Happy Birthday: James "J-Dilla" Yancey

Happy Birthday to Detroit native James "J-Dilla" Yancey (February 7, 1974 – February 10, 2006), the producer, rapper, and DJ, who most would agree, had the greatest hands to touch an Akai MPC. Many of us who are familiar with him already know his legacy. Being one of the most influential in Hip-Hop history, that same legacy will have Dilla enshrined in the Smithsonian as part of the collection at the National Museum of African American History & Culture. Dilla’s custom-made Mini Moog Voyager synthesizer and Akai MPC 3000 Limited Edition have been donated to the museum by his mother, Maureen Yancey. They will be part of the “Musical Crossroads” exhibit when the museum opens in 2016.

The following is a rare interview of J-Dilla and Dank of Frank n' Dank minutes after they touched down in Finland. Dilla gave a rundown of upcoming projects and shouts out to people who were a part of those projects. A little humor was tossed in between.


Some of you may have heard about the massive DJ set J-Dilla did with Dank on the mic in Malmoe, Sweden at the Inkonst arts center. If you haven't, here's the full set for you to enjoy.

J-Dilla + Dank Live at Inkonst, Jan. 25, 2003 by Djkoolemdee on Mixcloud

Friday Flashback: Platinum Pied Pipers: Your Day Is Done

The year was 2005 when Detroit based Hip-Hop and Soul producers Platinum Pied Pipers [consisting of Wajeed and Saadiq] released their highly praised debut album titled Triple P. Other than very solid production in classic Detroit fashion, the album glowed even brighter with vocal performances from indie acts Jay Dee/J-Dilla, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Tiombe Lockhart, Steve Spacek, Ta'Raach, Sa-Ra Creative Partners, and more.

Last Day To Qualify for DERRICK MAY tickets! [HOUSTON]

Sending you all the final reminder that today is the last day to qualify to win tickets to see House/Techno pioneer Derrick May for his Houston show on Friday, February 13th. For more details, go here. Good Luck!

Pete Rock: Dilla Tribute 2014

The legendary Pete Rock, one of Hip-Hop's most prolific producers has paid homage again to late producer J-Dilla by mixing up tunes from the latter's body of work on Sirius XM's Backspin station a few months ago.

J-Dilla x Biggie: (Cold Steel) Shot Ya [DJ Kool Emdee Edit]

By being a huge fan of J-Dilla's work and respecting Biggie as a lyricist, I decided to take my own spin on the two to put together this blend. Hope you enjoy!

Phife Dawg: Dear Dilla

"Dear Dilla" is the first single taken from Phife Dawg's (of A Tribe Called Quest) forthcoming MUTTYmorPHosis album that's due out real soon. The track is produced by DJ Rasta Root, who also mans the decks for scratches.

The Digitarians: Meet Me In The Snow

While I was visiting Amp Fiddler's Bandcamp page, there's another interesting project called The Digitarians that's part of the discography and they have a futuristic sounding track titled "Meet Me In The Snow". I don't have any information on this project at this time, but as usual, i'll have more details as things develop. Enjoy!

Amp Fiddler: Basementality 2

After 12 years, Amp Fiddler drops the sequel Basementality 2 today via Bandcamp. My favorite already is his uptempo track "More Than", which has to be on the "save the best for last" mantra, having this as the final track on the album. For those who don't know who this guy is, this is THE MAN responsible for introducing J-Dilla to the MPC. Amp has also played with George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic, bringing his soulful, funky style of keys to the collective. The starting price is definitely a steal. Be sure to show love and cop this.

Friday Flashback: Martha Reeves

We're going to take you back to 1974 to the self-titled first solo LP of Martha Reeves, who was the lead vocalist for Martha Reeves & The Vandellas off the Motown label. Martha Reeves was produced by Richard Perry [Planet Records] and reportedly cost $250,000 to make. The album failed to produce commercial success.

My favorite cut is "Sweet Misery", which was penned by Hoyt Axton and was also covered by John Denver. For all my J-Dilla fans, this version was sampled by the Detroit Hip-Hop pioneer for his "Thunder" tune off Donuts.

J-Dilla: Sum Spooky Sh*t

For those that caught my Dilla Jackson mixtape, I used this beat from J-Dilla's Beat Tape '05 to remix the end dialog by Vincent Price from Michael Jackson's "Thriller". This beat was also used for Q-Tip's "Fever" song.

Zo! ft. Gwen Bunn & Phonte' - Count To Five [Official Music Video]

Zo! of The Foreign Exchange has continued to warm our hearts well after previously releasing the critically acclaimed Sunstorm LP in 2010. ManMade, the sophomore release is out now and is another album you can listen to from start to finish. Of course, any +FE release wouldn't be complete without residents Phonte' and Sy Smith lending their unique stylings. Also on board for this project are Eric Roberson, Choklate, 1-O.A.K., Jeanne Jolly, Carlitta Durand, Anthony David, Carmen Rodgers, and lastly, Gwen Bunn who is featured on "Count To Five", the official music video that's being highlighted in this post. I love the way they pay homage to the Sesame Street franchise.

Zo! will be appearing live in Houston again on August 18th. You can purchase the new CD and get a free mp3 download of the album via +FE Music.

Madlib x Freddie Gibbs ft. Karriem Riggins - City

Collaborating for their current project under the moniker of MadGibb, Madlib and Freddie Gibbs are rapping it up and set to release their Piñata album due for October of this year. Already long awaited by fans, a preview of what's to come is with a track called "City" that features Karriem Riggins trading off a verse with Gibbs. "City" was released two days ago as a free download, part of the Adult Swim summer singles program. While you're patiently awaiting the arrival of Piñata, check the [AS] website each week for more free releases.

Shigeto: Ringleader

In our last post on Shigeto, we covered his amazing Lineage album that took fans by storm. He's releasing No Better Time Than Now on August 19th/20th on Ghostly International, that will blow your mind again and keep you on your toes with its diversity. First up, he released a sneak preview of "Detroit Pt.1" three days ago and a day later hits us with his Samba influenced "Ringleader" track that brought a huge smile to my face. There's the play button below. Click it to see why I have this smile.

Friday Flashback: The Spinners

For this episode of Friday Flashback, we take you back to the classic sounds of one of my all-time favorite singing groups, The Spinners [also known as The Detroit Spinners]. After a stint with both Tri-Phi Records and Motown, The Spinners would later sign to Atlantic Records at the suggestion of Aretha Franklin. Having not scored Top 10 hits with the previous labels, The Spinners began working with Philadelphia based producer and songwriter Thom Bell. Under the helm of Bell, The Spinners charted five top 100 singles (two of them top tens) from their first post-Motown album, Spinners (1972). "I'll Be Around", their first top ten hit and first million-selling record, was actually the B-side of their first Atlantic single, "How Could I Let You Get Away". "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love", "One of a Kind (Love Affair)" and "Ghetto Child" made their reputation concrete as one of the well respected vocal groups of the 1970's, along with Bell as a producer and songwriter.


Bobby Smith
(April 10, 1936 – March 16, 2013)
Unfortunately, in the last few days, The Spinners lost their long time lead vocalist Bobby Smith, who fronted the majority of their music. On March 16th, he lost his battle with cancer while residing in Orlando, Florida. He will be laid to rest in his native Detroit, Michigan. I, personally am going to miss his smooth vocals. May he rest in peace!

NPR Music: Why J Dilla May Be Jazz's Latest Great Innovator [Article]

I came across this interesting article on the NPR Music site and decided to post it here on the blog because I feel it's a great read that fits perfectly into the Dilla Day weekend. Read and enjoy!

Why J Dilla May Be Jazz's Latest Great Innovator
by Giovanni Russonello
February 07, 2013

Visionary hip-hop producer J Dilla never found mainstream success during his brief lifetime. But in the seven years since his death, Dilla — who would have turned 39 today — has come to represent a major inflection point on hip-hop's evolutionary tree. At his peak in the late 1990s and early 2000s, he suggested syntheses that hadn't seemed possible. He played fresh games with texture and tone. He recast the sample as a malleable component, rather than the monochromatic backbone it had seemed to be. And he injected a softened, swaggering humanity into the rigid slap of classic hip-hop drumbeats. READ MORE...

Friday Flashback: Bob Marley + J-Dilla

This tune from Bob Marley is a bonus tune from the remastered version of Catch A Fire that was re-issued in 2001.

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Since we lost Donald Byrd early in the week, I thought it would be a great idea to do a double shot, of sorts, of two icons representing Detroit including Byrd and the late J-Dilla. Dilla paid homage to Byrd on his Welcome To Detroit (2001) album by recreating his classic "Think Twice" tune that features the vocals of Dwele, who's also a Detroit native.

Farewell: Donald Byrd

DONALD BYRD
(December 9, 1932 – February 4, 2013)
Here we are again at the point of morning the passing of another great in the world of music. This past Monday we lost Donald Byrd, born Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II, one of my all-time favorite trumpeters. Byrd was the only bebop Jazz musician who successfully pioneered the funk and soul genres while simultaneously remaining a Jazz artist. Starting out in Jazz as a sideman to the likes of Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Thelonius Monk and many others, as a band leader starting in the 1960's, Byrd scored Black Byrd in 1973, Blue Note's best selling record which helped usher in the era of Jazz-Funk fusion with the help of the Mizell Brothers [Larry & Fonce]. His other notable fusion albums include Street Lady (1973), Stepping into Tomorrow (1974), Places and Spaces (1975) and Caricatures (1976).

Byrd is responsible for helping Herbie Hancock gain notoriety as an artist by suggesting he play for Miles Davis' quintet and introducing him to Mongo Santamaria who helped turn Hancock's "Watermelon Man" into a chart topping hit. As a professor, he taught at Rutgers University, the Hampton Institute, New York University, Queens College, Oberlin College, Cornell University, North Carolina Central University, Delaware State University and Howard University. While teaching at Howard in 1973, he helped establish and co-produce the fusion group The Blackbyrds, consisting of the best musicians from his music classes. They managed to score major hits with "Walking In Rhythm", "Rock Creek Park" and "Happy Music".

Happy Birthday: J-Dilla

Another cycle has come for the date of birth of one of the greatest Hip-Hop and Soul producers of all time, the legendary James Dewitt Yancey a.k.a. "J-Dilla/Jay Dee" of Detroit. In case you hadn't grabbed it before, here's the Dilla Jackson Mixtape I co-produced in 2009 in tribute. Listen and download below.

Tall Black Guy: Shake It Baby

From time to time I make it a point to give back to the community in various ways, especially through music. This past Friday I took the time for more children and families in a low income neighborhood to provide tunes for a fall festival that a local organization threw for them. Since many communities like this are more into mainstream and "booty music", I set up and show them there are alternatives to what they consider "the norm" by playing music they are more than likely not familiar with, but still showing them that other music outside of what they listen to regularly or exposed to can still sound good. This time around, I played about 10 to 15 Tall Black Guy cuts in a row, and for every song I played, a few people would come up and ask who it was. Seriously, there were even 60 and 70 year old men and women nodding their heads to his music. So today, The Record Realm is proud to feature another smash from the beat surgeon titled "Shake It Baby". ENJOY!

Happy Birthday: Alice Coltrane

A great lady of music was born in Detroit, Michigan by the name of Alice Coltrane (August 27, 1937 – January 12, 2007). Alice was the wife of Jazz giant John Coltrane, who replaced McCoy Tyner on piano in Coltrane's group after they were married. She was also one of the few harpists in Jazz music that formed her own Jazz groups and kept performing after John's passing. Alice is the mother of saxophonist Ravi Coltrane and the aunt of Hip-Hop producer Flying Lotus.