Jay Stay Paid by Jay Dee aka J Dilla
LABEL: Nature Sounds / INgrooves
 
"...the unexpected stylistic collusions here may finally garner Yancey some grudging respect from listeners outside of the hip-hop community."

Some three years after his tragically premature death from lupus, alternative hip-hop producer J Dilla (also known by the sobriquet of Jay Dee) is already grouped by some in the Eno/Wilson/Spector/Martin pantheon. The son of a classically-trained opera singer and a jazz bassist, the prodigious Dilla (nee James Yancey) had already developed an understanding of basic music theory by the time he was two.

Developing his reputation with De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest in the nineties, he went on to become a founding member of the Soulquarians, a loose collective of alt-rappers (Common, Mos Def, Talib Kweli) and neo-soulsters (Erykah Badu, D’Angelo) that laid the musical and social foundations for the post-gangster era. When the utilitarian, interchangeable progeny of the G-funk era and the sparse productions of RZA were still the rage, Dilla’s densely protean backdrops sampled everything from beyond-obscure Midwestern blue eyed soul records circa 1965 to the Star Trek II soundtrack. Like Arthur Russell before him, he was unabashedly eclectic before that stance was a prerequisite for success in the pop arena.

Mixed by the legendary Pete Rock, a New York jazz/hip-hop producer who was a formative influence on Dilla, Jay Stay Paid is much more than another slipshod posthumous Tupac release. Featuring raps from Wu Tang’s Raekwon and Lil’ Fame from M.O.P.—reputedly among the producer’s favorite MCs, even if their militantly agitprop stance clashed with his amiable personality – the mostly instrumental collection of unfinished “beats” (i.e. rhythm tracks) is a good primer for those unfamiliar with his work and a poignant signpost to what could have been.

“Milk Money”, the syncopated acid house of “Lazer Gunne Funk”, and “Expensive Whip” find him integrating clangorous synthesizers into his arsenal, a new approach that integrates itself into something altogether unexpected on the electro-gospel “Dilla Bot vs. The Hybrid”.  Meanwhile, the heavily arpeggiated chords of “Mythsysizer” and “In the Night/While You Sleep” suggest a growing affinity for classical music, unsurprising considering his mother’s vocation. The arguable highlight is “Make It Fast”, an ironically-titled blues excursion that finds Dilla also dabbling in dub production techniques for over five minutes. While there is plenty of chopped-up soul and funk to appease his longtime fans, the unexpected stylistic collusions here may finally garner Yancey some grudging respect from listeners outside of the hip-hop community.

REVIEWED BY SEAN MURPHY
SEAN'S FAVORITE TRACKS: "Make It Fast" •  "Dilla Bot vs. The Hybrid" • "Lazer Gunne Funk"
Read more by Sean Murphy on his blog, Brooklyn Music



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