Biography - courtousey of wikipedia
Early years and production
Jay Dee grew up in Detroit, and developed a vast musical knowledge from his parents. At a young age, he began acquiring a large collection of records which inspired him to learn multiple instruments. By high school, he had developed a passion for MCing, and formed a rap group called Slum Village with some schoolmates. He had also taken up beatmaking, using a simple tapedeck as the center of his studio.
In 1992, he met experienced Detroit musician Amp Fiddler, who was impressed by what Jay Dee was able to accomplish with such limited tools. Amp Fiddler let Jay Dee use his Music Production Center, which he learned quite quickly. In 1995, Jay Dee and MC Phat Kat as 1st Down would be the first Detroit hip hop group to sign with a major label, Pay Day - a deal that was ended after one single when the label folded. Before too long, several other hip hop acts heard work by Jay Dee and his group Slum Village. . In 1998 he recorded The Album That Time Forgot with 5 Elementz, a group consisting of the late Proof and Mudd.
By the late 1990s Jay Dee was known as a major hip-hop prospect, with a string of singles and remix projects, for Janet Jackson, Pharcyde, De La Soul, Busta Rhymes, A Tribe Called Quest, Q-Tip's solo album and others. Some other Jay Dee productions were released without his name recognition, being credited to The Ummah, A Tribe Called Quest's production team, which he was a part of.
Performing career
2000 marked the major label debut of Slum Village with Fantastic, Vol. 2, creating a new following for Jay Dee as a producer and an MC. He was also a founding member of the production collective known as The Soulquarians (along with Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, D'Angelo and James Poyser amongst others) which earned him more recognition and buzz. He subsequently worked with Common, Erykah Badu, and Talib Kweli, and the hip hop community began to take notice of his classic hip-hop inspired, breakbeat-laden style.
His debut as a solo artist came in 2001 with the single "Fuck the Police", followed by the album Welcome 2 Detroit, which kicked off U.K. indie label BBE "Beat Generation" series. In 2002, Jay Dee, then went by the name "J Dilla" (in an attempt to differentiate himself from Jermaine Dupri, who had begun going by "J.D."), left Slum Village to pursue a major label solo deal with MCA. He worked on his debut solo album during 2002 and 2003, but the record was never released. Following the collapse of the MCA album, Dilla recorded the uncompromising Ruff Draft, released exclusively to vinyl by German label Groove Attack. Although the album was little known, it signaled a change in sound and attitude, and his work from this point on was increasingly released through independent record labels.
Later years and illness
LA-based Producer and MC, Madlib, began a collaboration with J Dilla to form the group Jaylib in 2002, releasing the album Champion Sound in 2003. J Dilla relocated from Detroit to LA in 2004 and appeared on tour with Jaylib in Spring 2004.
Despite a slower output of major releases and production credit in 2004 and 2005, his cult status remained strong within his core audience, fueled in part by the unauthorized circulation of his underground "beat tapes" (instrumental, raw working material), mostly through internet file sharing.
Articles in publications Urb (March 2004) and XXL (June 2005) confirmed rumors of ill health and hospitalization during this period, but these were downplayed by Jay himself. The seriousness of his condition became public in November 2005 when J Dilla toured Europe performing from a wheelchair. It was later revealed that he suffered from TTP, a rare blood disease, and Lupus.
J Dilla died on February 10, 2006, at his home in Los Angeles, California. His obituary in The New York Times on February 14, 2006, states: "The cause was cardiac arrest, according to his mother, Maureen Yancey."
His last album, Donuts was released on February 7, 2006.
[edit]Posthumous work
Aside from Donuts, Dilla completed or nearly completed two more full length releases, during his illness. The first, The Shining, was released on August 8, 2006 by BBE Records. Final production of the album was handled posthumously by Karriem Riggins, whom Dilla had asked to help with the album. According to Riggins, The Shining was "75% completed when Dilla died."
The second, Jay Love Japan, was announced during Dilla's lifetime as an instrumental EP, and does not have a release date. Leaked copies have circulated containing several songs with vocals, presumably added after his death. It quickly garnered comparisons to posthumous Tupac Shakur material, which many fans complain abuse his legacy by including artists and producers that Tupac may not have had any interest in working with, were he alive.
Stones Throw announced plans in November 2006 to re-issue Dilla's rarely heard classic Ruff Draft as a 2/CD, 2/LP set in March 2007. The re-issue will contain previously unreleased material from the Ruff Draft sessions and instrumentals.
May 2006 saw the announcement of J Dilla Foundation by Maureen Yancey, Dilla's mother.
Selected artist/group releases (as producer and/or MC)
Slum Village - Fan-Tas-Tic (Vol. 1) CD/LP 1996 (Donut Boy Recordings) 1997 (Sudden Impact) 2006 (Barak)
Jay Dee - Jay Dee Unreleased Remixes 12 EP 1997 (House Shoes Records)
Slum Village - Fantastic, Vol. 2 CD/LP 2000 (Goodvibe) 2002 (Capitol)
J-88 - Best Kept Secret 2000 (Groove Attack)
Jay Dee - "Fuck The Police" 12-inch single, 2001 (Up Above)
Jay Dee - Welcome 2 Detroit CD/LP 2001 (BBE)
Jay Dee - Vol. 1: Unreleased 2002 (Bling47.com)
Jay Dee - Vol. 2: Vintage 2003 CD/LP (Bling47.com)
Jay Dee - Ruff Draft 2003 (Mummy/Groove Attack)
Jaylib - Champion Sound CD/LP 2003 (Stones Throw)
Jaylib - Champion Sound (Instrumentals) LP 2004 (Stones Throw)
J Dilla - Welcome 2 Detroit (Instrumentals) CD/LP 2005 (BBE)
J Dilla - Donuts CD/LP 2006 (Stones Throw)
J Dilla - The Shining CD/LP 2006 (BBE)
J Dilla - The Shining (Instrumentals) 2006 (BBE)
J Dilla - Ruff Draft 2/CD Reissue, 2007 (Stones Throw)
Selected production
The Pharcyde - Runnin', Bullshit, Splatittorium, Somethin' That Means Somethin', Drop, Y? from "Labcabincalifornia" CD/LP 1995 (Delicious Vinyl)
A Tribe Called Quest - 1nce Again, Get A Hold, Keeping It Moving, Stressed Out, Word Play from "Beat, Rhymes, & Life" CD/LP 1996 (Jive Records)
Busta Rhymes - Keep It Movin', Still Shinin' from "The Coming" CD/LP 1996 (Elektra)
De La Soul - Stakes Is High from "Stakes Is High" CD/LP 1996 (Tommy Boy)
Proof - Da Science from "Detroit Hip Hop Volume 1" 1996 Modern Tribe
A Tribe Called Quest - Get A Hold, Mardi Gras At Midnight from "Jam" EP 1997 (Jive Records)
Busta Rhymes - So Hardcore from "When Disaster Strikes" CD/LP 1997 (Elektra)
Janet Jackson - Got Til It's Gone (Ummah Jay Dee Revenge Mix) 12" single 1997 (Virgin)
A Tribe Called Quest - 4 Moms, Against The World, Busta's Lament, Da Booty, Find A Way, His Name Is Mutty Ranks, Start It Up, Steppin' It Up from "The Love Movement" CD/LP 1998 (Jive Records)
Q-Tip - 11 tracks from "Amplified" CD/LP 1999 (Arista)
The Roots - Dynamite from Things Fall Apart CD/LP 1999 (MCA)
Busta Rhymes - Enjoy Da Ride, Live It Up, Show Me What You Got from "Anarchy" CD/LP 2000 (Elektra)
Common - 10 tracks from "Like Water For Chocolate" CD/LP 2000 (MCA)
De La Soul - Thru Ya City from "Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump" CD/LP 2000 (Tommy Boy)
Erykah Badu - Cleva, My Life, Didn't Cha Know, Kiss Me On My Neck from "Mama's Gun CD/LP 2000 (Motown)
Jay Dee - "Fuck The Police/Move, feat. Frank N Dank 12" single 2001 (Up Above)
Busta Rhymes - Genesis, Make It Hurt from "Genesis" CD/LP 2001 (Elektra)
Chino XL - Don't Say A Word from "I Told You So" CD/LP 2001 (Metro Records)
De La Soul - Peer Pressure (Intro & Outro Monologues by Jay Dee) from AOI: Bionix CD/LP 2001 (Tommy Boy)
Lucy Pearl - Without You (Remix) 12" single 2001 (Pookie/Virgin)
Busta Rhymes - It Ain't Safe No More, What Up, Turn Me Up Some from "It Ain't Safe No More..." CD/LP 2002 (Elektra)
Common - various production & instrumental credits from "Electric Circus" CD/LP 2002 (MCA)
Frank N Dank - Push 12" EP 2002 (Mummy / Groove Attack)
Phat Kat - Dedication To The Suckers, Don't Nobody Care About Us, Microphone Master, Big Booties, World Premier from "Dedication To The Suckers" LP/CD 2002 (RonnieCash.com)
Slum Village - Hoes, Let's, One from "Trinity" CD/LP 2002 (Capitol)
Talib Kweli - Where Do We Go, Stand To The Side from "Quality" CD/LP 2002 (Rawkus)
Fourtet - As Serious As Your Life (Remix) 12" single 2003 Domino
Frank N Dank - 48 Hours CD 2003 (Bootleg)
Brother Jack McDuff - Oblighetto (J Dilla Remix) from "Blue Note Revisted" CD/LP 2004 (Blue Note)
De La Soul - Verbal Clap, Much More from "Grind Date" CD/LP (Sanctuary)
Proof of D12 - Bring It 2 Me from "I Miss The Hip Hop Shop" CD/LP 2004 (Iron Fist)
Slum Village - Do You from "Detroit Deli" CD/LP 2004 (Barak/Capitol)
Common - Love is..., It's Your World (Part 1 & 2) from "Be" CD/LP and "Be Instrumentals" LP 2005 (GOOD Music/Geffen)
MED - Push, So Real from Push Comes To Shove CD/LP 2005 (Stones Throw)
Slum Village - Who Are We from "Prequel To A Classic" CD 2005 (Barak Records)
Steve Spacek - Dollar from "Space Shift" CD/LP 2005 (Sound in Color)
Ghostface Killah - Beauty Jackson, Whip You with a Strap from "Fishscale" CD/LP 2006 (Def Jam)
Busta Rhymes - You Can't Hold A Torch from "The Big Bang" CD/LP 2006 (Aftermath)
The Roots - Can't Stop This from "Game Theory" CD/LP 2006 (Island/Def Jam)
J Dilla - various songs & production from Chrome Children CD/LP 2006 (Stones Throw/Adult Swim)
THE CELEBRATION AT THE ECHO.....WHEN I SAY," DILLA"..YOU SAY "REST IN PEACE"...."DILLA ! .....
THE HIT N RUN CREW DOING THEIR THING WITH THE FRESH DESIGNS....
Live Screen Printing Rocks....
The Homie Tokes..bout to Hit my Khaki Dickie Button Up...
My Dickie Khaki Button up....Hit n Run steez....Thanks Tokes !!
The Name of the game is Hit......
n Run.....nice hoodie Voots....
Fresh Dilla Portraits done live...(sorry didnt the artist's name...homie got down though...Much Respects...)
Some crowd shots of the celebration...
Put those hands up..
JLogic Droppin the sick beats....
Some of the mami's came out to play....
check out homegirl bout to bite Queen's boody...ha ha ha
Homies from ArchRival Representin'
Double-Fist them muggz...
Posted
EAGLE ROCK UNDERGROUND - JONR & THE TAKE OVER - DJ YAYO
WEST TO THE SIDE SUCKAZ JONR, YAYO & BRAVO
YAYO, CHERYL AND BIG JONR FROM THE ROCK.....
The HOME GIRL CARRIE GETTING DOWN ON THE "D" BRACELETS....
GROOVEPOCKET....TAKE OVER & EAGLE ROCK UNDERGROUND FAMILIA
SOME PROJECTIONS OF DilLA
and that was the Dilla Tribute.....
