'd Up', was revealed through the Pay Jay leak.[25][59][60] In 2008, Kanye West disclosed, on his now defunct blog, that he had '[n]ever heard this song till now'. 'I made this beat in 2001, of course right after 'Takeover',' he wrote. '[W]e were [having] problems clearing the Doorssample so I made this version originally [for] Big Bro Hov.'[24][61][62] In the end however, Dilla produced the song himself as 'The Anthem' which is the entire opposite of the leaked version.[25]
Diamonds[edit]
On August 2, 2013, another track from The Diary entitled 'Diamonds', was published on SoundCloud by Rappcats.[63] It serves as the second single and was released on August 27, 2013 with B-side 'Ice' in the form of a 7-track 12-inch EP called Diamonds & Ice.[64] Recorded and mixed by Dilla between February and April 2002, the EP includes two tracks that are perhaps two of the best known pieces from the album – the first one was leaked years ago in a low quality unmastered format, and the other was released as a Jaylib-era short-lived promotional single.[65] Long before the release of his posthumous album, The Shining (2006), J Dilla titled these two tracks 'The Shining Pt. 1', and 'The Shining Pt. 2'. 'Diamonds (The Shining Pt. 1)' was produced by Nottz, while 'Ice (The Shining Pt. 2)' was produced by Madlib, who Dilla would later collaborate with under the group name Jaylib.[66] The Diamonds & Ice EP features both final and alternate mixes of each tracks along with the instrumental and two markedly different versions of 'Ice', with one showing the musical direction Dilla would embark on after The Diary was shelved in 2002. Completing this EP is a Madlib instrumental that J Dilla secured for the album but never turned into the final song, entitled 'The D'.[65][67]
Give Them What They Want[edit]
On May 20, 2014, Pay Jay Productions released one last EP titled Give Them What They Want on a 12-inch clear vinyl.[68][69] It is a five-track EP featuring three vocal tracks recorded and mixed by Dilla between September and December 2001, as well as two instrumentals.[70] The first two vocal tracks on this record are built around the same lyrics – the title track produced by Dilla and 'The Doe' produced by Supa Dave West.[71] The last vocal track 'So Far', also produced by West, is familiar to some fans of MP3 bootlegs. On this record, it is mastered for the first time by Dave Cooley.[72] On April 16, 2014, the titular lead 'Give Them What They Want' was made available to stream via Rappcats' SoundCloud page.[73]
The Introduction[edit]
The album opener, 'The Introduction', was broadcast on Zane Lowe's radio show on February 18, 2016.[74] On the same date, the House Shoes produced-song was published on SoundCloud by Mass Appeal and was made purchasable on iTunes.[75][76] A day after its release, Eric Torres of Pitchfork gave the song a 'Best New Track' designation, writing that 'Though it's his idiosyncratic production that earned him his legacy, Dilla was a clear force behind the mic, too.'[77]
Gangsta Boogie[edit]
Before The Diary was unearthed in full, a previously unreleased track titled 'Gangsta Boogie' was premiered on Dr. Dre's Beats 1 radio show The Pharmacy on April 2, 2016.[78] The same night, it was published on Mass Appeal's SoundCloud and was made purchasable on iTunes.[79][80] Produced by Hi-Tek, the track features Kokane and Snoop Dogg, whose vocals were recorded after Dilla had passed during the making of the album.[81][82][83] In a February 2012 interview with Complex, Stones Throw Records founder Peanut Butter Wolf first spoke about the then unfinished piece on which J Dilla gave a shout out to Snoop Dogg.[84] He revealed that Dilla intended to have the rap veteran on the track, but the collaboration had not come to fruition before the former's passing.[84][85] During a brief sit-down with Mass Appeal in 2016, Snoop Dogg disclosed that he 'never had a chance to work with him personally.' 'He was making hot music around the same time I was making hot music, and I was just hearing about him and wanted to get with him,' he continued. '[W]hen he passed away I reached out to his people, and wanted them to know that I definitely wanted to work with him.'[85]
The Sickness[edit]
The last single, the bonus track 'The Sickness', featuring Nas, was released on April 27, 2016. A music video for the song was released the same day.[86] It was the album's only single with a music video.
Track listing[edit]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | 'The Introduction' | 3:16 | ||
2. | 'The Anthem' (featuring Frank n Dank) |
| J Dilla | 2:47 |
3. | 'Fight Club' (featuring Nottz and Boogie) | Waajeed | 2:24 | |
4. | 'The Shining, Pt. 1 (Diamonds)' (featuring Kenny Wray) |
| Nottz | 2:53 |
5. | 'The Shining, Pt. 2 (Ice)' | Madlib | 1:09 | |
6. | 'Trucks' |
| J Dilla | 3:41 |
7. | 'Gangsta Boogie' (featuring Snoop Dogg and Kokane) | Hi-Tek | 3:18 | |
8. | 'Drive Me Wild' |
| Karriem Riggins | 2:23 |
9. | 'Give Them What They Want' | J Dilla | 2:28 | |
10. | 'The Creep (The O)' |
| Hi-Tek | 2:50 |
11. | 'The Ex' (featuring Bilal) | Pete Rock | 3:32 | |
12. | 'So Far' |
| Supa Dave West | 2:17 |
13. | 'Fuck the Police' | J Dilla | 2:34 | |
14. | 'The Diary' |
| Bink! | 1:27 |
Total length: | 36:59 |
iTunes / Japan bonus tracks | |||
---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
15. | 'The Sickness' (featuring Nas) | Madlib | 2:38 |
16. | 'The Doe' | Supa Dave West | 2:15 |
Total length: | 41:52 |
The Diary: Limited Edition Bonus 45 LP | |||
---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
1. | 'The Ex (Album Version)' (featuring Bilal) | Pete Rock | 3:32 |
2. | 'The Ex (R&B Version)' (featuring Bilal) | Pete Rock | 3:32 |
Total length: | 44:03 |
- Sample credits[1]
- 'The Shining Pt. 1 (Diamonds)' contains a sample of 'Diamond Girl' performed by Seals and Crofts.
- 'Trucks' is an interpolation of 'Cars' performed by Gary Numan.
- 'Fuck the Police' contains a sample of 'Scrabble' performed by René Costy & His Orchestra.
Charts[edit]
![Dilla Dilla](/uploads/1/2/6/6/126614471/943512784.jpg)
Chart (2016) | Peak position |
---|---|
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[87] | 133 |
UK Albums (OCC)[88] | 111 |
US Billboard 200[89] | 77 |
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[90] | 7 |
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[91] | 6 |
US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[92] | 5 |
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[93] | 3 |
References[edit]
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- ^'J Dilla Chart History (Billboard 200)'. Billboard. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
- ^'J Dilla Chart History (Independent Albums)'. Billboard. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
- ^'J Dilla Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)'. Billboard. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
- ^'J Dilla Chart History (Top Rap Albums)'. Billboard. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
- ^'J Dilla Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)'. Billboard. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
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Frequently and rightly placed in the same context as DJ Premier, Pete Rock, and Kanye West, J Dilla (aka Jay Dee) built and sustained a high standing as a producer's producer while maintaining a low profile. When Pharrell Williams appeared on BET's 106 & Park in 2004, he excitedly declared that Dilla was his favorite producer and told an audibly stumped crowd that it had probably never heard of the man. At the time, Dilla had been active for well over a decade and had netted enough beats -- including the Pharcyde's 'Runnin',' De La Soul's 'Stakes Is High,' Common's 'The Light,' and several others with production teams the Ummah and the Soulquarians -- to be considered an all-time great. Dilla never produced a mainstream smash and, in many cases, his presence has to be confirmed with a liner notes scan. (And even then, that might not help; he occasionally went uncredited.) He never marked his territory like Just Blaze ('Just Blaze!') or Jazze Pha ('This is a Jazze Phizzle produc-shizzle!'), and he never hogged the mike like P. Diddy. He let his music, and its followers, do the talking. Rather than provide immediate (or fleeting) thrills, he was hooked on working the subconscious as much as the neck muscles. He was so focused on his work that it took a severe toll on his health.
Born and raised on the east side of Detroit, Dilla -- James Yancey -- was forced by his parents to become involved with music, and he was a record fanatic at a young age, absorbing funk and rap singles and jazz albums, from Slave to Jack McDuff. He learned to play cello, keyboards, trumpet, and violin, but drums got him like nothing else. He tried his hand at producing tracks on a tape deck by using the pause and record buttons, and he also took up MC'ing. In 1988, he formed Slum Village with Pershing High School friends Baatin and T3. It wasn't until 1992, after receiving some valuable guidance from fellow Detroiter Amp Fiddler, that his talent really began to take shape.
A session keyboardist who had worked with Prince, Parliament, and Enchantment, Fiddler taught Dilla how to use the MPC drum machine. To say that Dilla was a quick study would be an understatement. Fiddler introduced his protégé to A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip, who heard some of Slum Village's material, liked it, and helped get the word out. Following sessions with First Down (a collaboration with Phat Kat, another Detroiter), Little Indian, and alternative rocker Poe, Dilla's production career reached full flight. In 1996 alone, he worked with Busta Rhymes, De La Soul, and the Pharcyde, all the while playing a major role in the Ummah with Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad. (He did extensive work on Tribe's last two albums.) Before long, hardcore hip-hop fans began to know Dilla for his steady wobble, which was unfailingly musical and rich in details -- shuffling hi-hats, oddly placed handclaps, spacious drum loops with drastically reshaped samples of tracks both obscure and obvious.
Through the remainder of the '90s, Dilla quietly racked up more output, including Janet Jackson's 'Got 'Til It's Gone' (for which he did not receive credit), additional tracks for the Pharcyde, and collaborative work with Q-Tip on all of 1999's Amplified. Largely upbeat and filled with boisterous energy and thick sounds, Amplified is one of many pieces of evidence against the argument that Dilla was about one sound and one style. During the producer's steady rise, Slum Village remained a priority. Fantastic, Vol. 2 and Best Kept Secret (the latter credited to J-88, an SV pseudonym) were released within weeks of each other in 2000. However, the producer would only contribute a few tracks to the group from then on, as his schedule became increasingly tight. As a core member of the Soulquarians, with James Poyser and the Roots' Ahmir '?eustlove' Thompson, Dilla worked on Common's Like Water for Chocolate, D'Angelo's Voodoo, Erykah Badu's Mama's Gun, and Talib Kweli's Quality. Through 2005, he continued to work with past associates while dipping his toes deeper in R&B. A favor was returned on Fiddler's 2004-released Waltz of a Ghetto Fly, and a couple dynamite tracks -- Steve Spacek's 'Dollar' and longtime collaborator Dwele's 'Keep On' -- were released the following year.
Amazingly, from 2001 on, Dilla was also a prolific solo artist. A couple singles and the Welcome 2 Detroit album came out in 2001, and a number of low-key instrumental compilations and incidental 12' singles followed shortly thereafter. Rarely praised for his mike skills, he was often assisted by the likes of Phat Kat, Lacks, and Frank-n-Dank. Wooed by a Madlib mixtape that featured the rhymes of Oxnard's finest over his own beats, Dilla forged an alliance with his admirer for 2003's Champion Sound, released under the name Jaylib. It was around this time that his health took a sharp decline. For over two years, he had to use a dialysis machine. Despite having to perform in a wheelchair, he was still able to tour in Europe during late 2005.
Donuts, an album of instrumentals that Dilla completed during one of his extended hospital stays, was released on February 7, 2006, his 32nd birthday. Three days later, while staying at his Los Angeles home with his mother, Maureen 'Ma Dukes' Yancey, he passed away, a victim of cardiac arrest. While reflecting on the tremendous loss, close colleague and friend Thompson (an authority if there ever was one) compared the producer's level of genius to that of jazz giant Charlie Parker. Karriem Riggins, a close associate, put the final touches on another album, The Shining, which was released six months later.
A dizzying quantity of posthumous albums, EPs, and singles, most notably a greatly expanded edition of the Ruff Draft EP, were issued throughout the decade that followed. In 2014, Dilla's mother, who was involved in many of those releases, donated her son's MPC and Minimoog Voyager synthesizer to the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture. The Diary of J Dilla, which originated as an early-2000s project for MCA, saw release in 2016. MCA had signed Dilla for his reputation as a beat maker, but Dilla confounded the major label by switching to MC mode and enlisting the likes of comrades House Shoes, Waajeed, Madlib, and Pete Rock as producers. After an extended period that entailed major legal obstacles and the recovery of recordings, the album was released in 2016 on the reactivated Pay Jay label through Mass Appeal. Yet another poshumous release arrived in 2017. Titled Motor City, that set consisted of previously unreleased instrumentals selected and sequenced by Maureen Yancey. ~ Andy Kellman
Born and raised on the east side of Detroit, Dilla -- James Yancey -- was forced by his parents to become involved with music, and he was a record fanatic at a young age, absorbing funk and rap singles and jazz albums, from Slave to Jack McDuff. He learned to play cello, keyboards, trumpet, and violin, but drums got him like nothing else. He tried his hand at producing tracks on a tape deck by using the pause and record buttons, and he also took up MC'ing. In 1988, he formed Slum Village with Pershing High School friends Baatin and T3. It wasn't until 1992, after receiving some valuable guidance from fellow Detroiter Amp Fiddler, that his talent really began to take shape.
A session keyboardist who had worked with Prince, Parliament, and Enchantment, Fiddler taught Dilla how to use the MPC drum machine. To say that Dilla was a quick study would be an understatement. Fiddler introduced his protégé to A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip, who heard some of Slum Village's material, liked it, and helped get the word out. Following sessions with First Down (a collaboration with Phat Kat, another Detroiter), Little Indian, and alternative rocker Poe, Dilla's production career reached full flight. In 1996 alone, he worked with Busta Rhymes, De La Soul, and the Pharcyde, all the while playing a major role in the Ummah with Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad. (He did extensive work on Tribe's last two albums.) Before long, hardcore hip-hop fans began to know Dilla for his steady wobble, which was unfailingly musical and rich in details -- shuffling hi-hats, oddly placed handclaps, spacious drum loops with drastically reshaped samples of tracks both obscure and obvious.
Through the remainder of the '90s, Dilla quietly racked up more output, including Janet Jackson's 'Got 'Til It's Gone' (for which he did not receive credit), additional tracks for the Pharcyde, and collaborative work with Q-Tip on all of 1999's Amplified. Largely upbeat and filled with boisterous energy and thick sounds, Amplified is one of many pieces of evidence against the argument that Dilla was about one sound and one style. During the producer's steady rise, Slum Village remained a priority. Fantastic, Vol. 2 and Best Kept Secret (the latter credited to J-88, an SV pseudonym) were released within weeks of each other in 2000. However, the producer would only contribute a few tracks to the group from then on, as his schedule became increasingly tight. As a core member of the Soulquarians, with James Poyser and the Roots' Ahmir '?eustlove' Thompson, Dilla worked on Common's Like Water for Chocolate, D'Angelo's Voodoo, Erykah Badu's Mama's Gun, and Talib Kweli's Quality. Through 2005, he continued to work with past associates while dipping his toes deeper in R&B. A favor was returned on Fiddler's 2004-released Waltz of a Ghetto Fly, and a couple dynamite tracks -- Steve Spacek's 'Dollar' and longtime collaborator Dwele's 'Keep On' -- were released the following year.
Amazingly, from 2001 on, Dilla was also a prolific solo artist. A couple singles and the Welcome 2 Detroit album came out in 2001, and a number of low-key instrumental compilations and incidental 12' singles followed shortly thereafter. Rarely praised for his mike skills, he was often assisted by the likes of Phat Kat, Lacks, and Frank-n-Dank. Wooed by a Madlib mixtape that featured the rhymes of Oxnard's finest over his own beats, Dilla forged an alliance with his admirer for 2003's Champion Sound, released under the name Jaylib. It was around this time that his health took a sharp decline. For over two years, he had to use a dialysis machine. Despite having to perform in a wheelchair, he was still able to tour in Europe during late 2005.
Donuts, an album of instrumentals that Dilla completed during one of his extended hospital stays, was released on February 7, 2006, his 32nd birthday. Three days later, while staying at his Los Angeles home with his mother, Maureen 'Ma Dukes' Yancey, he passed away, a victim of cardiac arrest. While reflecting on the tremendous loss, close colleague and friend Thompson (an authority if there ever was one) compared the producer's level of genius to that of jazz giant Charlie Parker. Karriem Riggins, a close associate, put the final touches on another album, The Shining, which was released six months later.
A dizzying quantity of posthumous albums, EPs, and singles, most notably a greatly expanded edition of the Ruff Draft EP, were issued throughout the decade that followed. In 2014, Dilla's mother, who was involved in many of those releases, donated her son's MPC and Minimoog Voyager synthesizer to the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture. The Diary of J Dilla, which originated as an early-2000s project for MCA, saw release in 2016. MCA had signed Dilla for his reputation as a beat maker, but Dilla confounded the major label by switching to MC mode and enlisting the likes of comrades House Shoes, Waajeed, Madlib, and Pete Rock as producers. After an extended period that entailed major legal obstacles and the recovery of recordings, the album was released in 2016 on the reactivated Pay Jay label through Mass Appeal. Yet another poshumous release arrived in 2017. Titled Motor City, that set consisted of previously unreleased instrumentals selected and sequenced by Maureen Yancey. ~ Andy Kellman
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