James Dewitt Yancey bka J Dilla was born February 7, 1974 in the motor city of Detroit, Michigan. Like most of us, Yancey was influenced by his parent’s love of music. At a very young age, he started to collect vinyl and would perform as the dj at neighborhood gatherings. Yancey was exposed to all genres of music but he developed a distinct love for hip-hop and this passion would eventually become the basis of his life’s work.

Slum Village

Yancey, with two high school friends, formed the group Slum Village and would produce the first series of the group’s albums debuting with Fan-Tas-Tic Vol 1 in 1997. This album would introduce to the underground community and beyond, Dilla’s production skill and would subsequently get the attention of ATCQ’s Q-Tip. J Dilla worked alongside many hip-hop and neosoul notables and was a founding member of The Soulquarians, a collective of musicians that included Questlove, Erykah Badu, Common, and Bilal to name a few.

J Dilla suffered a rare blood disease and was also diagnosed with Lupus. It has been documented in interviews with his mother that Yancey kept a set of turntables in the hospital with him as he worked up until his last days finishing his solo album Donuts. After battling his rare illness and undergoing numerous treatments to no avail, J Dilla passed away days after his 32nd birthday in 2006

J Dilla’s mother and brother created a foundation in Dilla’s honor. This foundation seeks to provide opportunities to children who may show musical talent but lack the resources enabling them to channel their musical energy. Visit the foundation site for more information:

http://jdillafoundation.org/

I couldn’t pick just one so….

Love – I love this track because of Curtis Mayfield and Pharoahe Monch….

Love It Here – This is one of my fav instrumentals. It’s wistful and the vocals are soulfully obscure…