Archive for J Dilla

Album Review: Madlib, The Beat Konducta, Vol. 5&6 

Posted in Music Reviews with tags , , , on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 by Tim Althaus

beat-konducta When it comes to incredible duos a few come to mind: Batman & Robin, Abbot & Costello, Tom & Jerry & last but not least Jaylib. J Dilla was Madlib’s good friend and comrade and during his new Beat Konducta series it is completely evident. Madlib sculpts together 42 beautiful instrumentals that seamlessly and perfectly pay respects to one of the greatest minds of our time, J Dilla.

I want to make it blatantly clear that Madlib doesn’t however try to replicate J Dilla, he pays tribute to Jay in his own way and it makes for one of the best Madlib beat tapes I’ve heard in years. I also have to say, if there is anyone out there whose production style is very similar it’s definitely Madlib. I would absolutely love to tell you about every track on this album, but I have no where near the time required so I will highlight some of my favorite beats.

“Rolled Peach Optimos (Call Day)” is one of those tracks that are very mellow chill out track, and almost reminds me of something Jay would be smoking to while he’s chopping records in the studio. Another thing that I should point out is that the samples that Madlib uses in this instrumental series are impeccable and fit in perfectly. “King Chop (Top Line)” is the epitome of a nasty beat that just makes you nod your head. “All Love (The Movement)” is incredible because in the backdrop of the beat you can hear the strings from “Act Too (Love of my Life)” in the background (which is one of my all time favorites). I have to say that in my opinion “Dillalade Ride (Contact High)” is what I would consider to be the highlight of the album. The track is so beautiful it almost makes me tear up because the strings are so perfectly picked that I can imagine Dilla smoking a blunt in his Dillalade laughing and having a good time.

Just because I left out 39 beats that I didn’t talk about doesn’t mean that they aren’t worth listening to, because that’s nowhere near the case. Every beat on this album is top notch, and judging by the quality of Madlib’s work this might be the best instrumental album you will hear all year. I can’t imagine how big that signature smile is on Dilla’s face while he’s listening to this with the high exalted.

9/10

R.I.P. J Dilla

Posted in Music News with tags , , , on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 by Tim Althaus

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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

New MF Doom & Dilla track!?

Posted in Media, Video with tags , , on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 by Tim Althaus

This is a track that J Rocc decided to pull out when he was Dee Jaying for a Dilla tribute. This is a new Doom track over Dilla’s “Phantom of the Synths” beat. Some of you might notice the “Phantom of the Synths” beat from Jay’s beat tape series. The Doom verse is really hard to make out, but the beat really isn’t. Lets all just hope that we get to hear more Doom x Dilla material because it sounds very promising.

If You are in New York Tonight…

Posted in Concert Dates with tags , on Sunday, February 8, 2009 by Tim Althaus

I don’t really need to say how wild this show is gonna be… you can imagine.

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Be there… I would be.

Dilla Day Mix by Alteezimo

Posted in Downloads with tags , on Sunday, February 8, 2009 by Tim Althaus

blurry-2Hey guys, I just wanted to contribute something really special for Dilla Day. I know most of you have probably heard these songs at sometime or another, but I just wanted to highlight my favorite tracks by my idol. These tracks are what I consider to be my favorites from Jay Dee’s career. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

For the record these are all tracks that were either produced by Dilla or songs featuring Dilla or both. This actually took me quite some time to put the tracks in order in the way that I think they would be most effectively listened to. I can promise you though that this is going to be an incredible mix if you are a J Dilla fan. So download the mix and TURN IT UP!

Tracklisting:

1. Welcome 2 Detroit (J Dilla)
2. Runnin’ (Pharcyde) (Prod. by J Dilla)
3. Fuck The Police (J Dilla)
4. Renaissance Man (Jay Electronica) (Prod. by J Dilla)
5. The Light (Common) (Prod. by J Dilla)
6. Jam (A Tribe Called Quest) (Prod. by J Dilla)
7. Make Em’ NV (J Dilla)
8. Move (Q-Tip) (Prod. by J Dilla)
9. Aerodynamic (Daft Punk Remix) (Slum Village)
10. As Serious As Your Life (Jay Dee Remix) (Four Tet) (Prod. by J Dilla, Featuring Guilty Simpson)
11. Fall In Love (Slum Village)
12. Won’t Do (J Dilla)
13. Cold Steel (Phat Kat) (Prod. by J Dilla)
14. Reunion (Slum Village)
15. Can’t Stop This (The Roots) (Prod. by J Dilla)
16. Niggaz Know (Pete Rock) (Featuring J Dilla)
17. Concrete Eyes (Elzhi) (Prod. by J Dilla)
18. What It’s All About (Slum Village)
19. Little Brother (Black Star) (Prod. by J Dilla)
20. Sun In My Face (J Dilla) (Featuring Blu & Jontel)
21. Clap Your Hands (Guilty Simpson) (Prod. by J Dilla)
22. Starz (Jaylib) (Prod by. J Dilla)
23. Skyzoo’s Last Donut (Skyzoo) (Prod. by J Dilla)

Download: Alteezimo’s Dilla Day Mix*

*Note to all Mac users, a few of the files are in .wma, so you may have to convert.

Live Audio Bootleg: Jaylib, Live at the Henry Fonda Theater, 4/2/04

Posted in Downloads with tags , , , , , , , , on Saturday, February 7, 2009 by Tim Althaus

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Here it is folks, the first Jaylib show with Dilla and Madlib. I decided to check out Stones Throw‘s website figuring that they may have some current news about Dilla on this gracious day. It turns out that they posted the first ever Jaylib show from 2004. This set was spun by J Rocc (of the World Famous Beat Junkies Crew) and features Melo-D (also of the Beat Junkies) on commentary and a special guest appearance from Common. This show was actually for the celebration of the Madvillain release party. Make sure you check this one out, there is no way that it can dissapoint. Two of the greatest minds of their time on one stage, shut shit down.

Download: Jaylib, Live @ The Henry Fonda Theater 4/2/04

Spotted at Stones Throw

Raise It Up For Ma Dukes!

Posted in Culture with tags , , , , , on Saturday, February 7, 2009 by Tim Althaus

ma-dukesJ Dilla’s mother, Ma Dukes, has been going through some very rough times lately with her son’s estate in limbo. Stones Throw and legendary t-shirt artist Parra have teamed up for a special shirt that is dedicated to Ma Dukes. Personally I love the shirts that ST and Parra have teamed up for in the past, and to tell you the truth, this one is no different. Ma Dukes has had to put up with a lot of the bullshit that has been going on with Dilla’s estate and Ma Dukes herself has recently come down with Lupus.

Ma Dukes needs every bit of help that she can possibly get, Dilla has daughters that aren’t seeing any of the royalties that Dilla’s estate has been accumulating. Ma Dukes is a very strong woman, but she can’t fight Lupus and Dilla’s battles at the same time. She needs our help and every little bit is appreciated!

raise-it-up Get on over to Stones Throw and make sure you pick yourself up one of these t-shirts. Not only will you be the flyest individual in your crew, but you will also be doing Dilla a huge favor.

Happy Birthday J Dilla!

Posted in Culture with tags , , , , , , on Saturday, February 7, 2009 by Tim Althaus

dilla Today would have been Dilla’s 35th birthday. Needless to say if this man was still here with us, we wouldn’t be debating about who the best producer is right now. When Dilla passed he left us with two of the most beautiful masterpieces I have ever heard. Donuts changed the face of instrumental Hip-Hop forever and The Shining (not fully completed, but ended up getting finished) showed us that amazing things come in small packages (ringing in at just over 28 minutes long).

Dilla showed me something with these two albums (I hadn’t heard anything solo before this); he taught me that he is one  of the most talented individuals to have ever touched the boards. Jay put out two albums that were just beyond words as to how beautiful they were. This was all while he was near death in Cedars Sinai Hosptial in Los Angeles. Dilla was a very resilient individual who did what was important to him no matter what the cause or case. Dilla literally stared death in the face and said “fuck you” because all he wanted to do was finish Donuts. If there’s anything that I hope in my life it is that I can be as dedicated and resilient as Dilla.

Happy Birthday to the King of Beats, May You Rest in Beats Jay

Tommorow is Dilla Day!

Posted in Culture with tags , on Friday, February 6, 2009 by Tim Althaus

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Make Sure you come to the site tomorrow! Plenty of Dilla related features! Courtesy of ME!

Fighting to keep Dilla’s Legacy

Posted in News with tags , , , , , on Wednesday, January 14, 2009 by Tim Althaus

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First and foremost I want to let you all know that this issue that is going on with J Dilla’s estate is absolute bulshit. Apparently these people are not giving any of the money that is rightfully owed to Dilla’s mother (Ma Dukes) and Dilla’s children. The IRS is claiming that it’s because of some tax issues that he had accumulated.

In the February version of Vibe magazine you will find a pretty big article about the genius and legend J Dilla. From what I’ve read (click “read” for article) on the Stones Throw website, this might be the best article that I’ve ever read on Dilla because it’s very in depth. It talks a lot about what is going on with the Dilla estate right now, the condition of Ma Dukes herself (she was recently diagnosed with Lupus, the same disease that took her son’s life) and what is going on with his daughters. Another thing that is very interesting is the issue looming about last year’s mixtape classic “Dillagenece” with Busta Rhymes. It appears that Dilla’s so called “estate” is trying to sue Busta over the use of the beats on the album saying that he never payed for them. Ma Dukes however has a different take on the situation: “He got a raw deal,” she says, “Busta didn’t take anything from anybody.”

If you are a fan of Dilla this is a must read for you. I can tell you that when I’m out and about picking up the new Beat Konducta album, I will also be picking up this issue of Vibe (despite the fact that Kanye’s dumbass is on the cover) for my collection. I really hope that Ma Dukes is able to get these issues resolved because she is in a very unfortunate situation right now and she needs all the help she can get. This man is one of the most influential people that I’ve ever had the experience of learning about and there is no reason that this legal “limbo” should be going on right now.

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