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Bio From All Music Guide
Two more years went by before the group was heard from, but "Tainted" broke their silence in the summer of 2002 to become a growing hit on MTV2. The album that followed, Trinity (Past, Present and Future), boasted fewer guest appearances and a well-rounded combination of the first album's rough-and-tumble productions with the second album's soulful vibe. The record also featured Jay Dee in a reduced role, with new member Elzhi picking up the slack. Later that year, Slum Village released Dirty District, a compilation of Detroit MCs produced by T3 and compatriot RJ Rice. By the time recording began for their fourth proper album, Baatin was gone from the lineup, a victim of schizophrenia that briefly incapacitated him (he later mounted a solo career). T3 and Elzhi picked up the slack by inviting high-profile guests including Dirt McGirt and Kanye West, and Capitol released the results, Detroit Deli (A Taste of Detroit), in June 2004. A year later, Slum Village was off the label, making the move back to the independent Barak. The mixtape Prequel to A Classic announced the 2005 release of the duo's self-titled full-length. - Brian Musich
Jay Dee/J Dilla's Bio From All Music Guide
Born and raised on the east side of Detroit, Dilla — James Yancey — was forced by his parents to become involved with music, and he was a record fanatic at a young age, absorbing funk and rap singles and jazz albums, from Slave to Jack McDuff. He learned to play cello, keyboards, trumpet and violin, but drums got him like nothing else. He tried his hand at producing tracks on a tape deck by using the pause and record buttons, and he also took up MC'ing. In 1988, he formed Slum Village with Pershing High School friends Baatin and T3. It wasn't until 1992, after receiving some valuable guidance from fellow Detroiter Amp Fiddler, that his talent really began to take shape.
A session keyboardist who had worked with Prince, Parliament, and Enchantment, Fiddler taught Dilla how to use the MPC drum machine. To say that Dilla was a quick study would be an understatement. Fiddler introduced his protégé to A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip, who heard some of Slum Village's material, liked it, and helped get the word out. Following sessions with 1st Down (aka Phat Kat, another Detroiter), Little Indian, and alternative rocker Poe, Dilla's production career reached full flight. In 1996 alone, he worked with Busta Rhymes, De La Soul, and the Pharcyde, all the while playing a major role in the Ummah with Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad. (He did extensive work on Tribe's last two albums.) Before long, hardcore hip-hop fans began to know Dilla for his steady wobble, which was unfailingly musical and rich in details — shuffling high-hats, oddly-placed handclaps, spacious drum loops with drastically re-shaped samples of tracks both obscure and obvious.
Through the remainder of the '90s, Dilla quietly racked up more output, including a remix of Janet Jackson's "Got 'til It's Gone," additional tracks for the Pharcyde, and collaborative work with Q-Tip on all of 1999's Amplified. Largely upbeat and filled with boisterous energy and thick sounds, Amplified is one of many pieces of evidence against the argument that Dilla was about one sound and one style. During the producer's steady rise, Slum Village remained a priority; Fantastic, Vol. 2 and Best Kept Secret (credited to J-88, an SV pseudonym) were released within weeks of each other in 2000. However, the producer would only contribute a few tracks to the group from then on, as his schedule became increasingly tight. As a core member of the Soulquarians, with James Poyser and the Roots' Ahmir "?eustlove" Thompson, Dilla worked on Common's Like Water for Chocolate, D'Angelo's Voodoo, Erykah Badu's Mama's Gun, and Talib Kweli's Quality. Through 2005, he continued to work with past associates while dipping his toes further in R&B. A favor was returned on Fiddler's 2004-released Waltz of a Ghetto Fly, and a couple dynamite tracks — Steve Spacek's "Dollar" and longtime collaborator Dwele's "Keep On" — were released the following year.
Amazingly, from 2001 on, Dilla was also a prolific solo artist. A couple singles and the Welcome 2 Detroit album came out in 2001, and a number of low-key instrumental compilations and incidental 12" singles followed shortly thereafter. Rarely praised for his mike skills, he was often assisted by the likes of Phat Kat, Lacks and Frank-N-Dank. Wooed by a Madlib mixtape that featured the rhymes of Oxnard's finest over his own beats, Dilla forged an alliance with his admirer for 2003's Champion Sound, released under the name Jaylib. It was around this time that his health took a sharp decline. Lupus, a disease of the immune system, severely weakened his body. For over two years, he had to use a dialysis machine. Despite having to perform in a wheelchair, he was still able to tour in Europe during late 2005. Donuts, an album of instrumentals that had been completed during one of his extended hospital stays, was released on February 7th, his 32nd birthday. Three days later, while staying at his Los Angeles home with his mother, he passed away, a victim of kidney failure. While reflecting on the tremendous loss, close colleague and friend Thompson (an authority if there ever was one) compared the producer's level of genius to that of jazz giant Charlie Parker. - Andy Kellman
Official Sites: Slum Village
Jay Dee (A.K.A. J. Dilla) (James Yancey)
Baatin
T3
Elzhi
Slum Village - Detroit Deli: A Taste Of Detroit
J. Dilla - The Shining
Big Proof & Iron Fist Records Present Hand 2 Hand
Bishop Lamont & Black Milk - CALTROiT (Elzhi & T3 )
Bizarre - Attack Of The Weirdos (Jay Dee)
Black Milk - Sound Of The City
Common - Like Water For Chocolate
Dwele - Subject
Dwele - ...Sketches Of A Man
Guru - Jazzmatazz Vol. 4: The Hip Hop Jazz Messenger: Back To The Future
Hi-Tek - Hi-Technology²: The Chip (J. Dilla)
Talib Kweli - Kweli-Confidential (Jay Dee)
Ol' Dirty Bastard - In Loving Memory Of Russell Jones
Proof - Searching For Jerry Garcia (T3)
Calvin Richardson - 2:35 PM
Pete Rock - Soul Survivor II
Think Differently Music Presents: Now That's What I Call Hip-Hop! 1 (T3)
Truly OdD - West West...Get Your Bars Up (Jay Dee)
Kanye West - The Lost Tapes
Rising from the rugged streets and rich musical tapestry of Detroit, MI, Slum Village is poised to carry on the old-school, funk, and soul-filled hip-hop torch of genre pioneers A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, and the Pharcyde. Growing up in the Conant Garden neighborhood of Detroit and forming together during their high school days at Detroit's Pershing High School, MCs Baatin, Jay Dee, and T3 quickly garnered praise and recognition in the local underground scene. In the mid-'90s, Jay Dee became part of the hip-hop elite as a member of the Ummah, the production team responsible for multiple hits by Q-Tip, A Tribe Called Quest, D'Angelo, the Pharcyde, De La Soul, and Common, as well as remixes for Janet Jackson and Brand New Heavies. In 1998, Slum Village gained further recognition as an opening act for A Tribe Called Quest's farewell tour. Two years later, after some record-industry politics, the group released Fantastic, Vol. 2, an album featuring appearances from D'Angelo, Q-Tip and DJ Jazzy Jeff. For fans with an ear to the underground and a few questions concerning the whereabouts of Fantastic, Vol. 1, the trio assumed an alias (J-88) to release Best Kept Secret.
Frequently and rightly placed in the same context as DJ Premier, Pete Rock, and Kanye West, Jay Dee built and sustained a high standing as a producer's producer while maintaining a low profile. When Pharrell Williams appeared on BET's 106 & Park in 2004, he excitedly declared that Jay Dee was his favorite producer and told an audibly stumped crowd that it had probably never heard of the man. At the time, Jay Dee had been active for well over a decade and had netted enough beats — including the Pharcyde's "Runnin'," De La Soul's "Stakes Is High," Common's "The Light," and several others with production teams the Ummah and the Soulquarians — to be considered an all-time great. Alternately known as J. Dilla, or just Dilla, he never produced a mainstream smash and, in many cases, his presence has to be confirmed with a liner notes scan. (And even then, that might not help; he occasionally went uncredited.) He never marked his territory like Just Blaze ("Just Blaze!") or Jazze Pha ("This is a Jazze Phizzle produc-shizzle!"), and he never hogged the mike like P. Diddy. He let his music, and its followers, do the talking. Rather than provide immediate (or fleeting) thrills, he was hooked on working the subconscious as much as the neck muscles. He was so focused on his work that it took a severe toll on his health.
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