Today marks the third anniversary of James Yancey’s untimely passing. As all of you know this man is a great inspiration to me in every aspect of my life. I truly wish that I would have gotten in tune with this man’s music earlier in my life because there isn’t a single artist or producer that can replicate the beauty that he created. A lot of people would call me a bandwagon jumper seeing as I only found out about Dilla shortly before he passed, but the impact that he has had on me I will never forget.
I gave a 10 minute speech on Jay in one of my classes last year and I ended the speech with a quote by Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson from The Roots: “I am devastated at the world’s loss of a musical genius of Charlie Parker proportions. Too often we bestow the “greatest” title upon those who have the attention of the press, charts and radio. But if you were to secretly ask the most praised Hip-Hop producers, if given a top three, who they feared the most, Dilla’s name would chart on everyone’s list. I am fortunate to have known this man. He inspires me to perfect my craft in every way. Dilla was and always will be my hero.”
I really don’t think that I could some up any argument or statement about James Yancey any better than ?uestlove. If I can do what makes me happy for the rest of my life like Dilla did, then I will certainly be able to die happy. My guess is that God himself had an MPC 2000XL ready for Dilla when he got to heaven just so the lord could take lessons from the greatest. I find myself listening to Donuts and being physically grabbed by some of the tracks, almost as if Jay is trying to tell me something. I will be a Jay Dee fan for the rest of my life. I can honestly say that J Dilla changed my life.
Like Chaundon once said “If it ain’t Jay Dee, FUCK YA DAMN BEATS!”
R.I.P. J Dilla – February 7th, 1974 – February 10th, 2006
After more than 25 years in operation, the University of Minnesota’s Recycling program was proven to be slightly ineffective during a demonstration that kicked off the national RecycleMania competition. For the event, a fully loaded garbage unloaded its days collection in the middle of the University’s Coffman Memorial Union for sorting to draw attention the large recyclable waste stream that makes it into the trash everyday.
Ancient Crux is the new project of 19 year old California resident Travis Von Sydow (he’s also a member of Rapid Youth). His debut EP entitled Interracial Coupling, out now on Family Time records, is one of the most excited and refreshing pieces of new music I’ve heard in quite some time. From the second the record starts, the twang of the guitar and the stomp of the bass throw the listener into a musical time warp. While I’ve never listened to Roy Orbison myself, every other review or snippet I’ve read about Ancient Crux has compared this EP to him. And it’s kind of what I always imagined Orbison sounding like too. That’s not the point though, what’s important is that Ancient Crux seemingly transcends time, as though Sydow recorded this in 1954 and it was found last week. It’s that twang and stomp, and yet at the same time I don’t know what it is at all. Ancient Crux is just so mysterious, there, maybe that’s what my love affair is all about. The fact that it isn’t front page news on Paste or P4k. It simply feels nice to listen to an album that’s as intimate and warm as Interracial Coupling can be. 
MIND INVERSION 