Thoughts on J Dilla: Though I struggle to find the next great lyricist in hip hop, I think that beats themselves remain crisp and lush. On the topic of beats, praise goes to the producers. It’s folly to say that someone is “the best producer of all time” because it is impossible to disassociate one’s personal bias for a sound or mood type. Further, sometimes the hottest beats, such as M.O.P.’s “Ante Up” (widely considered to be one of the best beats in history) are essentially once-in-a-blue-moon hits for most producers. (“Ante Up” was produced by DR Period). Nevertheless, we can all agree that DJ Premier, Pete Rock, and Dr. Dre are the godfathers of hip hop production. There is another group that will usually make your head nod: Swizz Beatz, Kanye West, Alchemist, 9th Wonder, Buckwild, Danger Mouse, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Just Blaze, MF Doom, Lord Finesse, Hi-Tek, Large Professor, Madlib, No I.D., Q-Tip, RJD2, Nujabes, and Da Beatminerz. This leads me to J Dilla. Where does he fit in? His style of music is simply not mainstream enough and too mellow to attract the numbers that a club-crusher like “Still Dre” will procure. Yet, Dilla’s beats are the closest to perfection that I have ever heard. Their complexity is almost unrivaled. The sound Dilla created when he was alive is indeed so difficult to reproduce, that it never really has been (perhaps Madlib has come closest). The more I hear, perhaps, we can conclude that J Dilla may have been the most talented producer of all time, even if not the most influential. I leave you now with a sampling of three of his instrumentals. All can be played on repeat. 1. youtu.be/n7qucuF4PFA 2. youtu.be/bTIj51DZ_Uk 3. youtu.be/GF8Y7Ayk2cc
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 21:53:19 +0000
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