Rewind: Jaylib 'Champion Sound' (Part 1)

When given a tape of J Dilla's beats in 2000, Madlib rapped over the beats starting the Jaylib project without J Dilla's initial knowledge. After trading beats and meeting only twice, the lone Jaylib album titled 'Champion Sound' was completed and released in 2003. This two part blog post will cover the sampled material from Dilla and Madlib's collaboration.

The opening track 'L.A. to Detroit' produced by both J Dilla and Madlib contains a sample of the drums from Mountain's live version of 'Long Red' from 1973 their album 'Live (The Road Goes Ever On)'. 'McNasty Filth' featuring raps by Dilla and Frank-N-Dank finds Madlib using a sample from Paul Muriat's 1971 album 'El Condor Pasa''s album cut 'Melancholy Man'. Due to a cease and desist order, the sample of Cris Williamson's 'Shine On, Straight Arrow' does not appear on the rerelease version of the Dilla produced cut 'The Red'. Madlib kicks some dub knowledge by sampling Herman Chin-Loy's 'Heavy Duty' (featuring melodica by dub pioneer Augustus Pablo) on the track 'Heavy' with lyrics by Dilla.

Check back for part 2 of our look at 'Champion Sound'.

The Lowdown:
Jaylib 'L.A. to Detroit', 'McNasty Filth', 'The Red', and 'Heavy'
from 'Champion Sound' (2003) (MP3/CD)
Mountain 'Long Red'
from 'Live (The Road Goes Ever On)' (1972) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
Paul Mauriat 'Melancholy Man'
from 'El Condor Pasa' (1971) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Cris Williamson 'Shine On, Straight Arrow'
from 'Cris Williamson' (1970) (MP3/CD)
Herman Chin-Loy 'Heavy Duty'
from 'Aquarius Dub' (1975) (MP3 not available/CD not available)

Bonus Cuts:
Instrumental versions, get your rap on: 'McNasty Filth' (Instrumental), 'The Red' (Instrumental), and 'Heavy' (Instrumental).

Related Posts:
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 5, 2001-2003)

Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 5, 2001-2003)

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)