Author | Dan Charnas |
---|---|
Cover artist | Rodrigo Corral |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Biography |
Publisher | MCD |
Publication date | February 1, 2022 |
Pages | 480 pp. |
ISBN | 978-0374139940 |
Dilla Time: The Life and Afterlife of J Dilla, the Hip-Hop Producer Who Reinvented Rhythm is a 2022 biography of hip hop producer J Dilla written by Dan Charnas. [1] It chronicles the life of J Dilla until his death in 2006, as well as his posthumous influence on the music industry. Described as "equal parts biography, musicology, and cultural history," the book emphasizes J Dilla's signature rhythmic time-feel, which Charnas termed "Dilla time," and its wide-reaching impact on modern music. [2] [3]
The book debuted on The New York Times Best Sellers list, receiving widespread acclaim from critics and musicians.
In 1999, writer Dan Charnas met J Dilla and Common while the two musicians were working on Common's album Like Water for Chocolate at J Dilla's home studio in Conant Gardens, Detroit. [4] [5] Charnas cites this meeting as "the real origin of the book." [5]
As an associate professor at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University, Charnas taught a course called "Topics in Recorded Music: J Dilla" that discussed J Dilla's musical techniques and influence. [5] [6] He began work researching and reporting for the book in 2017. [7] Charnas interviewed over 200 friends, family members, and collaborators of J Dilla throughout the research process. [5]
In the book, Charnas aims to dispel several myths about J Dilla. For one, according to Charnas, many musicians reduce J Dilla's time-feel as simply "loose" and "not quantizing," but the book describes this as an oversimplification, detailing the nuances that defined J Dilla's technique. [7] The book also debunks the misconception that J Dilla produced his 2006 album Donuts in the hospital, instead explaining that the album was born from an earlier beat tape and edited by Jeff Jank of Stones Throw Records while J Dilla was in the hospital. [4]
Dilla Time's cover artwork was designed by Rodrigo Corral. The New York Times listed it as one of the best book covers of 2022, calling it "an image that signals the zones of [J Dilla's] many talents while nodding to the relationship between that talent and work ethic (and beats)," also noting the exclusion of Charnas' name from the cover. [8]
Dilla Time was released to widespread critical acclaim, debuting at number four on the The New York Times Hardcover Nonfiction Best Sellers list. [9]
Pitchfork called Dilla Time "easily the best rap book of the year," describing the book as "not only a love letter to Dilla, but also a riveting immersion into the music of Detroit and the art of beatmaking." [10] Rolling Stone listed the book as one of the best music books of 2022, describing it as "elegantly written and deeply sourced." [11] Writing for Spin , Liza Lentini praised the book, calling it "a portrait of a complex genius taken too young, as well as a glorious study of the music and culture he created." [7]
At the 2023 PEN Awards, Dilla Time won the PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography. [12]
On September 22, 2022, it was announced that Questlove would executive produce a feature documentary titled Dilla Time, adapted from the book. The film will be co-directed by Joseph Patel, who produced Summer of Soul with Questlove, and Darby Wheeler. [13] The film will be produced in cooperation with J Dilla's estate, with Dan Charnas also serving as producer. [13] [14] The film has been described as "part biography, part musicology, and part musical meditation, featuring insight from some of the most influential and innovative voices of modern music." [14]
The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, having served in the same role on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon from 2009 to 2014.
Ahmir K. Thompson, known professionally as Questlove, is an American musician, record producer, disc jockey, filmmaker, music journalist, and actor. He is the drummer and joint frontman for the hip hop band the Roots. The Roots have been serving as the in-house band for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon since 2014, after having fulfilled the same role on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Questlove is also one of the producers of the cast album of the Broadway musical Hamilton. He is the co-founder of the websites Okayplayer and OkayAfrica. He is also known for the podcast Questlove Supreme. Additionally, he is an adjunct professor at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University.
Okayplayer is an online hip-hop and alternative music website and community, described by Rolling Stone as a "tastemaker" and "an antidote to dull promotional Web sites used by most artists".
Donuts is the second studio album by the American hip hop producer J Dilla, released on February 7, 2006, by Stones Throw Records. It was released on the day of his 32nd birthday, three days before his death.
The Soulquarians were a rotating collective of experimental Black music artists active during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Members of the collective included singer and multi-instrumentalist D'Angelo, drummer and producer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, producer J Dilla, singer-songwriter Erykah Badu, trumpeter Roy Hargrove, keyboardist James Poyser, singer Bilal, bassist Pino Palladino, rapper-producers Q-Tip and Mos Def, and rappers Talib Kweli and Common. Prior to its formation, Q-Tip, Common, Mos Def, and Talib Kweli were members of the Native Tongues collective, while Q-Tip's original group A Tribe Called Quest served as another inspiration behind the Soulquarians.
Game Theory is the seventh studio album by American hip hop band the Roots, released August 29, 2006, on Def Jam Recordings. The group's first release for the label after leaving Geffen Records, the album was recorded by the Roots mostly using the Apple-developed software application GarageBand. A darker, grittier album with minimal emphasis on hooks in comparison to their previous work, Game Theory features a stripped-down sound similar to the work of Public Enemy, with lyrics that concern sociological themes and the late hip hop producer J Dilla.
Jason Daniel Rawls, better known by his stage name J. Rawls, is an American hip hop musician, producer, disc jockey (DJ), educator, and speaker born in Columbus, Ohio. He is best known for his work with Masta Ace, Mos Def and Talib Kweli. Because of his work with Black Star, a hip hop group composed of Mos Def and Talib Kweli, and their sole debut studio album, Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star, Dr. Rawls was soon placed on the map among independent hip-hop producers and became an independent hip-hop main-stay. The album became a huge success and was part of a major force in the late 1990s underground hip-hop explosion. Dr. Rawls has also worked with artists such as Dose One, Domo Genesis, Capital Steez, Beastie Boys, Slum Village, Diamond D, John Robinson, El Da Sensei, Sadat X, Count Bass D, Grand Agent, 9th Wonder, J-Live, Us3 and Moka Only.
"Feel Like Makin' Love" is a song composed by singer-songwriter and producer Eugene McDaniels, and recorded originally by soul singer-songwriter Roberta Flack. The song has been covered by R&B and jazz artists including Gladys Knight & the Pips, Lou Rawls, Isaac Hays, George Benson, Larry Coryell, Johnny Mathis, and Marlena Shaw.
Chalmers Edward "Spanky" Alford was an American gospel, jazz, and neo-soul guitarist. Alford was born in Philadelphia. He was well known for his playing style, utilizing chord embellishments. He had an illustrious career as a gospel quartet guitar player in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with groups such as the Mighty Clouds of Joy. His most notable contributions are to the D'Angelo album Voodoo, and his contributions to music from other popular artists including Tupac Shakur, Roy Hargrove, and The Roots.
"Left & Right" is the second single from neo soul musician D'Angelo's album Voodoo. The song features guest vocals by hip hop duo Method Man & Redman who also co-wrote the song. The music video was directed by Malik Sayeed.
"It's a Shame" is a song co-written by Stevie Wonder, Syreeta Wright and Lee Garrett and produced by Wonder as a single for the Spinners on Motown's V.I.P. Records label. The single became the Detroit-reared group's biggest single on the Motown Records company since they had signed with the company in 1964 and also their biggest hit in a decade.
Random Axe is the only studio album from the American hip hop group Random Axe, released June 14, 2011, on Duck Down Music Inc. The group was composed of hip hop producer Black Milk and rappers Guilty Simpson and the late Sean Price. The album was produced entirely by Black Milk and features guest contributions from Roc Marciano, Danny Brown, Fat Ray, Melanie Rutherford, Rock, Trick Trick, and Fatt Father.
Daniel Louis Charnas is an American author, radio host and record company executive. He is considered to have played a role in the creation of hip-hop journalism.
James Dewitt Yancey, better known by the stage names J Dilla and Jay Dee, was an American record producer, drummer, rapper, and songwriter. He emerged during the mid-1990s underground hip hop scene in Detroit, as a member of the group Slum Village. He was also a member of the Soulquarians, a musical collective active during the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Terry Wayne Jones Jr., primarily known by his stage name Pikahsso, is an American hip hop artist from Dallas, Texas.
Sunset Blvd. is the debut LP by Detroit-based hip hop duo Yancey Boys, released on October 29, 2013 by Yancey Media Group in conjunction with Delicious Vinyl and distributed through Traffic Entertainment Group. The record is built around a recently unearthed batch of music created by Illa J's late elder brother, James "J Dilla" Yancey. The album features the latter's past collaborators like De La Soul's Posdnuos, Slum Village's T3, Common, The Pharcyde's Slimkid3 and Talib Kweli. Additional guests on Sunset Blvd. include DJs Rhettmatic, C-Minus, and J. Rocc as well as rapper Guilty Simpson and R&B singer Eric Roberson.
Pet Sounds in the Key of Dee is a mashup album by United Kingdom-based record producer Bullion, released for free online download in 2007. It is a tribute to American rapper/producer J Dilla and the Beach Boys' 1966 album Pet Sounds. According to hip hop producer Questlove, Dilla had been a fan of the Pet Sounds album.
For other people with the same name, see Paul Stewart (disambiguation)
The following list is a discography of production by J Dilla, an American hip hop record producer and recording artist from Detroit, Michigan. It includes a list of songs produced, co-produced and remixed by year, artist, album and title.
Mood is a debut studio album by American jazz pianist Robert Glasper recorded together with Bob Hurst on bass and Damion Reid on drums. The record was released on November 16, 2004 by Fresh Sound New Talent.