A Great Loss

in what has to be one of the most monumental losses in hip hop, this morning producer extraordinaire J Dilla, AKA. Jay Dee, has passed on. I am not sure of the details, but understand it was a consequence of his ongoing kidney problems, unreliable sources reveal a more grim explanation [check the wiki article].

im not even going to get into his lengthy discography. I will only say that he was an inspiration. Producers could only wish they had the throwaway beats that cat made. a true genius in hip hop. I can think of a long list of producers id have rather seen go, but thats neither here nor there. J Dilla was slowly changing the landscape of how Hip Hop was produced. He made terrible MC's sound suddenly remarkable, and gave really bland albums a spark of magnificence. it was no wonder that Pharell Williams and Kanye West regarded him as one of their inspirations and the Mighty ?uestlove determined him hands down the greatest producer in hip hop.

he inspired an entire generation of bedroom beat fanatics, and the entire country of Sweden wanted to have his babies. for real. check the liner notes for the amazing Raw Fusion Compilation "Base-Ment Classics." they all took their cue from J Dilla. all of em.

Im lucky enough to have a few cd's of nothing but Dilla beats. there are about 80 in all. and all of them are like small, 2 minute miracles of production. he was a prolific cat, and we should be thankful for that.

that raw, dirty, stripped down detroit shit. those soaring soul samples and other worldy drums. those bass lines that dripped like melting candy. he made beats that made today sound better. it is truly a profound musical loss.

R.I.P. J Dilla - Jay Dee - James Yancy- an inspiration to us all.