Music that feeds the Soul

Off Top all quotes were taken from http://www.scratchmagazine.com/

PETE ROCK (PRODUCER/MC) I gotta shit load of his beats niggas ain't heard. He was amazing. He makes other niggas sound lazy and crazy. I cherished his friendship. We did things in the same vein, but he took it to a level higher than me. So in his name I'm gonna turn it up on these niggas.

Have you ever head a body of music and you knew it was classic? You knew that this is a person is not only a lover of the music, but someone who appreciates the art of making music. I did, this feeling came over me while I listened to the Donuts album by J-Dilla. I listened to Airworks, and as I let the music become part of my life's soundtrack, I found myself totally lost in the sounds. I nodded my head to every note that was produced. It was like Dilla was your homeboy the DJ playing your favorite song when you walked into the club(What you know about that). Listening to Donuts, I understand how culture can be felt through music. You have seen when someone hears certain melodies, they are transported to a place in their heart and mind where the music takes them hostage. Remember the last time you heard a song that made you smile and no one knew why? That is the experience I had listening to Donuts. That feeling you get when you have to close your eyes so that you can absorb every note that floats through the layers of each song. It's that type of music that would encourage you to have a smoke, a drink, or better yet change the world. I am so amazed by this young mans ability to manipulate sound that I will say that he might have been this generations Miles Davis. Speaking of Miles I remember being a child buying one of his "tapes" not knowing why but he seemed so cool and all the older black men talked about him and his music as if it was the most important thing in their lives. You see Miles was more than a trumpet player Miles Davis was Jazz just like J-Dilla is Hip Hop. I find myself saddened because again one of the truly talented individuals who is so important in the musical culture that is hip hop is gone. This time not by a bullet but betrayed by his own body. Maybe that is the normal toll that's paid when you give so much of your heart, I'm sure the rest of the body gets jealous. Again another artist is gone just when he was starting to get a sense of the impact he will have on music now and forever.

PEANUT BUTTER WOLF (DJ/PRODUCER/OWNER OF STONES THROW) He was constantly changing hip-hop. I think the whole soulful direction that hip-hop went in the mid-'90's was all because of him. Even after that he was always able to change his style up. At the wake... the wake was five hours so I was thinking we should play five hours of J Dilla music. J-Rocc had a lot of stuff because he and Dilla were working on a mix CD together before he passed. He filled an iPod with his music and it was like 12 hours of music.

I have several thoughts about artist as a whole and I will share with you three. The first is that in my opinion an artist is someone who has seen or heard God before they are born and the rest of their life they are on a relentless path to try and recreate what they have experienced. Secondly an artist to me is someone who makes something that will allow others in his family of artisans to forever gain not only inspiration but a method of feeding themselves and their families. The first is self explanatory but the second may require some examples; Think about how many people in different walks of life use the words, images, persona, and demeanor of Tupac Shaqur. Where can you go and see people of color and not see his image somewhere? How many times have you bought Tupac cd's that you could not get in stores. From his body of work alot of people are eating true some of those people are the ones who are not suffering but many times they are. Lastly, I see an artist as a person that has the ability to spark thought in the minds of millions. Many times those of us without the advantage of a nuclear family have been given guidance from the poetry, the music, and the images of those we found not only similarities in ourselves but we also saw who we wanted to be. Someone said that Little John was a fool because of how he acted and the image he portrayed. Little John's brother graduated from the Baylor School of Medicine I wonder who the fool is now. But having said this I again go back to J-Dilla an artist who not only did it differently but better than most of the producers you know. It's okay they know he was better than they will ever be.

Donuts is a sonic feast in what Hip-Hop music can be, the fact that it is only music is one of several things that made him a special producer. In scratch magazine when he was asked about why is it he only uses a break, or drop, even a sound once in a recording he responded; You know what? It had a lot to do with the time I had in the sampler. You could only sample this much and that's how it started. I used to listen to records and actually, I wouldn't say look for mistakes, but when I heard mistakes in records it was exciting for me. Like, "Damn, the drummer missed the beat in that shit. The guitar went off key for a second." I try to do that in my music a little bit, try to have that live feel a little bit to it. -J-Dilla He has worked with De La Soul, Common, Busta Rhymes, Erykah Badu and Kanye West among others. He was a member of Slum Village before leaving the group in 2000 to pursue solo projects, including Jaylib an acclaimed collaboration with Madlib in 2003. He will be missed but no fan of the culture of hip hop will ever forget Dilla. Hip Hop is not just what I play when I want to hear music it is like I said before the soundtrack of my life. I remember where I was when Pac got shot, I remember where I what was playing on the radio when my son was born, I remember 9/11, and I remember the first time I heard Donuts I hope your life is half as full as mine.

WAAJEED (PRODUCER/ARTIST/CONCEPTUALIZED SLUM VILLAGE'S FANTASTIC, VOL. 2 COVER) His passing brings more sadness than I can express for lots of different reasons. The main reason is losing one of my closest friends for the past '5 years, and knowing that I will never hear his laugh again. The second reason, and the one that upsets me the most, is knowing that the world never truly realized his brilliance during his lifetime. I want to thank you, Jay Dee, for being a constant source of inspiration for all of us. It's a shame that you had to go, but somehow I think you knew you didn't have much time and that's why you always worked so tirelessly. Your contributions go deeper than music, and I appreciate that and I want to do the same. I miss you, and I look forward to seeing you again.

BAATIN (MC/FORMER MEMBER OF SLUM VILLAGE) He meant the world to hip-hop. He's one of the forefathers. Pete Rock, DJ Premier, and Jay Dee were the giants of underground hip-hop. He's truly gonna be missed. We have to think, we're not gonna hear another Jay Dee beat. There's so many memories but the vague one that popped in my mind is when we was in adult school- we both dropped out of high school to pursue music - I remember I used to take him home from school everyday. I would say, "So, James what are you doing today?" He said, "I'm going home right now, man, to make these beats and get paid." And he did that. He's like Jesus in Detroit. It's a terrible loss.

James "J Dilla" Yancey (r.i.p.)

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