As many of you know J Dilla’s new album, Jay $tay Paid comes out this Tuesday on Nature Sounds Records. Havoc of Mobb Deep is one of the cats that is rapping over Dilla’s treats on the record. Havoc shows a great deal of respect for Dilla talking about how good he was at flipping samples, “It’s not what you sample, it’s how you sample it”. Havoc also talks about the first time that he heard Dilla (on a Tribe project), the fact that he would put Dilla in his top 10, how he chose the beat he rapped over on Jay $tay Paid & working with Raekwon.
Archive for J Dilla
Havoc of Mobb Deep Talks J Dilla
Posted in Media, Video with tags Havoc, J Dilla, Jay $tay Paid, Nature Sounds, Raekwon on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 by Tim AlthausWild Style Wednesday Review: J Dilla, The Shining
Posted in Wildstyle Wednesdays with tags Black Thought, Common, D'Angelo, Guilty Simpson, J Dilla, Karriem Riggins, Madlib, MED on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 by Tim Althaus
This album was posthumously released shortly after Dilla died. Good friend Karriem Riggins took the album under his wing with the wave from Ma Dukes. Many sources say that Dilla was only able to finish around 75% of the album before his untimely death. Even though this album wasn’t on my top 10 albums of all time, I can assure you that this is one of my favorite albums of all time. This is the first album I ever heard of Dilla’s solo material, and for that reason alone I am forever grateful to this album. I remember reading reviews on Amazon, and hearing people complain that this album is just over 30 minutes long. This album just proves that good things really do come in small packages. Continue reading
Guilty Simpson Lets Go of that “Stress” With Some Help From Dilla
Posted in Audio, Downloads with tags Guilty Simpson, J Dilla on Tuesday, May 19, 2009 by Tim Althaus
In my opinion Guilty Simpson is the one emcee that Dilla’s beats fit with perfectly. Every time you hear Guilty on a Dilla track there is no questioning whether he was the right person for the job. With the track “Stress” the outcome is no different. Dilla lays down a sick beat that is very omniscent of the Beatles tune “Eleanor Rigby” with a more electronic twist, and Guilty flows over this track like a waterfall. Even though this track isn’t on Jay $tay Paid it still makes me anticipate it even more, because the only thing better than Dilla tracks, is new Dilla tracks.
Download: Guilty Simpson, “Stress” (Produced by J Dilla)
Spotted @ 2DopeBoyz
The Beat Junkies Bring You the Jay $tay Paid Sampler
Posted in Downloads, Media with tags Beat Junkies, J Dilla, Jay $tay Paid, Jay Stay Paid on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 by Tim Althaus
Thanks to Shamz over at OKP for this one. The Beat Junkies have made a sampler mix of Dilla’s new album Jay $tay Paid for all of the fiends (like me) who can’t wait for this album. I am downloading this one as we speak so I can listen to this all night tonight. Make sure you download this one to get a good preview of what is to come on June 2nd. If you want to check out the artwork and track listing for Jay $tay Paid can go here. Join me at the record store on June 2nd to pick up one of the best albums of this year.
Download: Jay $tay Paid (sampler mix), Mixed by the Beat Junkies.
Spotted @ 2DopeBoyz
Jay $tay Paid Tracklisting & Artwork
Posted in Music News with tags J Dilla, Jay $tay Paid, Jay Stay Paid, Nature Sounds, Pete Rock on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 by Tim Althaus
THANK YOU Hip Hop Official! We now have the official artwork (which may I mind you is excitingly epic) for Dilla’s new album Jay $tay Paid which drops June 2nd on Nature Sounds records. As I mentioned in a previous post, the album will play out like a radio show with Dilla’s idol Pete Rock playing the program director. I am going to throw a guess out there and say that this is going to be one of the best albums of the year. Follow me after the jump for the tracklisting. Continue reading
Album Review: Finale, A Pipedream And A Promise
Posted in Music Reviews with tags Black Milk, Detroit Hip-Hop, Finale, Flying Lotus, J Dilla, Khrysis, Nottz on Monday, May 11, 2009 by Tim AlthausFinale is an emcee from the city of Detroit, Michigan who magnificently marvels me when he flows over the microphone. He has a
voice that’s like a cross between 50 Cent and Kanye West (if I had to say) except for he’s much mightier than the aforementioned names. If you don’t know who Finale is, you probably should get familiar. This is an outstanding opus and a great entrance into the world of Hip-Hop that should be heard by all.
People that know me well know that when it comes to albums, production (to me) is a big determining factor on how I feel. The production on this album is nothing short of incredible and sets the tone of the album. If this was an instrumental album of just beats, I can assure you that I would give it an 8 or 9 alone. I remember seeing the production list and being amazed (J Dilla, Black Milk, Nottz, Flying Lotus & Khrysis to name a few), but what really surprises me more is that the lesser known producers craft concoctions that are just as good as the rest. Continue reading
Dilla Bot Vs. The Hybrid
Posted in Downloads, Media with tags Danny Brown, J Dilla, Jay Stay Paid, Nature Sounds on Monday, May 11, 2009 by Tim Althaus
I still can’t get over the artwork for the new Dilla album (which is featured to the left) because it’s incredible. This is the first track I have had the pleasure of hearing, and it features up and coming Detroit emcee Danny Brown. It was actually up a few days ago over at 2DopeBoyz, but I didn’t have a chance to get it up at the time.
This is a nice Dilla beat that I haven’t heard before (which is always nice), and Danny Brown spits some ridiculous verses over this great instrumental. I want you guys to realize that Danny Brown is an emcee that has some amazing talent. It makes me really happy to hear another great artist coming out of Detroit because it’s a city that just keeps pumping out great sound. I am going to make a conscious effort to get everything that this guy puts out.
Make sure you check out this track because it is incredible. You better also make sure you go out and cop Jay $tay Paid out on Nature Sounds June 2nd.
Download: Dilla Bot Vs. The Hybrid (Featuring Danny Brown)
Review: Carlos Nino & Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Suite For Ma Dukes EP
Posted in Music Reviews with tags Carlos Nino, J Dilla, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Suite For Ma Dukes EP on Monday, April 27, 2009 by Tim Althaus
I have to admit that I’m sorry it has taken me so long to get a review up of this project. I remember hearing about this project a while back during the whole Ma Dukes controversy with the Dilla Estate. I felt so upset that I couldn’t go to LA and see the concert performed, but I knew that the EP that was going to come out would be just as good. The display that Carlos Nino & Miguel Atwood-Ferguson put on is amazing and truly beautiful. I can’t believe how well this whole project came out.
The EP is only 4 tracks long, but they accomplish in four tracks what most can’t do in an entire album. Hearing Dilla’s compositions with an orchestral twist is something that can truly not be explained by words. The tracks that we picked out for this showcase are so good that they seem as though they should be original orchestra pieces. “Fall In Love” is one of my favorite songs that Dilla produced (I would say easily top 10) and the interpretation is perfect. It starts off with some beautiful harp playing, and transitions smoothly into the rolling piano in the background with some violin. The most beautiful part of it all though, is the flute that plays in the orchestra. With every note the flute hits, you can almost feel shivers run down your spine. The trend continues through the other three tracks that are on this EP (“Antiquity”, “Nag Champa” & “Find A Way”). I’m pretty sure that Dilla is showing that signature Jay Dee smile when he looks down from up above and hears these tracks.
If you are a J Dilla fan or a fan of beautiful music in general, this one is truly for you. I’m really not a big fan of orchestral music (although I feel as though I should be) but this EP really turned me onto it. Like I said previously, there really aren’t many words that will do this album much justice. It’s something that you literally have to hear for yourself. I can’t imagine what it would have been like to see a 30 piece orchestra perform this set, if I would have seen it I probably would have cried.
10/10
J Dilla X Black Thought = One Hell of a “Reality Check”
Posted in Downloads, Media with tags Black Thought, Blu, doom, Havoc, Illa J, J Dilla, Jay Stay Paid, Ma Dukes, MOP, Nature Sounds, Pete Rock, Raekwon on Monday, April 20, 2009 by Tim Althaus
I figured I would start off my posts today with a track that is worth hearing on 4/20. This track comes to us from the fine people over at Okayplayer. As I mentioned in a post a while back, Ma Dukes and Pete Rock are going to be putting out an album via Nature sounds on June 2nd entitled Jay Stay Paid. This is the first track that we have the pleasure of hearing, and it features Black Thought, one of the best emcees in the game. As usual you can expect a great beat from one of the all-time greats, and Black Thought rips through this beat like paper, all while making it seem so effortless.
This album sounds like it’s going to the spectacular, according to the article I read at OKP, Jay Stay Paid is going to contain mostly instrumentals (which I am totally okay with) but will feature an all-star cast of emcees. What emcees can you expect to hear on the ablum? Illa J, DOOM, Black Thought, Raekwon, Havoc, Blu & MOP. I don’t need to say a whole lot more about this album other than that if you don’t pick it up on June 2nd you are crazy.
Download: J Dilla “Reality Check” (Featuring Black Thought)
Review: DOOM, Born Like This
Posted in Music Reviews, Reviews with tags Born Like This, doom, Ghostface Killah, J Dilla, Jake One, MF Doom, Raekwon, Thom Yorke on Tuesday, April 7, 2009 by Tim Althaus
As if MF Doom (sorry DOOM) had to make it any more confusing, he added yet another moniker to the seemingly endless list of names. Born Like This is his first outing under the alias known as DOOM (yes, it has to be ALL CAPS). It’s always been hard for me to put a term on how I feel about MF Doom’s music, it’s great, but I just don’t know where I sit with it. If there’s one thing for sure, he never fails in making me laugh my ass of. DOOM is one of the funniest and quirkiest emcees I’ve ever heard, I love the way that he rhymes and the things he spits about.
With the information above being said lets start by saying that the production on this album is nothing short of amazing. With the majority of production being handled by DOOM himself (DOOM has always been a great fucking producer), the rest of the production is handled by Jake One, J Dilla & Thom Yorke (only on the iTunes purchase) . By the names already mentioned, you should have a pretty good idea that the beats on this album are going to be pretty close to off the charts. Continue reading
MIND INVERSION 