This was awesome
Many music artists are in the game for the millions of dollars to be made; others are lured by the flashing lights of fame and adoration. However, every once in awhile we stumble across a unique breed of true artists who are in the game simply for the love of it. James "J.Dilla" Yancey didn’t crave fame and fortune, though his friends will be quick to tell you he definitely didn’t mind it. After all, this is the man who once said [on his track “Make Em NV” on Ruff Draft] “You can’t change me, cause I'ma be a nigga wit ice!” But despite his affinity for the conspicuous, he wasn’t purely driven by money. Dilla was a man of musical genius that simply wanted to share his gift with the world. So naturally, when he pa**ed away in 2006 of complications with Lupus, fans mourned not only the loss of a mentor, but someone who felt like a friend.
They say memories don’t live like people do, but the outcry of support, appreciation, and respect that we have for J. Dilla proves that adage to be wrong. Below are the favorite memories of Dilla’s friends and family that prove through his music, his legacy and the countless memories that we hold dear, Dilla is sure to keep shining.
“When I was six or seven years old we used to ad-lib songs. [Laughs] You know how singers do that Jennifer Hudson overboard singing? So we used to see who could go on the longest, just like ‘Mmmmm-oooooh-aaaaahh-uhhh-yaaaaah’ till you couldn’t go no more. [Laughs] I used to love that. I loved being around James…he would be in the studio a lot so sometimes I wouldn’t see him a lot, but in my family its more about how every time you see each other it should be like thanksgiving. It shouldn’t just be like that on certain holidays. You should appreciate every time you see someone…because you never know when you’ll see that person again.”
-- John ‘Illa J’ Yancey, Dilla’s younger brother and artist
“We had a show once, one of our first big shows, and Dilla waited til the last minute to make our show CD. So we were all at Dilla's house and I had to leave and go to the show and perform by myself for 45 minutes until Baatin [of Slum Village] showed up with the CD, [but there was still] no Dilla. Needless to say, even though he was late, the show CD was one of the best we've ever had and we still had a great show. Plus he made new beats just for the show that I had never even heard before. And that was the mad scientist in Dilla. You never knew what to expect, but you knew when he was done it was gonna be good and well worth the wait. That’s why I love James Yancey!”
--T3 (of Slum Village), artist and collaborator
“I used to see Jay at all the beats shops digging for records. We were kickin' it for a minute and he was telling me about his baby…I was like ‘Oh! Did you have a boy or girl?’ he laughed “No…” as he rolled up his sleeve and showed me his new iced out Rolex! I was like damn! At that time no one in Detroit was making it like that unless you were selling dope! Or in Jay’s case selling beats to the majors.”
-- Brian Gillespie, Detroit deejay and radio personality
“Right around the time me and D12 was going through some things- because it was hard for them to realize that I wanted to do other things than just be in the group- I started going to L.A. to work with Dr. Dre a lot more. Dre was like ‘I don’t wanna step on anybody’s toes,' and was like, ‘I don’t either, but I also don’t wanna miss out on the opportunity of working with you.' So I went by myself to L.A. and stayed at this fancy apartment Dre got for me and I was basically living there. The balcony of my apartment was bigger than everybody else’s so it extended out past the others. The only place my wireless internet had a good signal was out on the balcony…I was sitting there one time on the computer and I looked up at the other balconies above me and was thinking to myself ‘Damn, that would be f***ed up if someone dropped some ashes on me…’ Sure enough, someone dropped some ashes on my computer! I was like ‘What the f***’ …so I looked up, and started yelling. Then I was like ‘Wait…Dilla?’ He was up there with Common! I was like ‘What the f*** are you doing up there?’ he was like ‘What the f*** are you doing down there?’ [Laughs] So he came downstairs and [I was glad to have someone from home there] plus he’s like one of my mentors. So I’m out here with the biggest cat ever [Dr. Dre] and the other biggest cat ever [Dilla]. So then my goal was to introduce Dre to Dilla 'cause Dre was a fan of Dilla’s work but had never met him. I wanted Dilla to be a part of the Aftermath team. So it was me, Dilla, Focus, Dre, I think Scott Storch…it was some great dudes to be in a room together. I had both of my mentors in the same room…but I didn’t have a f***in' camera! [Laughs] But that’s one of my best memories of him- the things we shared that night. I can’t disclose everything we talked about because it had to do with a lot of people in the industry, but being in the same room with him and Dre was my best memory.”
-- Mr.Porter, producer and D12 member
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