Remembering J Dilla, Big L, Big Pun

While Biggie and Tupac are regularly eulogized by various media outlets and hardcore fans, many other hip-hop icons don't get the postmortem props they deserve. Streetwatch pays homage to a pair of ultratalented lyricists and a recently departed superproducer.

J Dilla - Champion Sound

Last week, just days after the release of his brand-new instrumental album, J Dilla passed away after a long battle with a rare blood disease and lupus. Though he was not yet a household name, it's very likely that you have heard his music at some point, even if you didn't realize it. He was one of the most revered producers in hip-hop (and R&B), working with a wide variety of artists on both sides of the underground/commercial spectrum.

J Dilla

Jay Dee first came to prominence in the mid-1990s, as part of the Ummah, making mellow yet banging beats for A Tribe Called Quest (he worked extensively on their last two albums), Labcabin-era Pharcyde, and De La Soul, among others. His sonic style was subtle and understated--lots of filtered loops, seismic bass bumps, and clean drums--and it immediately caught the ear of other artists and heads worldwide. As his rep grew bigger, his discography followed suit. The late nineties found him lacing tracks for Busta Rhymes, Janet Jackson, and Macy Gray; he also produced the bulk of Q-Tip's hate-it-or-love-it solo debut Amplified, and scored a record deal for his own group, Detroit-based Slum Village.

Postmillennium, he continued to craft top-notch beats for the likes of Common and D'Angelo, contributing classic material to Like Water for Chocolate and Voodoo, respectively. He also stayed busy doing remixes, serving as the backbone to SV, and putting out solo albums on various labels. In 2003 he signed to Stones Throw, Peanut Butter Wolf's LA-based outfit, long known for their unwavering dedication to high-quality original hip-hop. Once there, Jay Dee connected with another acclaimed beat freak/emcee, Madlib, for the much-loved collabo project Champion Sound. More recently, he hooked up Common for several cuts off his comeback album Be.

At the time of his death, he had just dropped Donuts, a supremely funky, if unconventional, rhymeless LP that was partially recorded from his hospital room. Thirty-one tracks deep, it plays like a schizophrenic beat tape, with soulful snippets merging into one other and taking the listener on a wild, unpredictable voyage through overflowing record crates and dusty vinyl grooves. He was also working on a follow-up to his BBE effort Welcome 2 Detroit, and had knocked out songs with Ghostface and MF DOOM. No matter what name he went by--Dilla, Jay Dee, or James Yancey--he was an immense talent who died too soon.