When I learned about the fire that destroyed Q-Tip's record collection, I realized the magic of future A Tribe Called Quest albums was in jeopardy. In my mind, how could Q-Tip outsource production of some of the most important music in hip hop history to the Ummah? Who and what is Ummah? When I heard Dilla's drum beats later on and recognized them as the sound from Beats, Rhymes & Life, I then had someone to lay blame on. That was until I heard and fell in love with Slum Village's Fall In Love.
The mark of classic, timeless material is that you can revisit it at a later date and discover new dimensions and information you were not aware prior. I was listening to a Dilla tribute and heard one of the Donuts for the first time in years since buying the CD. It was the one with the sample of When I Die. It had not occured to me, or maybe I overlooked the fact, that he compiled Donuts before he died. Using that sample was more than appropriate. It was prophetic.
I think about the grand scheme of things especially when I can't understand why good people go too soon before what I think is their time or when tragedy strikes. Had it not been for that fire or Q-Tip even working with Dilla, there might not be a legend of J Dilla for us to speak of, listen to, write about or mourn today. That's divine intervention if I ever came close to understanding it.
For those that don't know, Donuts is not a conventional, traditional beats & rhymes hip hop album. There are no rhymes on Donuts. This is J Dilla left to his own devices before he died. The album is symbolically the last will and testament of one of hip hop’s most talented to the culture. Even non-hip hop heads reach for the album or aim to add it to their crates.
His death still impacts hip hop today. J Dilla could have possibly been one to save hip hop or at least resurrect it. With my knowledge of his importance to hip hop, I paid tribute to him on the anniversary of his death.
R.I.P. J Dilla
Hip Hop Homeroom new time slot is Tuesday morning 3-5am EST on www.ckut.ca & 90.3 FM.
Below are some playlists to bring you up to speed.
Check out the player below as well as the more recent podcasts here.The Suite Delight - February 2, 2015 Playlist:
1. J Dilla – Don’t Cry
2. J Dilla – 100,000 Watts
3. J Dilla – Lightworks
4. Mobb Deep – Hoodlum Featuring Big Noyd & Rakim
5. Mobb Deep – Hell On Earth
6. Reflection Eternal - Fortified Live (Sensitive Ears Version)
7. Lootpack - Crate Diggin'
8. Lootpack - Long Awaited feat. Dilated Peoples
9. Diamond D - Only Way 2 Go feat. Pete Rock
10. Brand Nubian - Slow Down (Pete Rock's Newromix)
11. Slum Village - Jealousy
12. Jay Dee - Say How I Feel (Remix) feat. Rhian Benson, Slum Village & Dwele
13. Buff1 - Never Fall feat. Black Milk
14. Elzhi - Motown 25 feat. Royce da 5'9"
15. Camp Lo - Say Word feat. Jungle Brown
16. Aesop Rock - Limelighter feat. Camp Lo
The Suite Delight - May 27, 2014 Playlist:
1. Quantic & Anita Tijoux - Doo Wop (That Thing)
2. Sola Rosa - Turn Around Ft. Iva Lamkum (DJ Vadim Remix)
3. The Seatbelts - Cat Blues (Mr. Scruff Remix)
4. James Brown - Funky Drummer
5. The Cactus Channel - Wooden Boy (Part 1)
6. The Roots – Don't Feel Right feat. Maimouna Youssef
7. J Dilla (aka Jay Dee) - Love Movin' feat. Black Thought
8. Nas - It Ain't Hard to Tell
9. Termanology - How We Rock Feat. Bun B
10. Marco Polo - Lay It Down Feat. Roc Marciano
11. Buff1 - Never Fall feat. Black Milk
12. The Extremities - New Season feat. Ohmega Watts & Moka Only
13. Lords Of The Underground - Tic Toc (Remix)
14. Lone Catalysts - The Ultimate (Kev Brown Remix)
The Suite Delight - February 25, 2014 (2) Playlist:
- Nas - It Ain't Hard To Tell (Large Professor Remix)
- Diverse - Uprock
- Jay Dee - Pause feat. Frank-N-Dank
- Strong Arm Steady - Questions
- Souls of Mischief - That's When Ya Lost (Remix)
- Soul Khan - Knuckle Puck
- Quasimoto - Rappcats, Pt. 3
- Supastition - Yada Yada
- Murs & 9th Wonder - Murs Day
- Mobb Deep - Win or Lose
- Wale - Um'Ricka feat. K'Naan
- K-Solo - Letterman (Pete Rock Remix)
- The Extremities - Cold Cheese
- D-Sisive x Tone Mason – Maybe I Will feat. DJ Grouch
The Suite Delight - January 14, 2014 (2):
1. Robert Glasper Experiment - Perservere feat. Snoop Dogg, Lupe Fiasco & Luke James
2. Outkast - Prototype
3. Shad - He Say She Say
4. A Tribe Called Quest - Bonita Applebaum
5. Keith Murray - Get Lifted (Erick Sermon Remix)
6. Theophilus London - Life of a Lover (Remix) feat. Blu & Jesse Boykins III
7. Edo G - Righteous Way
8. Donovan - Get Thy Bearings
9. Rare Earth - Born To Wander
10. Minnie Riperton - Reasons
11. Clarence Carter - Patches
12. Roy Ayers Ubiquity - The Memory
13. Easy Star All Stars - Time (Groove Corporation Remix)
14. Elaquent - The Official
15. J Dilla - Last Donut of the Night
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