Dilla Time: The Life and Afterlife of J Dilla, the Hip-Hop Producer Who Reinvented Rhythm

I love that Dilla Time has these images that illustrate and educate!

“Fantastic, Vol. 2 began with a new song—a tribute to the neighborhood called “Conant Gardens”—that employed the same deceleration technique James had been using on Fan-Tas-Tic. He slowed down a guitar riff from the 1974 Little Beaver song “A Tribute to Wes,” exaggerating the swing and the little timing idiosyncrasies in the hi-hat phrase behind it. ”

Excerpts From Dilla Time : The Life and Afterlife of the Hip-hop Producer Who Reinvented Rhythm Charnas, Dan; Peretz, Jeff (CON) This material may be protected by copyright.

There’s so much hip hop musical theory in this book and it’s intriguing to read —

Like these are wild images, but when you check out the songs that go with them, they make sense!

Listening to the tracks, you can really take in the innovation and place yourself in the time.

The full picture of who the man was tho is a little disheartening.

It’s another one of those situations where you separate the art from the artist because all of our faves have their abuser, narcissist, back-stabbing tendencies and J Dilla was no different. I want to say that we’re all humans, but which of us is clocking our girlfriends or boyfriends in the face and rocking their shit? I mean, it’s a lot.

James Dewitt Yancey, known to the world as J Dilla, was more than just a producer—he was a visionary who left an indelible mark on the world of hip-hop. Born in Detroit, Dilla revolutionized the way we think about beats, rhythm, and the possibilities of music production. Even after his untimely passing in 2006, his influence continues to echo throughout the genre, shaping sounds and inspiring…