Possibly the most revered producer in hip-hop’s five-decade history, James Dewitt Yancey – aka J Dilla or Jay Dee – was one of those rare musical talents who forever altered the direction of not only his chosen genre, but popular music as a whole.
Through his solo releases, his work with Slum Village and his production for The Pharcyde, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul and Erykah Badu (to name a few), Dilla’s influence has radiated outward through genres and generations, inspiring everyone from Michael Jackson to Kendrick Lamar. The producer’s visionary approach to rhythm, his unparalleled ear, and his nearsupernatural ability to make magic
