Questlove on Why J Dilla Was the Best Rap Producer of All Time
On the sixth anniversary of Dilla’s death, Questo talks to XXL about why Jay Dee was so amazing. You’ll never hear Donuts the same again…
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It was six years ago today (February 10) that J Dilla lost his fight with lupus and TTP. The Detroit native had already left a lasting mark on music, but seemed to only be scratching the surface of what he was capable of. Dilla lent his touch to tracks for A Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes, Common, Mos Def, Slum Village, The Pharcyde, and, of course, The Roots, among others. The Philadelphia-based band’s drummer, Questlove, was a good friend of Dilla’s. He also happens to be one of the most knowledgeable, talented and celebrated musicians that hip-hop has to offer, having worked with everyone from hip-hop icons like Jay-Z to mainstream darlings like John Mayer and Christina Aguilera. He also thinks that his friend was the greatest rap producer of all time. Here, he helps celebrate Dilla’s legacy, as he tells XXL what it was about Jay Dee’s sound, style and approach that was so amazing. —As Told to Adam Fleischer (@adamXXL)
As far as our definition of hip-hop production is concerned—as far as making beats—[Dilla] is absolutely without peer. Many will come after him and surpass him and do even crazier tricks, but for what my eyes have seen in those short nine years that I’ve known him, that’s going to be a very tall order to live up to. It’s [been]…God, six years since he passed [and] I still use his beats as the energy power pellets to my Pacmanology, if you will.
[Why? Because] I like his kick patches better than anyone; I love his snare patches better than anyone; I love his sample chops better than anyone; I like his ability to flip samples better than anyone; I like his engineering better than anyone; I love his chord structure better than anyone; I love his bass tones better than anyone. It really just starts there. And having listened to all of his beat creations, and over-analyzed them over a hundred times each, there’s just an extreme pristine presentation. Even the stuff that you’re lukewarm on as an average listener, you can’t deny.
You also gotta think about his range. His range is bar none. He’s gone through [four] production phases in his professional career. He didn’t stick to one. That’s the thing that really separates him from everyone in hip-hop. He started off with that post-Tribe, boom bap with [the] loud kushy drums and a bouncy bassline—[which] especially did well for The Pharcyde album and Tribe records. But then in a snap, he went to—once he started working with us, with the Soulquarians—he started playing the stuff live. The most hilarious thing of it all was that he was not technically a musician. But he was able to get the sound that he heard in his head, not only executed onto tape, but he did it in such an original way that it actually started to change our view of how we made music.
The day after he recorded “Think Twice,” for Welcome to Detroit, I look at the drum set, and I was like, “Wait, you recorded that on this?” And it was the most dingiest, dirtiest, not even second-hand. [It] looked like the Fat Albert junkyard gang drum set. Screws were missing; some of the heads were broken. Matter of fact, he didn’t even use real drumsticks on “Think Twice.” He used a vibraphone mallet, and he had a broken drumstick that he got some toilet paper from the bathroom, and some rubber bands. I was like, “You would rather go through this MacGuyver shit than buy new drumsticks?” He’s like, “I didn’t know where to get ’em this late at night; I had to make due.” I was like, “Well, why did you hit the drums with the mallet?” He was like, “I didn’t want the dynamic to be too aggressive. I wanted to sound muted, so I decided to play the drums with the soft cotton mallet.” It looked like putting a marshmallow at the end of a toothpick [Laughs]. Next thing I know, I’m now flying to Philadelphia—I think the next week, [to work on] The Roots’ Phrenology record [and] I tracked both “Quills” and “Pussy Galore” the same way. I went and got some orchestra mallets, and then I too started, just ’cause I seen how he got that sound.
XXL, More Of This Stuff!!!
Dope article Quest!!
Wow, wasn’t expecting to see this today. This is by far the best article i’ve found on your website or in your magazine.
As usual Questlove breaks it down. You need to do a class on hip-hop production theory.
indeed…
Dope…RIP (^^JDilla^^)
J DILLA MADE ME WANT TO START MAKING MUSIC!!! BEFORE I KNEW IT WAS HIM, I LOVED HIS SOUND!!! HE WAS SO SLEPT ON HERE IN THE D YET THE TRUE HEADZ, SUCH AS MYSELF, WERE DIGGIN HIM!!! SALUTE TO ONE OF THE BEST TO EVER DO IT!!! R.I.P. IT’S NATIONAL DILLA DAY HERE IN THE D AND WORLDWIDE!!! PEACE………..
Touching.
Wow!!!! Nice surprise from XXL….. This is what your magazine should be about….
I’ve always said that J-Dilla “was” and “is” the greatest hip-hop producer of all time. His range was incredible. And it was all authentic.
Dr. Dre is good for selling a record. Pete Rock moved hip-hop from phase one to phase two. DJ Premier brought “the beat” and “the sample” to the forefront of hip hop. Kanye is the beat-seamstress, weaving together the future and the past days of hip hop. 9th wonder is a time machine back to the glory days of hip hop. BUT…..
None of them could hold a candle to DILLA. And they all know it!!! Everyone of them. Co-sign the hell out of this one with Questlove. DILLA IS THE BEST PRODUCER OF ALL TIME!!!
Read, examine and analyse this piece of journalism , then compare to xxlmags ‘don trip has the name christopher wallace’ to see a textual depiction of night and day. This is what hiphop articles should be about. informative incite. Questlove, continue to let your intellect shine and your voice be heard.
J -Dilla was an amazing producer with a gift for infectious and creative sonic, without doubt one of the most special and outstanding producers in any timeline of hiphop, revered, remembered and celebrated – all you new comers to music youtube his work NOW