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Welcome to our fifth look at the production career of the legendary, late J Dilla. It has only been three years since his untimely death, but his influence is felt more than perhaps any other time in history. Before I start with the post, I wanted to link up Stones Throw's Rase It Up for Ma Dukes! crossover campaign with Parra with proceeds going to Dilla's mother Maureen Yancey.
2001 saw the release of Dilla's first solo album, 'Welcome to Detroit' as Jay Dee on the excellent UK label BBE. The album's single 'Pause' with vocals by Frank-N-Dank uses a sample from Donald Byrd's 1974 album 'Stepping into Tomorrow' (produced by Larry Mizell) with the track 'Think Twice'. In 2002, Dilla and the other members of the Soulquarians appeared on the ambitious, yet ultimately critically ignored, album 'Electric Cricus' by Common. Two noteworthy non-singles from the album are the Dilla, James Poyser, and ?usetlove produced cuts 'New Wave' and 'Star 69 (PS with Love). 'New Wave' features guest vocals from Stereolab singer Laetitia Sadier (Stereolab was mentioned in Part 4 of our look at Dilla's production output) while 'Star 69' features vocals from fellow Soulquarian Bilal and Prince (yes, that Prince).
In 2003, Dilla's 'Ruff Draft' EP was released by the German label Groove Attack (the EP was later expanded and reissued by Stones Throw). One of the album's standout tracks is 'Wild', which samples 'Cum On Feel the Noize' by classic rock act Slade. Also in 2003, J Dilla and Madlib's project Jaylib saw the light of day with the supergroup's lone album 'Champion Sound'. 'Champion Sound''s single 'The Red' touts beats by Dilla and lyrics by Madlib and utilizes a sample of 'Shine On Straight Arrow' from Cris Williamson's self titled album from 1970.
Check back to this blog for our sixth look at Dilla's career, covering the years 2004 and 2005.
The Lowdown:
Jay Dee 'Pause'
from 'Welcome to Detroit' (2001) (MP3/CD)
Donald Byrd 'Think Twice'
from 'Stepping Into Tomorrow' (1974) (MP3/CD)
Common 'New Wave' and 'Star 69 (PS With Love)'
from 'Electric Circus' (2002) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit:'New Wave' and 'Star 69 (PS With Love)'
J Dilla 'Wild'
from 'Ruff Draft' (2003) (MP3/CD)
Slade 'Cum on Feel the Noize'
from 'Sladest' (1972) (MP3/CD not available)
Jaylib 'The Red'
from 'Champion Sound' (2003) (MP3/CD)
Cris Williamson 'Shine On Straight Arrow'
from 'Cris Williamson' (1970) (MP3/CD)
Bonus Cuts:
Reissue instrumental fever: 'Wild' (Instrumental) and 'The Red' (Instrumental)
Releated Posts:
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 4, 2000)
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