Crib Notes

Of all the things happening this Saturday, Oct. 24 on Dilla Day in Atlanta — including a performance by the deceased hip-hop producer’s brother Illa J that night; a Lupus Walk that morning to support further research into the disease Dilla battled in life; and Dilla’s Dream Camp from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., which will offer MPC production lessons to participants 16-and-under — the most significant event could be the one that takes place at 7 p.m. at the Atlanta Bench (602A Marietta St. 404-512-7671).

That’s when Amond Jackson (co-host, 89.3’s “Beatz & Lyrics Show” w/Jayforce) and taj anwar (hip-hop activist) will hold a name blessing ceremony for their months-old baby boy, Dilla Premier Wonder Jackson.

Named for his parents’ most beloved hip-hop producers (J Dilla, DJ Premier, 9th Wonder), their son has already graced the cover of Creative Loafing (his dad’s holding him up on the Aug. 8 issue) and made a feature appearance in Stahhr’s recent “Still Dope” video.

Not even a year yet, and already the kid’s doin’ it big.

UPDATE: Before posting, I emailed taj anwar to get the story behind her son Dilla’s name. Here it is, in her words:

I chose to name my son Dilla because of my love and respect for JDilla as a person. If my marriage to Amond was a movie- then JDilla’s music is the soundtrack. Our son is a symbol of that.

I met JDilla in 2004. I was a really big fan so when I had the opportunity to meet him- I was amped to say the least. I was introduced to him, and our first conversation went like this- (more…)

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Since his untimely death three years ago at age 32, venerated Detroit beatmaker J Dilla, née James Dewitt Yancey, has been deified like no one in underground hip-hop’s history, inspiring scores of musical tributes, a run on his unreleased tracks, and a flood of praise from artists he collaborated with including Common, the Roots and A Tribe Called Quest. “He wasn’t just a producer,” Busta Rhymes famously said a couple of years ago, “he was the best producer.”

Noted for a range that led him to craft both a Grammy-winning hit for Janet Jackson (”Got ‘Til It’s Gone,” 1997) and an album with eccentric producer Madlib (Champion Sound, 2003), Dilla was known for chopped-up samples, delirious key melodies and soulful, downtempo beats.

Continue reading “‘Ma Dukes’ gets her due Dillagence”

(Image courtesy www.ericnine.com)

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MF Doom — or simply DOOM, as he now wants to be known — is back after a long hiatus, particularly for someone so prolific. One thing we know for sure: His new album Born Like This is performed by him, not a masked impersonator. The album dropped yesterday, and I’m listening to it for the first time here. I’ve live-blogged my thoughts below, borrowing Byron Crawford’s format.

“Supervillain Intro” “Doom’s got a plan that’s gonna shake the heavens,” a WWE-voiced announcer tells us. Let’s hope so. He adds: “Time to get the feta!”

“Gazillion Ear” One of two J Dilla beats here. It’s pretty hot, with kind of an eerie/haunted carnival/David Lynch vibe.

“Ballskin” Now we’re talking! This Jake One beat is even hotter than “Trap Door,” from the Seattle producer’s 2008 album White Van Music, which Wikipedia tells me only sold 9,859 copies. That number makes me want to run myself over with a van (of any color). Wait, is this track already over?

“Yessir!” The Raekwon joint, and he definitely doesn’t phone it in. Doom’s beat is really repetitive and annoying, though. He may have phoned it in, whatever that could mean.

“Absolutely” The only Madlib beat here. I’m feeling it. In fact, this whole thing has a Madvillainy vibe so far. That can’t be a bad thing, right? I could do without the Cops sample at the end of the song, however. Is that honky policeman supposed to sound dramatic? Are they making fun of him? Why not just sample Reno 911, then?

(more…)

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Not everyone is feeling the buzz surrounding Young Jeezy’s new video for the song, “Circulate.”

According to the Liberator magazine blog:

If Jeezy says anything worth saying in this song it’s, “when shit get rough no tellin what they’ll sell you”. Cause really I think he’s subconsciously telling on himself. Afterall, dude is using a sample made famous by Dilla, to sell Vodka (who cares what brand) by using remnants of the Obama-hype from his “My President” anthem and theme.

The unnamed vodka company referred to is Belvedere Vodka, for which Jeezy is now a spokesperson. Belvedere partnered with Jeezy and financed the video, which resembles a recently released Belvedere commercial that also stars the Atlanta rapper. Appearing on Young Jeezy’s latest album (The Recession), the DJ Cannon-produced “Circulate” samples the 1975 Billy Paul classic “Let the Dollar Circulate” — which speaks to today’s hard-up economy as well as it did 34 years ago. The song has been sampled in the past by producers J Dilla (for the artist Spacek) and 9th Wonder.

Shot by Terry Richardson, the video certainly makes for a paradoxical backdrop — with Jeezy throwing red, white and blue confetti and dancing on the bed with bikini-clad dime pieces — while the bridge features Paul singing, “interest rates going up/seems like no value’s in the buck.”

But like so many of today’s artists, Jeezy’s literary device of choice is irony: “It was all good a week ago, Young the big tipper/Grinding all week and threw it all at the stripper/Got me lookin’ at my stash like where the fuck is the rest at/Lookin’ at my watch like it’s a bad investment.”

It’s hardly much to agonize over. And with copious amounts of alcohol to swig and an over-sized chocolate cake-replica of the White House on hand, Jeezy doesn’t appear to be suffering much. But therein lies the compelling sales pitch. Because if we’re to believe the values he espouses in his lyrics, Young Jeezy is a capitalist above all else. Whether the product is coke or Coke makes no matter to him. When hard times hit — as they did in the music industry long before the rest of the country began to feel the pinch — a hustler must find a new way to grind.

So we shouldn’t be surprised that Jeezy’s Belvedere-sponsored video creates an orgiastic mess of things — mixing the cultural pride expressed over the election of Pres. Obama with the capitalistic excess symbolized by a bottle of top-shelf liquor. It’s a celebration, bitches. And suddenly, a song Billy Paul originally meant as a plea for economic mercy becomes a commercial hyping young America to swag it out.

The message is clear as a fifth of Belvedere: Let the vodka “Circulate.” It’s the American way.

(Photo courtesy Belvedere Vodka)

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