You’re now tuned into The Donuts Network, our new YouTube playlist dedicated to J Dilla. Have you ever needed a burst of inspiration and struggled to find it? That was me on Friday night. Then I noticed a saved playlist on my YouTube account. It was the Bling47 Dilla Edition series and it gave me …
It’s the last day of Dilla Month and 28 Days Of Dilla. We saved the best for last as we give a Sampleface Salute to Dilla’s most famous album, Donuts.
New York trio Stray Phrases perform J Dilla’s Donuts live in its entirety on this week’s Saturday Matinée. Covers of hip hop tracks are commonplace in music and jazz covers of hip hop are getting more popular but this one may have a special place in the hearts of Dilla fans (maybe even alongside Suite …
In this instalment of “How Did I Miss That?”, we look at the videos for Dilla’s Donuts. Last week, we told you about the re-release of Donuts as a 45 box set. The wait for that isn’t too long (it comes out in January) but if a month is too long for the “new” audio, …
Coming soon to a box set near you: J Dilla’s Donuts.
4 NYU students created a site called Dilla Data that collected information on J Dilla’s samples. Check it out.
Barcelona-based beatmaker Thijsenterprise drops mammoth beat tape, Stepbacks & Setbacks, dedicated to some important people in his life. “Old school hip-hop with soul and jazz samples, dusty breaks and raw chops.” With a description like that, I just had to listen when this dropped in my inbox. Thijsenterprise (real name Reinier Thijs) is a producer from …
Estelle Caswell discussed how J Dilla made his MPC3000 musical for Vox. Many musicians are synonymous with their instrument of choice – Jimi and his guitar, Questlove and his drums, Dorothy Ashby and her harp. And then there’s J Dilla and his MPC3000. In effect, J Dilla was a Jimi, Questlove, and Dorothy thanks to …
Malik Abdul-Rahmaan brings back audible fruits from the Far East on “Field Research Malaysia”. A journey through sound and record vendors in Southeastern Asia has culminated in this: Field Research Malaysia. Malik Abdul-Rahmaan amassed over 100 records during a trip to Malaysia. Everything from local folk to funk, rock, and Bollywood from the area laid amongst …
We interviewed Philly’s Davu Flint about his musical upbringing, how his home state has moulded his music and another life as an international gigolo.
Poetry in motion encapsulates this video showing John Coltrane’s poem for Psalm, from his iconic album A Love Supreme.
We interviewed DarkoTheSuper. Or was it Doc Heller? Dwarf Nebula? Either way, we discussed his latest albums and who/what inspired his offbeat personas. Being fans of some of the most mysterious and eccentric alter egos in hip hop (Madlib/Quasimoto/YNQ, DOOM/Viktor Vaughn/King Geedorah and Kool Keith/Dr. Octagon/Dr. Dooom amongst others), we’re happy to embrace the many …
The electronic three piece sat down with House Shoes and talked about how they got together for Boiler Room. It was a Detroit connection in Boiler Room’s BTS feature today with House Shoes talking to Tiny Hearts in LA about their humble beginnings and how their styles don’t really fit but evidently do in the …
J Dilla was more than just “beats”. Our latest edition of Leftover Links looks at the man behind the music.
Akai and their line of MPC’s have ruled the roost for the past couple of decades, with the SP-1200 the only real competition in that department. Now that we have the Maschine, things are a little different but back in 2001, Roland Corporation fused and improved upon the qualities of their Roland MS-1 Digital Sampler …
It’s finally happening. J Dilla’s uncle is planning to open a donut shop in Detroit called Dilla’s Delights.
Pragmatic Theory are back with another free compilation, this time centred around soul flips. Soul music has been a common feature in sampling for decades and has become the bread and butter for many producers, with J Dilla’s Donuts showcasing a large body of soul music from the 60s and 70s. Once again, in conjunction …
To save you searching, we’ve compiled an archive of the whole 28 Days Of Dilla feature from 2013 for your reading pleasure. It was a brilliant experience reliving all his music and listening to some amazing tributes, videos and photos of the Detroit legend. Peruse at your leisure and enjoy! #1: WORKINONIT! #2: Jay Dee …
We love… that raw shit! We take a look at Jaylib’s Champion Sound.
Back in 1994, Dilla (known then as Jay Dee) produced a beat for Da’ Enna C. It was the start of something truly magical.