Disrespectful views at Tha Kang, T.I.? Nah, Ms. Banks you're out of line. Yeah Harris' Aussie ain't that dope but neither are you. I just saw you at Coachella and I wasn't impressed. You got the look, the swag, the tough talk but where are the tunes? "212" is alright but that's where it stops. According to Jay-Z's old board rules: You have no right to diss Tip. Look in the mirror and ask yourself: How many classic albums have you created? Are you on anyone's top 10 MCs list? Do you have any hardware on your walls, ma? Cliff is right. Keep him out of the girlfight. You're heavy in these tweets, but I hope you're finding time to create music that backs up your buzz. Or you'll soon be begone like Kreayshawn. You young ladies today bore me. *Turns up Mia X CD* No Limit forever!
The best things in life are free, but hopping on Hov's press conference stage uninvited is gon cost cha. Whatcha did was wrong! ⎯B.DotHip-Hop Confessions: J Dilla Who?
Sunday, March 29 2009 6:58 PM EST | Posted by: B.Dot | Posted in: True Story
Sundays are slow on the ‘net. So the marketing genius YN and I thought the Sabbath would be a great day to come clean with the Hip-Hop gods. After the jump, check out the first installment of Hip-Hop Confessions. Com’on, we all have one.
Truthfully, I never heard of J Dilla until after February 10, 2006. Admit it, most of you didn’t neither. After his death, I researched his discography and was intrigued about the guy everyone was eulogizing. I thought I was going spot some of hip-hop’s greatest sonic booms or at least several iconic tracks he was associated with. Boy, was I disappointed. Now before one of you geeks plant a Trojan horse in my inbox, by no means am I trying to diss the deceased nor minimize Dilla’s achievements. That’d be tacky. I will however question JD’s overrated popularity. And please, don’t hit me with that “He did ‘Stakes Is High!’” bullshit neither.
A few posts ago, I caught hell in the comments after I wrote Mannie Fresh > J Dilla. Blasphemous, huh? Sure, comparing Fresh to Dilla is apples and oranges, but, people have put Dilla on this pedestal. Actually, pound for pound, Mannie’s discography is far more superior. In fact, I can think of 10 other producers* who’ve crafted better tracks than JD. It really grinds my gears that the late Jonnny J doesn’t receive the same, if not more, props than Dilla.
Maybe I’m off my hinges. Perhaps all of Dilla’s acclaim is warranted. I’d like to think not. Yeah, “Runnin” and “The Light” were dope, but what else ya got? Since his passing, dude’s become the Che Guevara of hip-hop. Folks rock the merchandise and name drop him in songs. But when he was alive, I can’t recall anyone ever checking for his sound like that. ‘Kiss once said, dead rappers get better promotion. I’m starting to think the same rules apply for dead producers.
*Dr. Dre, Timbaland, Premier, Havoc, Swizz Beatz, Kanye West, Just Blaze, The Neptunes, Easy Mo Bee, KLC. Disagree? See me in the comments.
It’s one thing not to agree or not agree with people about the greatness of James Yancey but it’s another thing to write a half hearted article with no real arguments or even content, for the simple purpose to get some clicks. You know that this is part of this posting–the internets loves Dilla (rather J Dilla, without a period, you research-tired fool!) that’s why they will click here (and maybe hate).
I think that is not only lame but stupid and I’m really dissapointed.
Right there with you…while I might have had a little more insight on Dilla before his death, he has become far greater after; and then again far more important to the hip-hop community…still not sure why either.
fuck a click, lex. i just realize you folks jump on the band wagon. d-i-c-k ridah’s ain’t whoa!
Dilla had great beats, but they weren’t hits except for that janet single, which he didn’t receive credit on the artwork. his beats and life is doing more for the digging scene and Stones Throw. They’re are living dope producers, who are not connected, and not getting half the light he got when he died.
I think that says more about your musical knowledge than the folks that jumped on the bandwagon after his death. Mannie Fresh > J Dilla, that’s economics/commodification over musicianship the American way. I agree Johnny J and Easy Mo Bee don’t get the props tyhe deserve, but without Pac you probably wouldn’t even have known who Johhny J was. Kanye said Dilla was his favorite producer, and he’s already proven to be inconsistent musically. If you wanna stress your point using popularity points, radio hits, and BET awards your arguement wins hands down. But I would put any Dilla composition in arrangement form over any of the folks you mentioned…
smh
Thank you for saying this! I’m in the exact same boat: Never heard anyone mention his name till he died, so I looked at his production credits and found a few gems, thought he was pretty nice, but got annoyed at how mofos swear he was the greatest producer of all time. GTFOH. 95 percent of the people on his dick NEVER EVER talked about him before he died. Dudes aint even know he was dying! Jada spit the truth, but so did Royce: “You be on MTV News for the first time because you died”
Not only do I agree with your list, but I would add Pete Rock, RZA, Marley Marl, Mannie Fresh, The Hitmen, Prince Paul, The Alchemist, DJ Muggs, and The Bomb Squad.
hey, im definitely loving the real talk in this. not everyone knew who dilla was before he passed, and most won’t admit it.
i don’t think his talent starts with the light and ends with runnin, though. dude has a host of fire material… that’s on you if you’ve looked at his discography and didn’t realize it, or didn’t know. s’all good though, to each his own.
It’s cool for you to be of the opinion that Mannie Fresh > Dilla. fine. Whatever. Not everybody is gonna agree. the biggest problem with this post is it lacks any real argument. It feels like you’re saying just because there’s a lot of hype surrounding him after his death he’s not all that great. True, we tend to immortalize folks after they die. And I agree, his name wasn’t really in conversations the way it is now before he died. But let’s take that out of the equation. Let’s just look at bodies of work. Look at it from strictly a music perspective and give everybody an argument as to why you feel Mannie Fresh is better, then respect is due. Some people will still disagree, but fuck it, this is Hip-Hop.
i’m french. I know a lot of people that liked Jay dee before his date or before he was getting bad physicaly. So it isnt out fault if you are ignorant musicaly.
Then what dilla did ? Come on, listen a little more, download some stuff if you don’t want to pay for anything. He was a great producer, one of the best for me. I like Pete rock, primo and all… But Dilla had something special, something def soul but he always did hip hop, but it was really subtle. He did some really good song for people as well as instrumentals that emcee never rap on. HE did come good shit for Busta and others emcee… But his instrumentals were really good as well. He did some fucking good remix !
Anyway, just listen, don’t be an ignorant. Listen, discover and you will understand.
Some people might do not like ( and they might have no taste but well ) but you cannot say it’s not good. Sometimes i don’t like a kind of music but i know how to recognized when it’s good. “It’s really good musicaly but it isn’t what i like”.
that is all. real talk!
I know everyone is entitled to there opinion but Dilla is the truth some people think cause some his beats didnt have alot of melodies he’s overrated that was the genius of Dilla. Taking them Jazz, soul and funk loops and making them talk to you listen to Donuts and u can hear him speaking with the beats. And if not for Dilla Fat Albert In The Hood would not be where it is today…verb
Pikahsso
no, youre not gonna find a dilla saved my life tshirt in my closet, but dude was dope and did some things with the drums i never heard before…
but, yeah, he’s unfortunately overrated. but mainly because of bandwagon fans.
so, i dont think its dilla thats overrated…its his “fans” that are overrated.
Totally agree. No disrespect to J Dilla, but this idea that he’s some GOD producer has gotten out of hand. I’m sitting here looking at kids with these “J Dilla changed my life” t-shirts just shaking my head. He was a good producer, but not head and shoulders above everyone else like some claim.
Glad someone has the balls to speak the truth.
One Dilla’s best beats ever http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPOS3I4Be4s
KANYE>>>>>>>>>>>>>>DILLA
Ya’know…I really appreciate this article. Not because I agree with everything/anything said but because it’s really a testament to how ahead of his time Dilla was. I’ve been a Dilla fan since “Runnin” and Delicious Vinyl days so I compare him to Thelonius Monk b/c his composition where so abstract. He went thru at least 3 different style changes, which alot of the producers in the comments have not done quite frankly. Dill is so highly regarded by his peers and music lovers alike b/c he was musician’s musician. If you know the history, you know he was doing things with samples that others had deemed impossible to do (?uestlove tells a story of Dill taking a song with no break and no loops..chopping every note of the song to create a beat.)
Part of Dill not receiving the props he so rightfully deserved is that he always let the music speak for him. He wasn’t about saying his name at the beginning of every song.
Jay Dee’s greatness can’t be measured in monetary gains like Mannie Fresh and Dr. Dre. His contributions to music will be appreciated and studied for generations to come, which is what I believe he always wanted.
did u actually listen to anything in his catalog other than 2 of his biggest “hits”?
like any of the following records = slum village “fantastic vol. 1 or 2″ “welcome 2 detroit”, “donuts”, “fuck the police”, “ruff draft”, etc…
just curious…you are totally entitled to your opinion but I’m just wondering if this opinion is based off of his actual music not being your taste in music, or the fact that it annoys u that he has mad dickriders…
B. Dot must have lived under a rock since 1995 to not to have heard Jay Dee beats.
I first heard Jay Dee’s production on The Pharcyde’s Labcabincalifornia and of course the track “Runnin” comes to mind. My friend threw on the LP in the club and I had to find out who did the beat. The Pharcyde had good beats on their 1993 classic, Bizzare Ryde To The Pharcyde, but never nothing like “Runnin”
As an avid cd collector in the 90′s and early part to the 2000′s I was able to keep pace with Jay Dee’s production credits through liner notes.
When I copped Slum Village’s Fantastic Volume 2 in June of 2000, and should be regarded beat wise as one of the best hip-hop albums ever.
BBE released Welcome 2 Detroit in 2001, as Jay Dee transitioned him moniker to J Dilla.
How could the Jay Dee/Madlib collabo JAYLIB in 2003 be overlooked by you guys, I mean WTF?!?
Pharrell & KanYe credits Dilla as a major inspiration, and I wont even begin to mention how much ?uestlove wrote about how amazing he thought Dilla was.
I can’t seem to understand if y’all are going to run a site devoted to hip-hop, how you can sit there and disrespect Dilla’s discography like this!
http://www.stonesthrow.com/jdilla/discography
As Clinton Sparks would say…”Get Familiar!”
a lot of you fuck faces knew who dilla was, but didn’t know who jay-dee was. jay-dee was that nigga who came out in 96 with mad skillz, the pharcyde & de la soul. alot of people (whites & dick riders) didn’t know who jay-dee aka dilla was until he died. he didn’t get his credit until he died which saddens me. but the thing that saddens me more is that the so-called hip hop heads who supposedly love and die for hip hop weren’t aware of his early work. and yes he did a track with B.I.G. in the studio. but for the fuck faces that don’t know that, do your research. primo, pete, kanye & pharrell don’t big him up just to big him up. they big him up because he was a genius in his own right. i can go on for days with the tracks that he’s done in his career while he was alive. but it’s your job to find that shit and appreciate it. THAT’S LIKE SOMEONE SAYING JAY-Z IS WACK. biggie is the illest of all TIME,NOT JAY. even dr. dre knew the genius of jay-dee. pete rock who’s one of the illest even embraced him so much to the point where he can’t even compare him to nobody else because DILLA AKA JAY-DEE IS JUST THAT NIGGA!!!!!!!!!!!! do your homework
you so-called hip hop lovers. ya’ll probably don’t know shit about a classic such as A CONSTIPATED MONKEY either.
b. dot is one of them lames who didn’t start listening to rap music (not hip hop) until 1998.
The only comment worth reading on this entire post is the first Comment.
The first comment is all you need to know.
It makes all the rest of the comments look as stupid as the original article.
J Dilla is currently the most imitated producer on the planet, next to Mannie Fresh of course :-)
b. dot is one of them lames who didn’t start listening to rap music (not hip hop) until 1998.
^^^
ha! let me know when you decide to take the chewsitck out ur ass.
that chew stick is in your mouth. (r.i.p. jay-dee) victory music………she said (remix)
fuck face….ha!!!
Nuff respect for the individual opinion, but GET THA FUCK OUTTA HERE!!! Roll a DONUT one time and if you don’t recognize anything, roll a DONUT again, and if you still don’t recognize anything, roll a DONUT and then finally if you REALLY don’t see what mothafuckas is talkin about…..
Yeah, he’s overrated, but 1) he really was THAT great, and 2) I can’t believe you’ve never heard of him before he died o_o
Most of the producers that you mentioned, including Dre, Timbaland, and Mannie Fresh all have ghost producers. Dilla was one of the few producers that did all of his on stuff… I know that you are entitled to your opinion but I really think you should investigate a little more before comparing Dilla to Mannie Fresh of all people.
P.S After reading this post I can definitely tell that You’re a Souljaboy fan…aren’t you??
but real talk.. i def agree that a lot of these dudes are jumpin on the bandwagon.. they really couldn’t tell you why they like dilla so much.. they just point to tracks and get flustered when you disagree..
but on the flipside, i’m glad he’s getting the shine regardless..
youretheworst.blogspot.com
if Johnny J had mad overnight ‘fans’ and phony hipsters posthumously jumping on his bandwagon trying to look cool, you’d probably be making the same post about him.
don’t let your (understandable) frustration with these over-zealous fanboys taint your perception of Dilla’s music.
A Tribe Called Quest – 1nce Again, Get A Hold, Keeping It Moving, Stressed Out, Word Play from Beat, Rhymes, & Life CD/LP (1996) Jive Records
Busta Rhymes – Keep It Movin’, Still Shinin’ from The Coming CD/LP (1996) Elektra
Busta Rhymes – Woo-Hah!! (Jay-Dee Bounce Remix), Woo-Hah!! (Jay-Dee Other Shit Remix), 12-inch (1996)
De La Soul – Stakes Is High from Stakes Is High CD/LP (1996) Tommy Boy
De La Soul – Stakes Is High (Remix) from Itzsoweezee
Kieth Murray – The Rhyme (Remix), Dangerous Ground from E
Tha Pharcyde – Runnin’, Bullshit, Splatittorium, Somethin’ That Means Somethin’, Drop, Y? from Labcabincalifornia CD/LP (1996) Delicious Vinyl
Janet Jackson – Got Til It’s Gone (Ummah Jay Dee Revenge Mix) 12-inch (1997) Virgin
Tha Pharcyde – She Said (Remix) 12-inch (1997) Delicious Vinyl
Tha Pharcyde – Runnin (Remix), Y? (Remix) from Drop
Q-Tip – 11 tracks from Amplified CD/LP (1999) Arista
De La Soul – Verbal Clap, Much More from Grind Date CD/LP
Ghostface Killah – Beauty Jackson, Whip You with a Strap
Q-Tip – Move, Feva from The Renaissance (2008)
peep the rest:
http://stonesthrow.com/jdilla/discography
STOP HATIN ON J.DILLA CUZ HE DIDN’T MAKE COMMERCIAL SHIT.
HE LACED SOME OF THE BEST ARTISTS WITH REAL HIPHOP TRACKS.
***IM AGREEING WITH THE VERY FIRST COMMENT***
YALL NEED TA KNOW YA RAP-HISTORY BEFORE POSTING BULLSHIT.
YALL GOT ME HEATED!!!
R.I.P. J.DILLA
I’m going to have to agree with the comments saying you’re just saying this to say it. Here’s my personal findings when it came to Dilla; I became really aware of him about a year before he passed. I knew of him but didn’t realize who he really was. I copped Donuts when it was released and then discovered his discography. Reading over it I saw that he had produced lots of tracks that I had loved over the years. Do you ever hear producers who talk about not having a set style and wanting you to just love a beat cause it’s dope and not because of the name? Over the years Dilla was that producer. He made amazing time-tested tracks that stand up to this day that were dope when they originally surfaced. Then when some of his “followers” (some heavyweights like The Roots and Kanye) came out and said they bit things from his style I went back to listen and found that I had been listening to his influence for years before I even knew it. So if we can recap, Dilla was producing great shit for years without people knowing and people were biting his style for years without people knowing. His death basically brought to life his accomplishments that were overlooked. I don’t see him as overrated but I do think that he made new fans after his death because he was so low key. People have to look for Mannie and hear people shout him out to find his tracks. Dilla was already all around us. We just didn’t know we were listening.
It’s understandable that Dilla wasn’t a huge success commercially in the world of Hip Hop music, but he didn’t need to be. He was a producer’s producer. For someone like Pharrell who’s one of Music’s biggest producers to say “J Dilla is my fav. producer” says a lot considering someone like Pharell has seen the greener pastures as a producer himself.
Today, your average producer on the come up wants to be a Just Blaze, Swizz Beats, or Timbaland for the fame and for those one of two hits that’ll “put them on the map”. Dilla had joints on the radio before some of the top producers today even touched an MP (or Reason today..)
Now what I will agree with is that a lot of people jumped on the bandwagon when he passed, but that’s nothing out of the ordinary (Ex. Pac had fans prior to his death, but nothing like he did after he died). If someone’s goal as a producer is to solely make consistent radio hits, then that’s wassup. But Dilla was a lot bigger than that IMO and he’s embraced by all forms of Hip Hop artists, producers, and fans alike, that alone speaks volumes above the next guy just trying to re-create “Millie” over and over again.
Originality. Its what’s for dinner.
http://yourfavoritewhiteboy.com/2009/03/02/the-confessional-most-hip-hop-blogs-suck/
“Marketing genius” indeed.
…there are some things that are true in what you’re saying, no doubt. but i think that the comments got nasty mostly because of the fact that, like you said, you compared apples and oranges. sure there are better producers than dilla, but Mannie sure as hell ain’t one of them. props to him, he has some hits under his belt and some joints that even I like, but we all know hits dont prove shit when it comes to music quality and long term relevance in the game. and dilla had undeniable influence on many great names in the game (kanye, q-tip, busta, questlove, common, just blaze, just to name a few)
greetings from croatia
While you rock gucci manne , oj da juiceman , gwop boyz and and all your fried chicken music … we be rockin with the illest and thats dilla that i’m talkin
madlib .. dr who dat .. j dilla .. black milk .. hi-tek
MAN GET A GRIP
mannie fresh ? you boy be chillin hard in the crackhouse these days huh ?
u make me sick if u have no repsect for Dilla, and say That Mannie Fresh of all people has a better catalougue then you are the reason why HIP HOP IS DEAD FUCK THIS ASSHOLE WHO WOULD EVEN DARE TRAMP DILLA’S LEGACY!!!!!!!!!!!!
…you ignorant fool!
Dumb post–I rarely comment on any blog, but this article has no real substance— just an attempt to spark chatter. I see no real argument here, and the fact that you didn’t know who Dilla was before he died discredits you to even be writing about Hip-Hop.
this is some bullshit.
if you don’t see the musicality of donuts, his early slum stuff, his work with busta, the roots, common, phat kat, stones throw, madlib,
then you’re missing out. this is music on par with yusef lateef, ahmad jamal, stanley cowell, pharoah sanders and co.
I was into Mr. Yancey from the Ummah days and was lucky enough to get the last interview with the man. [http://www.nodfactor.com/2009/02/09/1255] As someone already stated, he was a producer’s producer. But personally, I always liked Jay Dee (Welcome To Detroit) more than Dilla (Donuts). I tease people by saying he invented snap music (listen to “Pause”). His influence was undeniable.
say wut u want but u gon pay j say wut u want but they gon play j its that dilla shit that dilla shit that dilla shit…
hey dummy it’s a nice publicity stunt you’ve got here, i mean it’s nice look at all the people hating on you and you’re laughing behind your screen because you think you’ve accomplished anything – if you did – it’s ignorance in music and Dilla’s discography.
In music for each his own, you could’ve said you dont like his kind of music, but saying that the man didn’t influence or have any hits? defined by what? you expected a J dilla-Britney spears thing like the neptunes?
just look at the list here, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J_Dilla_discography those were “HITS” for Hiphop fans
you’re right that most people didn’t know Dilla before his tragic death, personally I didn’t know he had so much work done until after he passed away. The work on Electric Circus alone was enough.
Timbaland… get the fuck outta here
It just seems you’re being overly dismissive of a guy whose appeal is a bit more subtle and nuanced than, say, the appeal of the Neptunes (who I like, for the most part), but your hardheadedness is well-documented.
And don’t cop such a plea on the whole “y’all didn’t know who Dilla was either” front. You were the editor-in-chief of a major hip hop mag, and you didn’t know who Jay Dee was? Really? That’s just laziness.
I agree with you on Dilla…but no RZA, Pete Rock, or Marley Marl in your top ten?
ORGANIZED NOIZE PRODUCTIONS should be in everyone’s top 10 producers. the south got somethin to say
it’s a shame you havent or have yet to appreciate Dilla. Whats most interesting are the o.g. root sounds/use of samples and drums that crush, which are attemped to be remade these very days, J dilla was one of the pioneer’s of that sound that is relevant forever. And thats why homage is paid.
J Dilla was never that special.
Im never coming back to this website again.
wow, you guys are jokes. Comparing dilla to mannie fresh, because of his “commercial” work, is like saying 50 cent is better than Big L because he’s sold more records? You’re supposed to be some kind of hip hop dude, and you judge an artist’s skill and talent on how many songs he’s had on the radio? If you even understood have of the shit Dilla produced.. This guy would sample 5 different records from five different instruments to come up with one beat in less than 10 minutes ! Don’t beleive me? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfP-jDJxL9Q