…i remember 1ne night a few years ago….i was about to ‘give up’ on music (beginning to realize that it’s not possible)…but anyways..was really low…..someone told me…..get your ipod and make a playlist of all the songs that on hearing them for the 1st time u thought to yourself…”wow….i want to do this”….so i did it….
Didn’t cha Know–Erykah Badu; The Root –D’Angelo; Nag Champa–Common; Thelonius–Common and Slum Village; Climax–Slum Village; Dynamite—The Roots; Go Ladies–Slum Village…….were just a few…
…i’d ended up with a playlist of about 50 something songs..I called the playlist “the reason why”….for the songs that are my ‘reasons for’ making music…most of them had a common thread…..
James Jay Dee (J-Dilla) Yancey…..
he passed away coming on 3 years now from complications of the auto-immune disease lupus……
MAny argue he was the creator/unsung hero of the whole neo-soul movement….fact is people like Badu, D’Angelo, The Roots, Kanye West, Busta Rhymes, Common, Pharrell Williams mention him as one of if not their biggest sources of inspiration…
For me….he was a master at what he did…..I could write an epistle on why I think that…
The thing that hit me most…and I’ve heard many people say it…is that his music had a feel to it…an indescribable ‘vibe’ for want of a better word
his sound had this feel to it…..it invoked and still invokes a feeling in me…..
that’s why the 1st song of every set i play…the 1st one on every mix i put together..is something produced, featuring or made in tribute to Dilla….
…..turn it up!!
Posted by sawandi777 