J Dilla - Donuts

February 7th, 2006 saw the release of Donuts, J Dilla's magnum opus. February 10th, 2006, just three days later, J Dilla was dead. He was barely 32. Hip-Hop lost one of its most promising young talents. Dilla had a rare blood disease called TTP that has a low survival rate. What he left was an excellent body of finished and unfinished work. Donuts, a sprawling 31 track record, is probably the best instrumental hip-hop album since Endtroducing..... And like DJ Shadow's masterpiece, Donuts redefined the standards of hip-hop music production. All of his released and unreleased material is constantly taken by rappers, DJs and other producers. Check out Dilla's posthumous appearance on "Lightworks" from (MF) DOOM's most recent release Born Like This. This is one of the two covers of Donuts.



Donuts is a collection of well formed beats and samples, compiled at Dilla's creative peak during his worst physical state. Dilla assembled a moody album full of longing, nostalgic and fearful tracks. Comprised of varied eclectic textures and moods, the samples are pulled heavily from the harmonies of old motown and the cheesy tv soundtracks of the 70s. The songs are really just, brief, flowing ideas, like snapshots of inspiration. Only one song passes the two minute mark. Here is the other cover.



His already large underground following became even more extensive after he died. This is a real gem for everyone who loves instrumental or even cinematic hip-hop production. Here are a few more pictures.

FFO: Madlib, Flying Lotus? old school hip-hop, innovative production.
Here is a link to this thumping honey dipped soul music.

Recommended tracks: "The New," "The Diff'rence," "Gobstopper" and "Walkinonit"

J Dilla - Donuts - Try it
J Dilla - Donuts - Buy it
J Dilla Official MySpace