Common - Electric Wire Hustler Flower (Electric Circus, 2002)

Produced by the late, great J Dilla (drums, bass, electric guitar, moog synthesizer) and James Poyser (keyboards, guitar).

“Out-of-body experience, hard to explain / like the pyramids and gods I remain / I know pain, like Kurt Cobain / or A.I. playing hurt the whole game”

It’s the return of the G.O.A.T. King.

Raekwon - Ason Jones

From the forthcoming and fantastic Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2 LP. Touching rhymes by Rae dedicated to the late, great Ol’ Dirty Bastard (who is forever a part of the track via some vintage sound bytes of ODB wisdom). With a beautifully soulful beat provided by the late, great J Dilla (one of 3 posthumous Dilla beats on the album). And in light of the late, great Michael Jackson FINALLY being laid to rest tonight (the casket is in full view as I type this), I thought this would be the perfect time to post perhaps my favourite track from OBFCL2. Rest in eternal peace to all of those aforementioned musical geniuses.

Slum Village - Fall In Love (Remix)

“When you fall in love with the music you never grow.” - Baatin

Michael Jackson - HIStory (The Ummah Radio Mix)

This 5 minute recording from 1997 displays the immense talents of two late, great musical legends (Michael Jackson and James Yancey aka J Dilla/Jay Dee) together on wax, for one time only.

“Everyday create your history / every page you turn you’re writing your legacy”

Indeed. And what tremendous legacies that both Dilla Dawg and The King have left behind for us to enjoy until the end of our lives. Still, I can’t believe they’re both gone.

Rest In Beats.

J Dilla - I Told Y’all (Jay Stay Paid, 2009)

J$P leaked late Thursday evening. Close to 58 minutes of new Dilla (even if you have the Beat CDs, there’s lots of unheard beats to snap your neck to here). Just gave the LP two complete spins and the above track is one of my early faves. Still digesting it all though. But man is this gonna be an awesome weekend getting to replay this joint! Perhaps more thoughts later on in the week. But I think you’ll understand if I want to be alone with this album for a little while :) Christmas came way early, bay-beh! Please cop this album on Tuesday and support Ma Dukes for birthing and raising the late, great soulful genius. Hell, buy 2 copies (one for each ear). I TOLD Y’ALL!

J Dilla - 24k Rap (feat. Havoc & Raekwon)

This has already been posted on hip hop blogs everywhere in the 2 days since it’s been leaked (which goes to show the huge anticipation that exists for Jay $tay Paid). But here it is again + my 2 personal cents.

*listening attentively*

Things start off with the brief James Brown sample, first chopped up in the third 2K5 Dilla Beat CD. Then through the front door comes a very sombre Dilla beat that I don’t think I’ve ever heard before (can anybody point out the source?). Regardless, Hav and Rae spittin’ like they’re both straight loungin’ during the recording session (they must have brought some couches into the sound booth). This composition is definitely more chill than the Black Thought J$P track that leaked about a month ago, making for some good variety. “Sit back, enjoy the flow”, indeed.

But what interests me the most is the conclusion where we listeners get a great taste of how the whole mixtape/radio station concept for this album will feel like (remember, Pete Rock is our gracious host for the duration of the LP). A great way to get a cohesive listen out of what is originally a compendium of unrelated beats. And I think that’s Pete Rock and DJ Premier both dropping their 2 cents on Dilla at the end of the track. Peep it for yourself and enjoy.

Track courtesy of Spine Mag. June 2nd can’t get here soon enough.

J Dilla - Reality Check (feat. Black Thought). From the upcoming Jay Stay Paid album.

Put some nice headphones on to fully experience and appreciate Mr. Trotter absolutely RIPPING up reality TV over a head-nodding/neck-breaking Dilla Beat CD joint. 2 of the best to EVER do it, together again in the name of real hip hop. I got goosebumps, yo.

J$P, a major J Dilla posthumous release, streets June 2nd (aka the date us headz feel like kids again). Please purchase the album to support Ma Dukes.

All-right, so we’ve all made it (yes, ALL, because we’re a team; I write, you read) to the one you’ve been waiting for…that is, if you were in fact waiting for number 1 (otherwise we’ve already passed your favourite part, so stop reading this and go back to your jimbit of choice). But seriously, if you haven’t been following since Day One, then I recommend you click here, scroll to the bottom of the page and read them all in sequence (#20——#1), the way they were intended to be read. I’d like to think that my writing gets more interesting as we move along (as opposed to getting worse when read in the opposite direction). OK, thanks for abiding by my small request.

And before this list comes to a close *sniff*, I just want to say that this journey has indeed been fun and definitely one of the more challenging writing exercises/projects I’ve ever voluntarily inflicted myself with and committed to. As stated before, I did it for the love. For the love of music, for the love of writing, and for the love of Dilla. Also, I’m quite “stubbornly” full of pride and I loathe having to write about accomplishments that I end up failing to attain (but it’s all truth, no lies). So as the month of love comes to a close, I notice that my deadline for completing this project has finally arrived (or rather, DAMN! It’s here already?). I hope that your February was filled with as much love as mine was.

And now onto the tastiest Dilla beat of all-time, for all the times (IMO, of course). But before I get to that, let me first talk about the actual list (if you really want to spoil things for yourself, feel free to scroll down to see what track I chose). I made this list in February 2008. I then proceeded to write about entry numbers 20 to 14 in 2 months. Then I gave up (boooooooo-uuuuurns!). And much to my surprise, I didn’t change one thing about it when I picked up the pieces to continue the list 10 months later (I overthink a lot, and sometimes as a result, I end up changing my mind quite a bit). Well, to be honest, there might have been a few beats I would’ve changed about #20-11, because there are SO MANY great Dilla beats that I could have subbed out in the bottom 10 without the list losing any of its impact or significance. As for the Top 10 though, those were locked in solid and each one of them could have been number 1. Again, that says a lot about how much great work Jay Dee left behind. I’m just here to write endlessly about it all.

And here we go, the number one beat…after one more thing (haha). I also want to say that making time every night/early morning (by practically strapping myself into a seat while listening to the chosen song repeatedly) to write each of these entries (10 nights in a row at one point, I think) became such a creative routine for me. One that was fun and exciting in the exploration of why I chose each of these tracks. And also one that I think I will take a break from for a bit :) But as Stanley Kubrick once said about filmmaking: “Time is gold.” In my case, making the time so that I could fully realize what I wanted to say about this man’s music was indeed worth its weight in gold. I’m happy with most of the posts I’ve been able to create on this list. And if any of you out there who’ve actually read each of these entries feels the same way, then I thank you for that as well as for enduring my mega long-windedness. Another Stanley Kubrick quote I want to mention is: “Either you care or you don’t.” I cared about this little project of mine that most likely few eyes will ever see (i.e. us super cool Tumblr kids), and hopefully it shows.

So, sorry for constantly deviating from announcing what I have picked as the best Dilla produced track ever (is it starting to get anticlimatic yet?). And sorry for raping all of your dashboards by making you have to scroll through this thousand word post to get to where you really wanna go. But I wanted to end this list with a huge bang. And in my mind, huge bang = every single word I can muster to describe what I’m feeling (NO stone left unturned). Cuz it’s like I can’t stop my fingers from typing these endless groups of words. I can’t stop my mind from coming up with more things to say on this matter. I can’t stop thinking about how to properly introduce the final entry on my list. Simply put, I…I…I…

Can’t

.

Stop

.

This

.

1. The Roots - Can’t Stop This (Game Theory, 2006)

From the OkayPlayer message boards, February 16, 2006:

this weekend we lost one of the most talented producers in music. i cant explain how monumental a blow we in the hip hop community have just taken. I met James Yancey, or JayDee as we affectionately referred to him, in 1994 at battery studios nyc. From that day, hes never ceased to amaze me with his vast knowledge of good music and his nack for manipulating sounds and making them his own. i am an mc. ive been doing what i do for a long time. ive sat in many a basement, studio, tourbus, and livingroom watching and waiting as beats were being conceived for me to rock and i can honestly say, ive never seen anyone with a better understanding of sampling and re inventing sound. ive never seen anyone w a tighter grip on technology and how to use it to broaden ones perspective without losing site of the original essence…hip hop. Jay Dee was a true hip hop “Artist”. The vinyl of the world served as his colors. the sp1200, mpc60, keybords and computer programs were the brushes he used to apply his gift to the canvas that is this world. ive never been a dickrider. i only give credit where credit is due and the genius of James Yancey is most definitely due credit. i cant begin to explain the influence his mind and ear has had on my band, myself,and the careers of so many other artists. The most humble, modest, worthy and gifted beatmaker ive known…and definitely the best producer on a mic. as i write these words, my tears splashing the keyboard, i reminisce on the times ive shared w Dilla, never without that signature smile and head bouncing to the beat, and finally understand the true meaning of passion. Jay Dee had a passion for life and music and will never be forgotten. i loved this brother. i love what hes done for us all.and though im happy hes no longer in the pain he had been recently feeling, im crushed by the pain of his absence. ” The name is Dilla dog and i can only rep the real and the raw.” my nigga Dilla…. rest in peace man. - Black Thought

The above excerpt is one of 4 OKP board posts by the greatest MC alive and IMO the only MC worthy of rhyming over such a perfect beat from one of his closest friends. And also, it is the main source for Black Thought’s touching words that open Can’t Stop This. My personal favourite Dilla beat, Time: The Donut Of The Heart, backing my favourite band, The Roots, in an epic 8.5 minute eulogy track dedicated to the one and only Dilla Dawg. How could this not be Number 1 on this list? It can’t not. Which is why it is. Undeniable and truthfully.

The sample is taken from perhaps my favourite tune from The Jackson 5: the utterly and desirably beautiful song that is All I Do Is Think Of You. In particular, the opening “twangs” that are most pronounced at the intro to All I Do… but play throughout the song at a more subdued level, giving MJ and his bros. the perfect soundscape to pour their heart out to that special someone that they just can’t stop thinking about…ever. Listen to it here. Or buy this.

Can’t Stop This is the concluding track from a sonically masterful and surprisingly accessible total music package: the perfect Game Theory album, which is just a hair behind Illadelph Halflife for best LP in The Roots catalog in my opinion. But where Game Theory is perfectly sequenced with no flaws or filler (which is much easier to do in 47 minutes), Illadelph is just more epic and unapologetic, despite having a few flaws (although it’s hard not to have flaws over the course of 79 minutes). But I’ll leave that comparison for a future post.

When I first heard this track at the conclusion of my first listen of Game Theory (which was leaked to the internet about a month before its release…by ?uestlove, if I’m not mistaken), I had been listening to Donuts for a few months now, almost daily (too bad I wasn’t a part of the Last.fm community at that point, or my plays for Donuts would be astronomical…as well as for any of the albums I played the sh!t out of in the great music year of 2006). And just as I was trying to soak in Black Thought’s words, in through the front door comes the opening twangs of All I Do… which meant that the Time… beat from Donuts would be the grand finale beat of an unbelievable album (you can’t ask for a better ending than that). Geez. It was too much to handle and I got all teary eyed. Thinking about J Dilla, thinking about The Roots, thinking about how close those guys were both professionally and personally. And just imagining how utterly painful it must have been for ?uesto, Thought and The Legendary to have to put this track together to honour their dear fallen friend. I don’t even know these dudes personally, but I gotta admit this was some powerful stuff. After almost 3 years, this song still moves me greatly. And I ALWAYS listen to it all the way through, never ending it prematurely or skipping ahead impatiently.

The strings from All I Do… are sped up to keep up with the Dilla drums, which are a bit more humble than usual (much like their creator). The trademark vocal stabs you hear are also from All I Do… and they’re saying things like: “I give you”, “I love you”, “Didn’t I” and “There comes a time” (which is from a track I’m not sure of). But with this beat, Dilla created the sound of what love is and what being in love is like. The meticulously slowed down section is amazingly sensual and trippy. And here’s something you can try at home: play Time: The Donut of the Heart on single track repeat and it doesn’t miss a beat (the composition itself is a perfect loop). G’head, try it out yourself.

They say that how great an individual is at what he does is measured by the respect and admiration that he receives from his peers. Well, all one needs to do to see not only what a great artist but also what a great human being James Yancey was, is to listen to the outpouring of praise on the phone messages from some of the best artists in the biz that make up the breakdown beat section of Can’t Stop This. The following comment in particular stood out to me:

It’s very easy to say he’s in better place. But I personally just want to be selfish enough to say I wish he was still here. - Posdnuos

Pretty much how his fans feel too. And while we’re still recovering from the sincere and emotional words from Dilla’s peers, out of nowhere comes the final blow. The punch in the heart. The last Dilla beat, seemingly coming from beyond the grave. *goosebumps* Wow.

*listening to the beat attentively*

The strings! (redone electronically!) The vocal stabs! (razor sharp!) The HARD and neck-snapping drums! (with a tambourine to boot!) Everything is there. I don’t know the sample source of these strings (which were in the background during the phone messages), but would like to know someday. This is a beat that no one outside of Dilla’s close circle has heard on any album or beat CD until ?uestlove lovingly placed it onto the end of Can’t Stop This. It’s like the perfect easter egg and Dilla gets the final word. And through this final beat, he’s saying that he’s OK (and still making them sick joints in Heaven). I also know that, judging by ?uesto’s now sadly inactive Last.fm account (we joined on the same day and I was one of his first friends!), he’s got many more where this came from. As much as I’d love to hear those beats from the vault, I see no reason why ?uest should share them as they are a private reminder of their friendship (hell, I’d selfishly keep them to myself too). Although I wish ?uest would release those liner notes that he supposedly wrote for Game Theory, but somehow ran into a problem with the printing dept. at Def Jam, and as a result, we all received only album credits in the CD packaging (edit: and full lyrics, which I always appreciate). Because I would like to know where this beat came from and what were his reasons for choosing it. Until then, it’s all a beautiful and menacing mystery. But most importantly, a SUPERB job well done on this track by The Legendary Roots Crew. I’m certain that Dilla would be proud.

So, over two thousand words and four pages later: they just can’t stop this. Dilla will live forever. Signing off on Twenty Jimbits: The Tastiest Dilla Beats. And with that, the box is now empty.

2. J Dilla - E=MC2 (feat. Common) (The Shining, 2006)

In pop culture, Albert Einstein’s name is synonymous with the term genius (ie. Way to go, Einstein! Oh wait, that’s the sarcastic usage). Well, in the hip hop community, J Dilla and genius are one in the same (and he was an oh so sooooouuuuullllful one too). Like Einstein’s famous equation for which this song is named after, it seemed that Jay Dee possessed the perfect formula to destroy cats on the soundboards in the recording studios to rightfully earn him the moniker of being “your favourite producer’s favourite producer”, which in a sense, he actually was. Personal note: one of my Top 5 favourite producers, Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes once said in an interview that HIS favourite producer was in fact J Dilla. And here is the actual quote when P was asked the question, taken from a 2004 BET interview:

You may not know his name, but J Dilla, Jay Dee from Detroit.

And to the surprise of not one hip hop head (and Pharrell clearly knew what the response would be as well), the BET audience did not know who that was, eventhough by 2K4, Dilla had already done some of the greatest production jobs known to man, woman and little child runnin’ wild (i.e. most of the tracks on this list). So in any event, J Dilla aka Jay Dee really was my favourite producer’s favourite producer (but he is also one of my favourite producers, since both Skateboard P and Dilla Dawg are permanently situated in my personal TOP 5 fave producers of all-time). There was so much talent and mutual respect between those two; I really wish there was some video out there of them face to face, just talking, as I know they shared some studio time together (around the time of Common’s Electric Circus period, to name one).

Regarding the album, I talked at length about The Shining (and its chill-tastic promo version) in THIS previous post, so no need (or no time) to rehash any of my comments. So onto the track it is!

From the opening moments of the electronic/synth/vocoder voice (compliments of Giorgio Moroder’s 80’s electronic masterpiece, E=MC2, which was definitely on some next sh!t), to the section where the Dilla patterned bass comes in to destroy your neck, to listening to one of Common’s last hungry verses ever (prove me wrong in a future release, Com), there’s not one nanosecond where E=MC2 does not have your full attention. It feels like soulful boom-bap, then it hits you with the futuristic. We never expected anything like this, indeed!

I’m a, similar sex, revolution and techs on the death / When niggaz shoot for extra loot and respect / Live and direct effect from the C-O / Double get your paper / We stay up out of trouble nigga, get up! - Common flowing like Sense, from the 1st verse of E=MC2

A year before Kanye did the chart-busting Stronger joint that everyone and their Mom knew the words to (not an exaggeration; did you see Ye perform it in front of a bunch of excited soccer moms on Ellen? It was funny), Dilla went and did this track. I’m not saying that Stronger is a rip off of E=MC2 (the former is more of a club track, whereas the latter is strictly for the real headz among us). But I think there was some influence there and Mr. West did his homework well (in addition to taking notes on the 2003 Neptunes remix of Daft Punk’s Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger) as he has proven to be an excellent student of the production game (see also Tribe, The RZA and No ID as major influences on Ye’s style). This somewhat happened before with the Little Child Runnin’ Wild sample that Dilla used for Elzhi’s Concrete Eyes (Jimbit #15) around 5 years ago, which Ye then flipped the exact same sample (cleverly re-structured to avoid paying the Curtis Mayfield estate any royalties) and created the best track on Graduation: that being the beautiful synth-heavy Flashing Lights. So I’m not saying that anyone copied anyone, but these cats study eachother’s work to an incredible degree that a hip hop geek like myself couldn’t even fathom. So I’m pretty sure they all know what’s up. But of course, everything is borrowed, right?

I ranked this track very high on my list (almost the highest) because I feel that E=MC2 is an example of the style of music that Dilla was evolving into (The Shining album itself was like a peak into the future, in true ESP shining fashion). If he had lived any longer, I think we would have seen even more recordings of this type (i.e. the sick sampling of obscure 80s electronic songs and re-imagining them for this decade and beyond). Also, the soul-synth fabric that permeates throughout The Shining (which I appreciate much more after listening to all of the original sampled tracks in full) would have become something even more special in the hands of Jay Dee had he been given more time to explore the sound. Or…I don’t know; these are all just my personal speculations. Nonetheless, it pains me to ponder on what could have been if Mr. Yancey did not pass away at such a young age. But I’m just an admirer who didn’t know the man personally. So his loved ones must be hurting much more than I am. Such is life in this cruel world, when the best of us are taken away much too soon. And such is the contrasting beauty of music and its ability to make our time on planet Earth much more enjoyable and memorable. We all just can’t thank this man enough for what he has left behind for us to experience for the rest of our lives.

4. De La Soul - Much More (The Grind Date, 2004)

The first time I heard of this track was of the live version that De La performed on Chappelle’s Show, Season 1, ep. 11 (Fisticuffs, son!) in the spring of 2003 (which was quite early, as the album would not come out until the next year in the fall of 2004). At that time, the greatest sketch comedy show of my adult years was unavailable (and unknown) to many folks in Canada, exclusively airing on Comedy Central in the US. But of course, thanks to the somewhat new (at the time) and soon to be full-fledging bittorrent landscape (and some grimey P2P action on the side), many persistent Dave Chappelle fans like myself had in our possession low quality rips of each ep on their harddrive, almost as soon as they aired (many thanks to those American viewers that ripped and seeded the goods for us as we felt so privileged at the time). So spring/summer 2003 was quite fun spending too much free time tracking down these genius eps (this was of course a few years before streaming video sites made everything accessible to everyone in an instant, barring any region-based censorship…thanks for nothing Hulu). In any event, that was my introduction to the final (and finest) De La/Dilla collabo.

Having worked with Jay Dee before on the fantastic Stakes Is High album, De La was no stranger to acquiring and properly utilizing the Native Tongue-seasoned producer’s chopping services (Verbal Clap from the same album is also produced by Jay Deezy). Much More leads off with the voice of another super producer, the living legend himself, DJ Premier, lambasting cats in the rap game who are all popcorn-ass style and no substance. These vocals are backed by an incredibly inspiring and sweeping soundscape, courtesy of the sampling/interpolating of Love, Togetherness & Devotion (L.T.D.)’s legendary Love Ballad as well as either the bells and/or strings from Strawberry Letter 23 by the incomparable and severely underrated Shuggie Otis. Together, these elements create an impressive sound worthy of the original versions, especially through the great use of the concluding line of Love Ballad: “And what we have is much more than they…could see”. In response, Posdnuos and Dave drop great lyrical knowledge to match the beautiful vibe. R U Listenin’?

More on the beat. This is such a soulful production that, when the trademark drums are finally laid out, this whole ‘nother aquarian dimension is created, proving that Mr. Yancey truly was the soulful genius that he would be referred to as later in his career. Add in some scratched vocals by James Brown (“Ladies and gentleman”) and Chuck D (“Here we go again…”) and you’ve got a well-rounded Motown made melody, raw with emotion as well as soulful, touching and uplifting. Now that I think about it, this song could have just as easily been number one on this list (but the truth of the matter is that every song in the TOP 5 could’ve grabbed that honour as the ranking was incredibly close).

Speaking of The Grind Date, at times completing this list felt like I was chasing the grind date. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun to write all of this (I’m not getting paid or anything, so I’m really doing it for the love of Dilla and the month of love). But I admit it does take me a while to come up with something that’s halfway interesting and hopefully worthy of the reader’s time. And making it all the way to the number 4 jimbit (from 20) then skipping a day (or quitting before the Feb. 28 deadline) is completely out of the question at this point. Because, as Masta Ace would say, “I’m on the grind…”

This song’s title was very apropos in describing not only De La’s always provocative lyrical content, but J Dilla’s career in a sense. By this time, he had already established himself by producing landmark tracks for The Pharcyde, Tribe, Common, Busta, while remixing for the 2 most prominent Jackson siblings (Michael and Janet, of course) and creating entire masterpiece albums for Slum Village as well as for himself, just to name a few accomplishments. But what Dilla had left in his arsenal was indeed much more than we could ever see. And he proved it by amassing some of his most memorable recordings from 2004 all the way until his untimely death in 2006 while still operating in virtual obscurity from the mainstream or even hip hop fans who were oblivious to the sheer scale of Jay Dee’s ubiquitous discography. James Yancey would finish his career stronger than any of us could have anticipated in true “undisputed underdog” fashion, thereby solidifying his legacy for years to come.

The TOP 3 is peeping you from a short distance (say hi!).

5. J Dilla - Donuts (Intro) (Donuts, 2006)

Ah yes, the Donuts intro…or outro…or first part of the outro…or just a wonderfully original way to keep an album on a continuous loop, like the life and death cycle itself. This would probably be a good time to talk a little about Dilla’s final and most cryptic masterpiece as well as the album that inspired this list, its namesake, and the resulting year-long journey to complete it: 2006’s circular and cyclical Donuts.

From what I’ve read, Donuts was originally meant to be “just another” beat tape/CD (which is still saying something because a Dilla beat CD is a special event for all that gets to receive a copy). And much like a beat CD, each track is short and to the point, while seemingly unrelated to eachother. But it’s almost because of this incompleteness and apparent disjointedness that Donuts became a modern day classic recording. Every track is developped just enough, but not so much that you ever tire of any of the beats (just a little taste). It’s like you’re eating a box full of mini-donuts (or Timbits here in Canada), with each tasty morsel possessing a different flavour. Savour it thoroughly, then it’s onto the next (and before you know it, the box is empty).

But most interesting is that the album is chock full of clues that make it clear that Mr. Yancey knew he was not long for this world; he was suffering greatly from lupus while making these beats in his hospital bed, hooked up to a room full of machines keeping him alive (now THAT is dedication, THAT is passion, and THAT is a true artist suffering for his craft). From the samples that he chose (BTW, listening to a playlist of the sampled songs is an incredible experience on its own), to the way certain vocals were chopped to some of the song titles, there are clues everywhere when you sit down to have a listen to this. It can be a very relaxed and surprisingly cohesive listen, or you can try to pay attention to every detail and notice how every loop, chop and drum pattern were put there for a reason (as Dilla was a well-documented perfectionist, as all great artists are). The genius of it all was in the complexity. One very obvious sign in particular was that there are 31 tracks on the album, one for each of Dilla’s years on this planet (it has been written that Dilla knew his time was almost up and felt he would not live to year 32). But he did in fact live to see his 32nd birthday (the day that Donuts was released); he then passed away 3 days later (on February 10, 2006). Much like how Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut was the perfect swan song for the legendary film director (who died not long after turning in his final cut to Warner Bros. in March of 1999), Donuts was the hard but perfect goodbye to all of James Yancey’s family, friends and fans alike (it’s amazing that God let him live just long enough to turn this musical package in). Having said all that, there’s nothing too deep about the album title though, as Dilla simply loved donuts. But because of all of these reasons (and more), Donuts was clearly the hip hop album of the year for 2006 (which, I might add, was a great year for music) and one of the greatest and most meaningful of this decade.

One day in mid-2006, my Dad and I were driving around running some errands with the radio tuned into his favourite oldies station (so pretty much nothing but songs before 1970 are played on that station). I dig that stuff too, so I sat and listened. And somewhere along the way, a very smooth song by a late 60’s soul group from London, Ontario which went by the name of Motherlode played. I would find out later that the song was called “When I Die”. And the chorus goes like this:

When I die, I hope I’ll be, the kind of man that you thought I’d…beeeeee-eeeeee-eeee-eee.

I immediately recognized that “eeeeeeee” part as a section sampled in the Donuts (Intro) track. And my mind was blown. Recognizing a sample by way of total random circumstances is one of the greatest joys to hip hop headz and sample sharks. And on that day, When I Die instantly became one of my favourite songs (especially after listening closely to the lyrics).

My Dad realized how excited I was to find this out, as I tried to explain to him the significance of this generation-gap-bridging track and how one of my favourite hip hop producers sampled this obscure Canadian composition on the final song of his final album. Also, he had just passed away a few months earlier, so the sadness was still fresh (need I remind you all that the song is entitled “When I Die”?).

*taking a small writing break*

I assure you that I am not joking when I type out the following words. But as I was writing this entry (and in particular the above paragraph), guess what song just happened to come up on my Touch? 3 guesses. I’m TOTALLY serious. Right now there are about 1600 songs which I’m shuffling through on this particular playlist. And to be honest, I completely forgot that When I Die was even on this list. But I got reminded of its presence right away when the opening notes came on and I literally just stopped writing to soak in the song at this PERFECT moment, while admiring its impeccable timing. Dilla saying hi from beyond the grave? Haha, I wish. But a strange coincidence nonetheless. So I think I’m gonna end the post right here (you can’t make this sh!t up…well, maybe you can, but I swear I didn’t). As usual, thanks for reading.

6. Jaylib - The Red (Champion Sound, 2003)

Reeeeeewiiiiiiind! Back in 2001, an epic meeting of the minds occurred between 2 well established, thundaground beatsmiths: James Yancey and Otis Jackson, Jr. Having admired eachother’s work from afar, the folks at Stones Throw saw fit to unite these 2 unique musicians in the same room and see what would transpire. The initial answer was nothing (other than smoking 46 blunts with DJ House Shoes and Peanut Butter Wolf). But the important thing was that first contact was made.

Over the next 2 years, beat tapes would be exchanged between Jay Dee and Madlib, with each artist simply admiring the work of the other as a fan (only they were trading tapes with beats that no one had ever heard before…what a privileged relationship!). By this time, Dilla had become well known in both the hip hop industry as well as for some more mainstream remixing gigs while Madlib was still making a name for himself (and on the verge of collaborating with MF Doom on the Madvillainy album, the long awaited sequel of which is still pending today).

This beat tape relationship escalated to the point that Dilla eventually moved from Detroit to L.A. to meet with Madlib in the flesh on a regular basis. The next step, although still unexpected by most, was both logical and a natural progression of this partnership: Jaylib was officially born. And in 2003, Champion Sound would be released to the hip hop masses. With half of the beats done by Jay Dee and the other half handled by Madlib (and with each producer rhyming over the other producer’s beats). A perfect concept both on paper and in execution.

An early version of what would eventually become Champion Sound leaked to the internet backpackers in the form of The Rough Drafts (11-02). The sounds contained therein would be refined and remastered for the official release. But if you can find a copy of The Rough Drafts (which is also out there under the name Are Jaylib), it would be worth your time to track it down and give it a listen (it’s pretty much a rough demo version of Champion Sound with some tracks that didn’t make the album, but were still quite good). Champion Sound would ultimately become the only (and therefore definitive) collaboration between these 2 musical geniuses.

So now that I’m finished the entire history of Jaylib (in so many words, anyway), on to the actual track. The original sample for The Red is contained in the beautiful song by Cris Williamson entitled Shine On Straight Arrow (the sample is about 50 seconds in when you hear the powerful exclamation of “Shiiiiiiiiiinnne Oonnnnnnn!”). There’s also a wonderful lyric in the aforementioned track where Cris states: “Let your life shine down into mine.” I think that those words perfectly express the general idea of this album: a collaboration in the true sense of the word where each artist shined/shone their ideas/life into the other and vice versa. And this experiment doesn’t work to any more incredible effect than on The Red (J Dilla providing the soundscape, Madlib/Quasimoto waxing poetic).

Never (well, maybe once) has a single, looped vocal sounded so pronounced and exclamatory and just felt like it truly is shining through the track, coming out of your speakers and materializing right in front of your face so that you can admire its indescribable beauty. I know that’s a lot to say about a sound, but the sample really was well chosen and looped to the hilt with all the power that the original vocal possessed. And when mixed in with Jay Dee’s drums and sprinkled keys, the production becomes heavenly and worthy of being worshiped by hip hop nerds everywhere. Like a religious choir in the church of hip hop, The Red shines its life down into ours. I very much love this track and am quite sad that we will never hear a beat of this caliber and intricate beauty ever again.

The TOP 5 is on the horizon!