TURN IT UP : J-DILLA
Last night I saw in my birthday in the best possible way, shaking my ass to the beats of the one and only J-Dilla!
Stones Throw is an incredible hub of creative talent and their club shows in London, and I should imagine everywhere else, are always a great night out. For me while last night Aloe Black, Percee P & Peanut Butter Wolf all held it down the showstoppers were without a doubt Guilty Simpson and my man J-Rocc of The World Famous Beat Junkies. Why is that? Quite simply they repped Dilla the hardest and truest! The excitement that J-Rocc expresses when dropping Dilla beats is both infectious and inspiring. For Guilty Simpson the simple fact is that he would not have been on that stage or even in the UK had Dilla not found him, nurtured him and blessed him with off the hook beats.
So when I woke up on this the morning of my 30th birthday with a fuzzy head and beery breath (thanks Tom & Tom) looked over at the box fresh "Turn It Up" T that Mrs Doctor gave me when we staggered in last night (thanks babe) I got to thinking bout Dilla as I so often do. There are very few people that can lay claim to genius, masters of their craft that brought something new to their field and raised the bar for everyone that followed. For me J-Dilla did exactly that and more.
While I probably first clocked onto Jay Dee, as he was then, through his production for Slum Village & Tribe, my knowledge & appreciation for him have expanded with every beat I heard. What is still lacking is understanding. How does the mind work that hears a track, spots the sample and then flips it like that? Find yourself a copy his beat tapes and listen to the way he flips James Brown loops in a way unimaginable by any other producer that has used these breaks before. His fearless approach to cutting loops and rinsing every last drop of Soul out of the tracks he samples hits me so hard each and every time. Now don't get me wrong, Premo, Kanye, Timerland, Neptunes, Marley Marl & many other can all do their thing and make ya neck snap, ya feet stomp and ya booty sake but for me to do that then make ya stop smile & scratch ya head thinking "What the...? How the...?" that is genius!
His phenomenal out put right up until the day he died is testament to the creative drive of a man that changed the face of Hip-Hop for me and so many others. He music becomes a brotherhood and a cause. Those who know, know and can't help but want to spread the word. The number of people willing to do their part when I threw the jam in his honour and memory last year was nothing short of astounding but still did not surprise me. That is the power that the man's music carries.
  I for one will always "Turn It Up" & turn it out whenever it come to my inspiration
J-Dilla!
(this 1 st appeared as a myspace blog on 12 th July 2007 myspace.com/djspindoctor)
The next J-Dilla Changed My Life night in benefit of the J-Dilla foundation is on 10 th Feb 2008