Dilla Time: The Life and Afterlife of J Dilla, the Hip-Hop Producer Who Reinvented Rhythm

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An exhaustive new book released on February 1st, Dilla Time: The Life and Afterlife of J Dilla, the Hip-Hop Producer Who Reinvented Rhythm by Dan Charnas, seeks to correct that course and tell the essential, unabridged tale in all it’s revolutionary rhythmic glory. Schwartz, Daniel (24 August 2017). "A Professor's Journey to Discover the Greatness of J Dilla With His Students". Complex . Retrieved 9 March 2023.

Equal parts biography, musicology, and cultural history, Dilla Time chronicles the life and legacy of J Dilla, a musical genius who transformed the sound of popular music for the twenty-first century. An ambitious, dynamic biography of J Dilla, who may be the most influential hip-hop artist known by the least number of people. . . A wide-ranging biography that fully captures the subject’s ingenuity, originality, and musical genius.” Of all the music he had been working on since meeting Q-Tip, these were the first to hit the market, and the most auspicious. “Runnin’” became the lead-off single and video from the album, reaching No. 5 on the Billboard rap chart. As a father/romantic-partner/brother/son/responsible human being, Dilla left much to be desired, and left a legion of pain in his passing. It's important to memorialize those elements of people as well because it's real. We live in the real world. It is what it is. However, the respect that Dan Charnas gave all these narratives was commendable. It never felt like a side was taken, and I respect that so much. He even eviscerated the toxic fan culture around J Dilla, the beat-loving culture vulture bros that ruin things with their "J Dilla Saved My Life" T-Shirts when "they don't know who Slum Village is". I'm not a purist, and I don't know it all. However, if I had a dollar for every time I've rolled my eyes as some dude tried to explain Dilla to me, I'd have a lot of money. I'm glad that he pointed out the toxic bro culture, BIG daps to Charnie for that! That was awesome. Q-Tip wanted everyone in a room, working together as partners. Ali Shaheed Muhammad wanted to support Q-Tip’s vision and liked James’s beats, but he suspected it was going to be awkward—he, Tip, and James sharing one drum machine. He and Q-Tip took their time making music, methodically going through records and experimenting with different ways to chop samples. They were deliberative, meticulous, collaborative.By no means is Dilla Time an easy read. There are nightmarish tales of his rugged bout with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and lupus, detailing excruciating hospital experiences, a possible misdiagnosis, and Dilla’s own fears foreshadowing his eventual demise. After his death, the author confronts some painful realities with regard to the estate, leftover tax debt, and in-fighting between the heirs, some folks talking out of turn, plus lawyers, lengthy lawsuits, lost albums, and all the bullsh*t that has dogged Dilla’s legacy since he passed away in February 2006. As an associate professor at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University, Charnas taught a course called "Topics in Recorded Music: J Dilla" that discussed J Dilla's musical techniques and influence. [5] [6] He began work researching and reporting for the book in 2017. [7] Charnas interviewed over 200 friends, family members, and collaborators of J Dilla throughout the research process. [5] Tre was disabused of this notion a few weeks later when James Dewitt Yancey, just off a plane from Detroit, showed up at their sublet—dressed fresh and clean in a blue-and-white Kangol beanie, extending a handshake and a smile.

While you may use the same brain regions to hear all music, what I meant was that harmony lends itself to interpretation better. There is much more you can analyze with harmony. For example, the final chord of “Javert’s Suicide” from Les Miserables is D-Eb-Ab-C-D. Is it an Ab major triad with D in the bass? Is it a D half diminished seventh chord missing the third with an added ninth? Is it better analyzed as a tone cluster than as an actual chord with harmonic function? The previous chord is an A major triad, so it could easily be analyzed as an incomplete tritone substitution (Instead of A7-Ab, like a normal tritone substitution, the 7th is missing from the A chord and the bass still resolves to the expected D whereas the tritone substitute is played on top of that).

Dilla Time

Exceptional… Charnas has done well to untangle the ever-evolving skein of art and money and family and friends [Dilla’s] legend encompasses … A rich read… Deeply and vividly reported’– Robert Christgau, Observer The greatest hip-hop producer of all time is getting the love and care his legacy deserves. Dilla Time is a master class’ – Dream Hampton Dorfman, Matt (9 December 2022). "The Best Book Covers of 2022". The New York Times . Retrieved 5 March 2023. I look at J Dilla as a man who redefined the word ‘innovative’. This book makes you feel like you traveled his journey every single step’ – DJ Premier