Have a Donut

"I got her eating Donuts every February 10th" - Skyzoo & Illmind "#AllAboutThat"

On Feb. 10, 2006, hip-hop said goodbye to one of its finest producers in J. Dilla as he lost his fight with TTP (Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura). While Dilla has passed, his legacy has grown as hip-hop artists like the Roots, Busta Rhymes and Q-Tip have memorialized him on record. And hip-hop aficionados have come to realize what an immense talent Dilla truly was.

Dilla's production credits span almost 20 years and include such classics as De La Soul's "Stakes Is High," A Tribe Called Quest's "Find A Way," and Erykah Badu's Grammy-nominated single "Didn't Cha Know," not to mention his work as a member of Slum Village.

J. Dilla, a.k.a. Jay Dee, was a member of two influential production teams as he joined Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad to form The Ummah for Tribe's "Beats, Rhymes & Life" and "Love Movement" albums. Dilla was also part of the Soulquarians comprised of Talib Kweli, Common, Mos Def, James Poyser, Badu, Q-Tip, ?uestlove, D'Angelo and Bilal, whose sound can be clearly heard on Common's "Electric Circus" as well as Badu's "Mama's Gun" and D'Angelo's "Voodoo."

His sound reached all genre's of hip-hop, working with big name artists like Busta Rhymes, Mos Def and Ghostface Killah, as well as underground favorites MF Doom, Chino XL and Oh No. The list of artists reads like a who's-who of hip-hop that any producer would envy. Dilla also made a super-producer collaboration with Madlib, forming Jaylib and releasing "Champion Sound" in which each producer took turns rhyming over each other's beats. True genius as can be expected from Dilla.

Going through Dilla's catalog conjured up a lot of memories. His early work such as Pharcyde's "Runnin'" holds up as well today as it did when it came out in 1995. The work with Slum Village speaks for itself, as it stands as Detroit's version of the Native Tongues and helped launch Dilla's career (along with his work as part of the Ummah.)

But as too often the case, tragically Dilla's defining moment as a producer came with his solo opus "Donuts" which was released three days before his death. "Donuts" stood up on its own and has gone on to be memorialized by various hip-hop artists as they have paid tribute to Dilla's genius by rhyming over the beats he cooked up on his final release. It's just sad Dilla's not here to enjoy those recreations.

It's Feb. 10th, so find your favorite Dilla song and crank it up. And have a Donut.