Much has been written about the late great James Dewitt Yancey, better known to music fans as J Dilla. For many years, Dilla (formerly known as Jay Dee) was your favorite producer's favorite producer, working behind the scenes to craft the sounds of acts like A Tribe Called Quest, D'Angelo and Common. Dilla gained wider underground fame during his latter years, though he tragically died of rare blood disease TTP in 2006, continuing to produce beats from hospital bed until he was no longer physically able. Better late than never, Dilla's work was truly canonized after his death, and he has now become one of the most acclaimed and respected producers in hip-hop history. Originally taught how to use an MPC by Parliament Funkadelic drum-programmer Amp Fiddler, Dilla was known for his incredible attention to detail, his knack for flipping difficult samples, and his skill at programming drums without quantizing (electronically locking the drums into perfect time), bringing to prominence an off-kilter, more human sound that hadn't been heard in hip-hop drum loops.Quite a bit of material has been written on J Dilla over the past few years, and much homage has been paid to his influence on hip-hop production. Though it is undeniable that Dilla's sound has influenced a variety of younger producers who have incorporated elements of his style into their own unique methods of beatmaking, it is rare that these producers are looked at in-depth and together as part of a certain beatmaking tradition. When it comes down to it, this post-Dilla school of producers seems to be creating some of the most fresh and innovative instrumentals in hip-hop right now. Here is the first installment of an attempt to bring some of these talented musicians to light, artists who are creating dynamic work in the tradition of one of the greatest and most intriguing producers in hip-hop history.
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Waajeed
Waajeed is another Detroit-born producer who has recently been chopping up gems for artists like Finale, Invincible and his own group, Platinum Pied Pipers. Legend has it that Wajeed's first MPC was a model of J Dilla's that ?uestlove had somehow broken. Dilla apparently offered Waajeed the MPC, saying he could keep it if he could figure out how to fix it. Waajeed not only fixed it, but became extremely adept at using the thing, landing some of his beats on Slum Village's 2000 realease, Trinity (Past, Present, and Future) after Dilla left the group to pursue his solo career. Wajeed's style is undoubtedly rooted in the "Detroit boom-clack" sound that Dilla pioneered, though he has his own sound through which he filters this influence. Though his chopping of samples is sometimes slightly less off-kilter than what Dilla would have done, tracks like the one below, produced for Max Herre's self-titled album, exemplify his effective use of non-quantized, drunken drum loops of the Jay Dee ilk.
Waajeed - Epilog/Prolog (Purple Haze)
Exile
Though most know him from his work with rapper Blu on their critically acclaimed collaborative release Below the Heavens, Exile is a force in his own right. This man is a wizard on the pads, with a knack for live programming reminiscent of the stories of Dilla's own legendary ability to lay down bar after bar of non-quantized kicks and snares perfectly. Check some of his MPC work below:
Exile also has a knack for finding some of the sweetest, most obscure samples you've ever heard and flipping them to create powerful soundscapes. He brings out the best in every emcee he works with, whether it be the afformentioned Blu or up-and-comer Fashawn on his recent Exile-produced album Boy Meets World. Exile also released an album earlier this year called Radio, composed entirely of (you guessed it) beats made by sampling sounds from the radio. Check out a track from that below, complete with off-kilter chops galore:
Exile - The Sound Is God
14KT
The Dilla-infuenced producer who has come most recently to indie acclaim, 14KT hails from Ypsilanti, Michigan and takes definite direct influence from Dilla's sound, especially his complex soul-sampled opus, Donuts. One of the best and brightest of the Post-Dilla school, KT is extremely dextrous with soulful source material, interweaving lush loops and chops with interesting overdubs of vocal harmonies, beatboxing, and even snippets of answering machine messages. In addition, his dynamic drum work can snap from perfectly tight on one song to meticulously drunken on the next. His first LP, The Golden Hour, is undoubtedly one of the best instrumental hip-hop albums of the past year. Experience it for yourself below:
14 KT - Ypsilanti
The second installment is coming soon. Hollerate.
