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Ma Dukes Shares Open Letter to Iconic Producer J Dilla On His Continuing Legacy
Ma Dukes has been working hard to honor J Dilla 16 years after his untimely death by offering his fans modern experiences that evoke a sense of familiarity, promote his contributions to hip-hop, and create new happenings that allow his fans to enjoy his music: courtesy of officially commissioned stories, art, memorabilia, collectibles, and music. It’s undeniable that J Dilla, a native of Detroit, was one of the most prolific and well-known composers of music, as evidenced by annual Dilla Day celebrations and the presence of musical compositions and various bodies of work on display in extremely prestigious museums, institutions, and galleries.
His contributions to Hip Hop were a remarkable gift that had an impact on some of the most well-known performers in the world. Oscar-winning director, Roots drummer, and Jimmy Fallon band leader Questlove, who is also working on a documentary to share J Dilla’s story with the world, was even quoted as saying “J Dilla was our teacher” during the introduction of two groundbreaking Netflix comedy specials. Dave Chappelle, a celebrated comedian and actor, also paid tribute to J Dilla’s “Workinonit” during the introduction of both of these groundbreaking comedies. The J Dilla Legacy Collection offers fans the chance to learn more about J Dilla’s life while preserving his legacy and letting them own a genuine piece of history.
On what would have been Dilla’s birthday, Ma Dukes releases a new open letter to the J Dilla Fan. You can see it below.
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Happy Heavenly Birthday J Dilla!
On this day in Hip Hop history we recognize and remember the birth of one of the most prolific producers in the game. James Yancey, better know as J Dilla, was born today [February 7] in 1974.
J Dilla was the first born of four children to a Detroit family rooted in creativity. His mother was an opera singer and his father a jazz bassist. According to his mother, Dilla could “match pitch perfect harmony” at two months old. Dilla started collecting vinyls at the young age of two and would spend a lot of his free time spinning records at the park. It can be said that J Dilla’s “career” began after he transferred high schools from Davis Aerospace Technical High School to Detroit Pershing High School. At Detroit Pershing, he met fellow members of Slum Village, T3 and Baatin. During the rest of his teenage years, Dilla spent the majority of his time alone in his basement perfecting his craft.
In 1992, J Dilla met experienced Detroit musician Amp Fiddler who let Dilla use his MPC for the first time. In 1995, J Dilla and MC Phat Kat formed the first rap group from Detroit to get signed to a major label, 1st Down. The record deal with Payday Records ended after one single when the label folded.
In 1996, Dilla officially formed Slum Village with his longtime friends T3 and Baatin and recorded their debut, Fan-Tas-Tic Volume 1. The album, released in 1997, gained a lot of support from Hip Hop fans everywhere and the attention of Q-Tip, who was quick to call the group a successor of A Tribe Called Quest.
Throughout the 90s, J Dilla was known as a huge prospect in Hip Hop. He gained the public’s attention with his singles and remixes of records by Janet Jackson, Pharcyde, De La Soul and Busta Rhymes. Although Dilla rose to stardom with these remixes, he was rarely given singular credit. Instead the production team of The Ummah, a collective including Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed Muhammed, and Raphael Saadiq, often received the credit.
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Boldy James Is Said To Be In Stable Condition Following A Serious Car Accident
Boldy James has undergone extensive surgery after suffering severe injuries from a car crash this past Monday (January 9). Following the two-car accident, the rapper was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. James’ publicist confirmed that accident took place in the Detroit Metropolitan area.
James, whose real name is James Clay Jones, underwent surgery on his neck after suffering from broken vertebrae and orthopedic injuries.
Prayers up for Boldy James
Get well soon… pic.twitter.com/0BwLvICgIU
— Andrew Barber (@fakeshoredrive) January 14, 2023
The rapper’s publicist said that Boldy has been removed from the ICU and is now in “stable condition.”
James and his family have issued a statement to the public, expressing their gratitude to “the incredible doctors and nurses that are taking care of him, and also to the communities’ emergency medical personnel and first responders.”
The timing of the accident couldn’t be worse. Last June, the rapper announced that he was working on an album with beats from the legendary producer J Dilla. It’s unclear what the project’s intended release date was, but presumably, it will most likely be pushed back after the car accident.
James, a Detroit native, had become a staple on the local underground rap scene over the last decade. He previously collaborated with the iconic producer on Rebirth Of Detroit in 2012 alongside Chuck Inglish of The Cool Kids on the song “Detroit Game.”
‘Dave’ Season 3 Will Arrive This Spring Along With Documentaries About Tupac And J Dilla
Now that Atlanta has officially run its course, FX’s offerings for comedic rap-related television series are down to just Lil Dicky’s surrealist, semi-autobiographical Dave, which follows a fictionalized version of Dicky’s misadventures in the music industry. After renewing the show for a third season in February 2022, FX has announced its official return date: April 5.
This season will accompany the awkward rapper on his first tour as he looks for love, encounters more sticky racial situations, and sees tensions rise among his motley collection of weirdly loyal but increasingly independent friends.
Meanwhile, April will see even more hip-hop content make its premiere on FX. On April 7, the New York Times documentary about groundbreaking producer J Dilla will air, detailing the life and legacy of the Detroit legend. Known for his work with acts like A Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes, Common, D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, and The Roots, as well as the pioneering trio Slum Village, Dilla changed the sound of hip-hop in the late ’90s and 2000s only to pass away from lupus at the age of 32. Since then, his influence has continued to reverberate — no pun intended — throughout hip-hop, influencing future generations of artists. This is a different documentary than the one being produced by Questlove titled for Dan Charnas’ book, Dilla Time.
Then, on April 21, Dear Mama, the five-part docuseries about Afeni Shakur, the mother of Tupac, will premiere with two episodes.
Questlove to Executive Produce ‘Dilla Time’ Documentary Highlighting the Legacy of J Dilla
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, an Academy Award winner for his documentary Summer of Soul, is slated to executive produce Dilla Time, a film on the life and enduring legacy of music producer J Dilla.
The documentary will be created in collaboration with the James Dewitt Yancey (aka J Dilla) estate by Thompson’s Two One Five Entertainment, his “Summer of Soul” producer Joseph Patel, New York Times bestselling author Dan Charnas, Cinetic Media, and Scenario Media.
“The estate of James Dewitt Yancey, and its wholly-owned production entity, Pay Jay Productions, Inc., which benefits J Dilla’s two children, his younger brother, and his mother, is proud to give its blessing to an amazing project created by discerning and talented filmmakers who knew J Dilla. We trust the judgment of Ahmir, Joseph, Dan, and Scenario to elevate Dilla’s life, music, and legacy to their rightful place in the canon of music’s great innovators; and their film is the only documentary project we have endorsed.”
The New York Times bestseller Dilla Time: The Life and Afterlife of J Dilla, The Hip-Hop Producer Who Reinvented Rhythm by Dan Charnas served as the inspiration for the movie Dilla Time. The book chronicles the complex life of the Detroit-born artist who passed away at age 32 from a rare blood condition. It also proposes an important new idea regarding the seismic influence Dilla’s time-bending drum machine manipulations had on contemporary pop music.
The documentary will include commentary from some of the most important and forward-thinking personalities in contemporary music and will be equal parts biography, musicology, and musical meditation.
“Explaining musical genius is my mission. To be able to tell the world about the musician that had the most influence on me is a dream come true,” says Questlove. “Not just on me, but on an entire generation of musicians that everyone knows and loves. J Dilla was our teacher. And what he taught us was how to feel rhythm in a way we had ever felt before. I’m so honored to be a part of bringing his story to the world through this documentary.”
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson will serve as executive producer of “Dilla Time,” along with his producing partners Zarah Zolhman, Shawn Gee, and Tariq Trotter of Two One Five Entertainment. Joseph Patel, Dan Charnas, and Rodrigo Bascuñán, Darby Wheeler and Anupa Mistry, are set to produce. Dana O’Keefe and Cinetic Media will executive produce. The film will be co-directed by Joseph Patel and Darby Wheeler.
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Questlove to Executive Produce J Dilla Documentary With Estate’s Approval
Questlove Is Executive-Producing A Documentary About J Dilla’s Impactful Life In Hip-Hop
After winning both an Oscar and Peabody Award for his Summer Of Soul documentary, Questlove is ready to embark on new filmmaking projects. Today, The Roots drummer has been announced as an executive producer for Dilla Time, a documentary about the life and times of hip-hop producer J Dilla. The documentary is based on the book Dilla Time: The Life And Afterlife Of J Dilla, The Hip-Hop Producer Who Reinvented Rhythm, by Dan Charnas. Charnas is also a producer on the project, along with Questlove’s Summer Of Soul partner Joseph Patel. Questlove’s Two One Five Entertainment will helm the project along with Cinetic Media, Scenario Media, and The Estate Of James Dewitt Yancey (J Dilla).
“Explaining musical genius is my mission,” Questlove said in a statement. “To be able to tell the world about the musician that had the most influence on me is a dream come true. Not just on me, but on an entire generation of musicians that everyone knows and loves. J Dilla was our teacher. And what he taught us was how to feel rhythm in a way we had ever felt before. I’m so honored to be a part of bringing his story to the world through this documentary.”
Dilla passed away in 2006, but his influence in hip-hop has only grown since then. The documentary will look at his legacy as it continues to be shaped, and lives on in the music of past collaborators like Erykah Badu, Common, A Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes, Slum Village, and so many more.
This will serve as the first and only documentary of J Dilla. His estate added, “We trust the judgment of Ahmir, Joseph, Dan, and Scenario to elevate Dilla’s life, music, and legacy to their rightful place in the canon of music’s great innovators; and their film is the only documentary project we have endorsed.”
Today In Hip Hop History: J Dilla’s First Posthumous LP ‘The Shining’ Was Released 16 Years Ago
On this day in Hip Hop history, The Source Magazine celebrates the 16th anniversary of the late great J Dilla’s first posthumous album The Shining. This relic of the culture is one of Hip Hop’s more cherished albums. In its “unfinished” glory, The Shining serves as the first LP that Jay Dee spits on since his debut Welcome 2 Detroit in 2001.
As J. Dilla’s time on this Earth was coming to a close, he was persistently working on what would become his final masterpiece. Unable to finish on his own, Dilla called upon fellow Detroit artist Karriem Riggins to put the final touches on the project for him. With Riggins acting as if inside Dilla’s head, this style of completion brought about an interestingly unique sound for the album. Although some may call it “disjointed”, the warm and unpolished mastering of this album give it the nostalgic quality of a Golden Age LP.
With features from Common, D’Angelo, and Black Thought this album is a staple of Hip Hop soul. Dilla’s trademark smooth cut production beefed up with live instrumentation created a sound that showed a matured J. Dilla more refined than before. Short and to the point, like the majority of his work, this project is project was the perfect remedy to aid the loss of one of the most loved and respected figures in Hip Hop.
Commercially, the album was met with success as well as critical acclaim. Despite being put out by the independent Barely Breaking Even Records, The Shining peaked at #103 on the Billboard 200 chart and #35 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop chart. Although sales may have not been on par with the hit albums of the time, Dilla’s work still received a momentous amount of praise and admiration on his phantom album.
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Boldy James Says He Has A Project Produced By J Dilla On The Way: ‘I Got The Last Of The Dilla Stash’
While there are plenty of hip-hop producers who can make hits, there is one name that remains highly coveted among most others. J Dilla, the late Detroit producer responsible for classics from the likes of Common, The Roots, Janet Jackson, The Pharcyde, and more, is known for crafting timeless records; because he’s gone, though, getting a Dilla beat is a little like seeing Haley’s Comet. It’s an increasingly rare phenomenon and the recipients are considered among rap’s finest.
Detroit rapper Boldy James may soon be joining that fraternity and with more than just a beat or two. While dropping by the Trill Hip Hop Shop in Phoenix, Arizona, Boldy sat down for an interview with D-Stroy, revealing that not only has he secured some of the last Dilla beats but that he’s also releasing a full project in the near future. “I got a whole entirely produced J Dilla project that I’m about to drop,” he announced. “I would tell you the name of it, but I had to tell you that. I got the last of the Dilla stash.”
In addition to being a Detroit underground rap staple for the past decade, Boldy previously collaborated with Dilla on Rebirth Of Detroit in 2012 alongside Chuck Inglish of The Cool Kids on the song “Detroit Game.” His prior works and origin certainly make him an appropriate pick for the rapper to get the “last of the stash” as he puts it and his resume over the past few years, working with Buffalo-based indie label Griselda Records, gives him the credentials to deserve it.
You can watch the full interview above.