Rebirth of Detroit

by J Dilla

There is a real law of diminishing returns in action with posthumous musical releases.  Basically, the best stuff either came out while the artist was still alive, or was in the pipeline at the time of his death.  Once you move a few years down the road, people trying to keep an artist's legacy alive are left searching long-forgotten thumb drives for beats the artist dashed off in an afternoon, and then abandoned for a reason.

There are some great tracks on Rebirth of Detroit, the latest in a long line of posthumous Dilla releases, but they are few and far between.  For the most part, this album features a lot of lesser-known Detroit rappers spitting over Dilla's C-game.

I appreciate the effort made by Ma Dukes and whoever worked on this with her (although there has been some controversy about how the album really got made) to include the next generation of Detroit MCs, but not everyone on here deserves a Dilla track, even if its not his best.  We also get a lot of tracks featuring the usual Detroit artists, like Phat Kat, Guilty Simpson, Fat Ray, Frank Nitt, and of course, Illa J.  It would have been nice to see some of Dilla's other friends, like Common or Madlib grace a track or two.

Because I want to spend my time being positive, let's look at the brightest notes here.  There are two tracks which feature the musician Allan Barnes, from the Blackbyrds.  These are easily the best on the album - on 'Requiem', he's playing a wind instrument over a nice mellow Dilla beat, and on 'The Best That Ever Did It', which features the rapper Jon C., he plays his sax.  That track uses a beat Dilla released before (I want to say it's on Jay Love Japan, but I could be wrong), but it sounds amazing with the saxophone added on.

I also really like the track 'Let's Pray Together' with Amp Fiddler.  There are some decent bangers elsewhere on this disc, but I think I'll stick to playing Donuts and Ruff Draft if I need my Dilla fix.

Timeless: Suite For Ma Dukes

arranged by Miguel Atwood-Ferguson

Alright, so I love Dilla, but somehow this project escaped me.  I got the first, four-track EP that Miguel Atwood-Ferguson put together with Carlos Nino, also called Suite For Ma Dukes, and thought it was lovely, and I knew that this concert had been held back in 2009, but the fact that this cd/dvd combo had been released never penetrated my consciousness until just recently. 

What we have here are fifteen tracks of a 60-piece orchestra playing some of Dilla's greatest songs, as arranged by Miguel Atwood-Ferguson.  Most of the pieces are composed of just the instrumentals, although later on the orchestra is joined by Dwele on 'Angel', and by Psdnuos and Talib Kweli on 'Stakes is High'.  A whole ton of people participate in 'Fall in Love', including Bilal, Illa J (Dilla's brother), Karriem Riggins, and Ma Dukes herself.

This is an absolutely beautiful cd.  Somehow, the act of having Dilla's wonderful beats played by so many people brings them a new intimacy, as they speak directly to the soul.

Were there just the cd in this package, I would have been happy with the purchase, but included in the pack is a DVD of the concert, shot in black and white.  It helps make it easy to appreciate the music and the power of Dilla's legacy.  This is an incredible project.

Jay Stay Paid

by J Dilla

I've never been a big fan of projects made up of posthumous work of an artist, especially when those projects were conceived after the artist's death. They too often lack heart, and feel more like a cash-grab than anything else.

This project is different though, and I think that is completely due to the fact that Pete Rock is billed as 'Music Supervisor'. He manages to make sure that the 28 tracks here coordinate with each other, and that they bring honor to Dilla's legacy.

There are a variety of things to be found on this album. Some tracks are brand new Dilla instrumentals, while others feature more familiar Dilla beats, with new vocals laid down by a variety of artists. We get to hear from people who were often associated with Dilla, like Phat Kat, Frank Nitty, and Illa J (although that's a bit of a posthumous association still), but also from artist that we only wish Dilla had had more chances to work with, like Havoc, (MF) Doom, Black Thought, and Raekwon. I'd say the Doom and Black Thought tracks are worth the purchase of this disk alone.

I hope there aren't too many more Dilla projects in the pipe. As much as I respect the man, and miss his music, too much output now will simply water down his memory. This album is a fitting memorial, and works nicely as Dilla's final word.

Yancey Boys

by Illa J

Hip-hop has often been the home to blatant nepotism. Big rappers always have to help their boys get a record deal - whether they can sing or not. There's always a protege or a crew waiting in the wings, and their releases always get a little radio play, even if it is just the single with the Big Name featured on it.

Illa J is no Memphis Bleek. He's not a Braveheart, doesn't Disturb tha Peace, nor roll with G-Unit. He may be the little brother of J Dilla, the god of hip-hop production, but he is also an artist in his own right. I think the fact that Dilla only blessed him with beats posthumously is proof that he does not fall into the Killa Bees category. This is not so much a case of nepotism as it is the debut of a new artist, who happened to be lucky to get his hands on some unused Dilla gems, and do his own thing over them.

If I were to compare Illa J to another artist, I think it would be Phonte. Like Tay, Illa J (how do you shorten that - J? Illa?) raps, but also sings his hooks. His singing is often nicer than his rhymes, which are occassionally weak-sounding. Really, I didn't love Dilla's rhymes a lot of the time either - he was only ever a mid-level rapper.

The material here is nice. The album plays with some fairly standard themes - there are love songs, and songs about family. In the first track, Illa J makes it clear that it's time to try something new, and it's implied that he is talking about his entry into the music industry. There are some songs better left off the album - 'Swagger' has nothing to say really - but for the most part, he sounds great over some laid-back, sample-less Dilla beats, reminiscent of some of his earlier, head-nodding work.

The album contains a strong guest shot from Guilty Simpson, and a couple of very annoying skits. I know I wouldn't have bought this album were it not for the Dilla production (which actually proves the nepotism factor can be profitable), but I would definitely check out any subsequent releases from Illa J.