Over the last few years, I’ve grown to appreciate February more and more, for multiple reasons.
There’s that feeling of finally settling into the new year, and the nice balance of
rain and sunshine, at least where I live.
Yet when it comes down to it, February is a month of celebration.
What is it I’m celebrating?
None other than my favorite DJs and hip-hop producers of all time.
James Dewitt Yancey, known as Jay Dee or J Dilla, and Jun Seba, or the anagram, Nujabes.
Or is it New-Juh-Bes?
Everyone says it differently.
Now here is some interesting facts.
J Dilla, a native to Detroit, and Nujabes, from Japan, share the same exact birthday,
February 7th, 1974.
Forty-three years ago, two globally separated but universally united and eventually compared
DJs were born.
I’ll never forget how I stumbled upon both of these artists.
I remember discovering J Dilla while browsing hip-hop albums on iTunes in 2006.
Wow, not only do I rarely do that these days but that was 11 years ago!
The album, Donuts, had just released on his birthday, and all of the sudden, not three
days after, I found out he passed away.
I’ll get back to this soon.
Now, my earliest memory of Nujabes came from one of two ways.
Starting with either the incredible anime, Samurai Champloo, or listening to Pandora
and hearing his song Feather off the Modal Soul album.
On February 26, 2010, he had passed away.
So not only do these two share the exact same birthday, but they both died in February,
only four years and 16 days apart from one another.
To this day I can barely comprehend the chances of this happening in such a way.
Hip-hop lost two of its greatest talents too soon.
When I first realized all of this happened, I was devastated, as they both had such a
profound effect on my life.
Known as “your favorite producer’s favorite producer,” J Dilla made music for Slum Village,
Questlove, Mos Def, Busta Rhymes, Erykah Badu, A Tribe Called Quest.
And the list goes on and on and on.
There is something special about Donuts, not just the tasty treat, but the album.
It’s 31 short instrumental tracks that’ll take you to another world and back, among
many reasons why fans say J Dilla changed their life.
Ah, here’s a throwback of me.
He recorded it while suffering from a rare blood disease, and through careful analysis
of the tracks, one might sense he seemed ready to pass on.
A lot of the titles and samples hint at his willing to accept death, and pass the torch
to younger brother John Derek Yancey, or Illa J.
While different from Nujabes in having more heavy hitting tracks at times, they’re both
known for uniqueness in style.
Nujabes brought this signature flavor to Samurai Champloo, an anime crossover of hip-hop and
samurais.
An awesome idea from the director of Cowboy Bebop.
The opening theme Battlecry, and songs like Feather from his second album Modal Soul,
exemplify a jazz influenced, atmospheric sound like no other.
There’s so much emotion infused in each track, with nostalgic melodies and smooth
lyricists flowing across many of these classics.
While J Dilla’s health concerns were known throughout much of the hip-hop community,
Nujabes passed away after being involved in a traffic accident on the Shuto Expressway.
It took some time until I eventually found out, since it was so unforeseen, but it feels
like just yesterday.
It’s a great joy to keep their legacies alive by listening to their music.
Do yourself a favor and discover it for the first time, grab a donut at Dilla’s Delights,
or watch Samurai Champloo.
J Dilla and Nujabes are legendary musicians who will be remembered for their entrancing
influence, and may they forever rest in beats.
And that’s why these artists, are a Dilla-gent Pick.
So what are your favorite tracks from J Dilla or Nujabes, are there any artists you like
to celebrate too?
My name is Dylan, and if you love entertainment, subscribe to my channel while this video ends
and send me a thumbs up before you go.
Thanks for watching, and stay diligent!