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Illa J to drop Yancey Boys November 4th

Posted in Music News with tags Delicious Vinyl, Detroit Hip-Hop, Illa J, J Dilla, Ummah on Monday, October 27, 2008 by Tim Althaus

Well it looks like the apple definitely doesn’t fall too far from the tree. J Dilla’s little brother John “Illa J” Yancey will be putting out an album entitled Yancey Boys on Delicious Vinyl. This album will be comprised completely of Dilla beats from Delicious Vinyl’s vault that were never released. Now keep in mind that these are beats that were from roughly ’95 to ’98 when Dilla was doing remixes for Delicious Vinyl, so they are going to have more of an Ummah Era feel to them. I first found out about Illa J a little over a year ago when his Illa J EP fell into my lap (given to me by one of my friends). I remember hearing the EP and thinking “holy shit” this is straight fire. The EP was just seven short tracks long and totally made me think of Dilla when I heard it, just because Illa’s flow sounds so similar (although it’s better than Dilla’s) and the beats were just ridiculous.

I have to be quite honest, Illa J has some big shoes to fill but I think he is fully capable of holding his own. If he can keep the consistency that he had on his EP he will be an underground heavyweight. The album features guest appearances by: Guilty Simpson, (Detroit Heavyweight and formerly a frequent Dilla collaborator) Affion Crocket (whom you may remember from Nick Cannon’s Wylin Out) and “Frank Nitty” (of Frank N Dank).

Here is the official art work & tracklisting:

1. Timeless (Produced By: J. Dilla)
2. We Here (Produced By: J. Dilla)
3. R U Listenin’? (feat. Guilty Simpson) (Produced By: J. Dilla)
4. Alien Family by Frank Nitty (Produced By: J. Dilla)
5. Strugglin (Produced By: J. Dilla)
6. Showtime (Produced By: J. Dilla)
7. Swagger (Produced By: J. Dilla)
8. Mr. Shakes (Skit) aka Affion Crockett (Produced By: J. Dilla)
9. DFTF (feat. Affion Crockett) (Produced By: J. Dilla)
10. All Good (Produced By: J. Dilla)
11. Sounds Like Love (feat. Debi Nova) (Produced By: J. Dilla)
12. Everytime (Produced By: J. Dilla)
13. Illasoul (Produced By: J. Dilla)
14. Air Signs (Produced By: J. Dilla)

PLEASE donate for Ma Dukes!

Posted in Music News with tags Hip-Hop, J Dilla, Ma Dukes, Maureen Yancey on Thursday, October 23, 2008 by Tim Althaus

Pete Rock, Maureen “Ma Dukes” Yancey & Talib Kweli on Dilla Day 2008

So, if you know me, you know that I am a huge J Dilla fan/enthusiast. Many people would call me a “poser” Dilla fan because I haven’t been listening since the beginning (when I was like 5). I had listened to a little bit of Tribe, but never knew that Dilla was behind their later stuff. The first time I really actually realized Dilla production was on a Kweli mixtape, and I was completely mesmerized by the beat. I immediately got my hands on everything Dilla I could get and didn’t think twice about it. What Dilla did for my musical taste and outlook on life in general I will never be able to forget. He will always be my inspiration for anything that I do.

It came to my attention awhile ago that the Yancey family was in a huge limbo trying to pay all of Dilla’s outstanding hospital bills, and at the same time keep the “Dilla estate” alive. I just read a few weeks ago that Dilla’s mother Maureen “Ma Dukes” Yancey is suffering from the same tragic disease that took her genius son’s life. She needs all of the help she can get and all of you Dilla fans out there really have a chance to make a difference.

Please go over to the Giant Peach’s Website on MySpace and make a contribution. It doesn’t have to be a large amount of money, just do what you can. Every dollar makes a difference. If you don’t want to donate through PayPal, or just want to send a letter to Ma Dukes you can send your contributions to:

Maureen Yancey
8281 E. Brentwood
Detroit, MI 48234

Madlib issuing a plethora of music as usual…

Posted in Music News with tags Beat Konducta, Hip-Hop, J Dilla, Madlib, Stones Throw on Tuesday, October 21, 2008 by Tim Althaus

Well, for all of you Madlib & J Dilla fans out there, this should be a great few months for you. Earlier in October Madlib released part of an instrumental series entitled Beat Konducta Vol. 5 Dil Cosby Suite (which is only available for digital download right now, you can get the vinyl on November 11th). Now this month he is releasing Beat Konducta Vol. 6 Dil Whithers Suite for digital download (the vinyl will be released in December). Both of these Beat Konducta volumes are tributes from Madlib and J-Rocc (of the Beat Junkies crew) to the late great J Dilla. Volumes 5 & 6 will be released in early 2009 as an album (so the two will be combined into one album). I have had the pleasure of listening to both of these beat tapes and I can honestly say that Dilla Dawg would be proud. Each mix is just over 30 minutes (which means they are small packages, most albums are at least 50 minutes long usually), but good things come in small packages.

On top of both of these beat tapes, Madlib will also be releasing a 10″ Vinyl EP with three previously unreleased tracks from his Jazz/alter ego side project Yesterday’s Universe. The 10″ EP that is being released will coincide with the release of an art book by Jason Jägel entitled 73 Funshine. Jägel is best known for his work on album cover art for artists like MF Doom (MM FOOD) and Dudley Perkins.

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