Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 7, 2006)

Although J Dilla's career was cut tragically short on February 10th of 2006, his legacy as one of hip-hop's most forward thinking producers was already concrete. For the non-believer, there were two more examples of J Dilla's skill released in 2006: his broken-beat magnum opus 'Donuts' and his final (to date) solo album 'The Shining'.

'Donuts' was released on February 7th of 2006, Dilla's final birthday. The album is comprised of 31 short instrumentals that blend into a stunning album. One of the standout tracks on 'Donuts' is the propulsive 'Lightworks' which utilizes samples from electronic music pioneer Raymond Scott's 'Bendix 1: The Tomorrow People' and, of course, 'Lightworks'. Dilla's original instrumental was used in its entirety for DOOM's 'Lightworks' from 2009's 'Born Like This' (check back for a full look at 'Born Like This' later this week). Similarly, Ghostface Killah used Dilla's 'Hi.' as the backing for his song 'Beauty Jackson' from 2006's 'Fishscale'. The basis for both tracks is the Three Degrees' 'Maybe' from their 1970 album 'Maybe'.

'Donuts' was followed by 'The Shining' four months later in August of 2006. The album was not finished by Dilla, after his death the album was completed by Karriem Riggins. One of the standout tracks from 'The Shining' is 'So Far to Go' with Common. The track samples the Isley Brothers' 'Don't Say Goodnight (It's Time for Love)' and was featured as 'Bye.' on Dilla's 'Donuts' album. The track would appear in a slightly different version as Common's 'So Far to Go' on his 2007 album 'Finding Forever'.

Dilla lives on through his music and is frequently cited by producers and given tributes by his friends and peers. Future posts on this blog will cover his material in greater depth.

The Lowdown:
J Dilla 'Lightworks', 'Hi.', and 'Bye.'
from 'Donuts' (2006) (MP3 not available/CD)
Raymond Scott 'Bendix 1: The Tomorrow People' and 'Lightworks'
from 'Manhattan Research, Inc.' (2000) (MP3/CD)
DOOM 'Lightworks'
from 'Born Like This' (2009) (MP3/CD)
Ghostface Killah 'Beauty Jackson'
from 'Fishscale' (2006) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit: 'Beauty Jackson'
The Three Degrees 'Maybe'
from 'Maybe' (1970) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
J Dilla 'So Far to Go'
from 'The Shining' (2006) (MP3/CD)
The Isley Brothers 'Don't Say Goodnight (It's Time for Love)'
from 'Go All the Way' (1980) (MP3 not available/CD)
Common 'So Far to Go'
from 'Finding Forever' (2007) (MP3/CD)

Related Posts:
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 1, 1995)
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 2, 1996-1997)
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 3, 1998-1999)
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 4, 2000)
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 5, 2001-2003)
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 6, 2004-2005)