Here Are 33 Great J Dilla Beats

Perhaps we should start this list off by saying, technically, no one J Dilla song is better than the other. When we think about our fallen brother in beats, we don't have one negative thing to say about his body of work. We like all of it. We really do. But, as is the case with most fans, there are some songs we play more often than all the others. In honor of James "J Dilla" Yancey's life (which was tragically taken from us unexpectedly on February 10, 2006, three days after his birthday), we pay homage to the man by highlighting our 33 favorite songs by the legendary producer. Enjoy them, not just today, but everyday. Your life will be better for it.

Now, onto the music.

Artist: Common
Song: The Light
One of Dilla's most popular hits, and a classic rap love song.

Artist: De La Soul
Song: Stakes Is High
The song that many say put J. Dilla on the map, this one sounds as fresh and new today as it did when it first came out.

Artist: Slum Village
Song: "Climax (Girl Sh*t)"
If you can't loosen up a couple of lady friends up to this joint, move along, cause it's not happening.

Artist: Busta Rhymes
Song: "Show Me What You Got"
When Dilla wanted to get rough and industrial-sounding, there was no perfect match for his beats than Busta.

Artist: Q-Tip
Song: "Let Me Ride
Music heads will pick up on the use of the chord changes from John Coltrane's "Giant Steps". One of Tip and Dilla's hottest party-cut collaborations.

Artist: Raekwon
Song: "House Of Flying Daggers"
Only Dilla can do Wu just as good as RZA and other Wu producers.

Artist: J. Dilla ft. Blu
Song: "The Clapper"
Blu in his early years, and it's unfortunate the two weren't able to do more work together.

Artist: De La Soul ft. B-Real
Song: "Peer Pressure
From the slept-on Bionix album.

Artist: The Pharcyde
Song: "Runnin'"
Another Dilla classic from his early years, "Runnin'" remains one of The Pharcyde's best known jams.

Artist: Guru ft. Bilal
Song: "Certified"
The jazzy Guru proved even outside of Gangstarr, he knew how to get with the best producers, J. Dilla was amongst them.

Artist: J. Dilla ft. Common
Song: "E=MC2"
From Dilla's Shining, a standout track.

Artist: J. Dilla ft. MED and Guilty Simpson
Song: "Jungle Love
The title of this song epitomizes the wild feeling the beat gives, props to MED and Guilty Simpson for keeping up.

Artist: Common
Song: "Doiinit"
An uptempo joint from Common's Like Water For Chocolate album.

Artist: Slum Village ft. Kurupt
Song: "Forth & Back"
Young Gotti hits his boys in the D to get on this remake of the original "Forth & Back", which was originally released on Fantastic Vol. 1.

Artist: J. Dilla ft. Pharoahe Monch
Song: "Love"
Pharoahe's soulful, sing-song flow gets a lush orchestral treatment with some knocking drums on this J. Dilla cut from his album, The Shining.

Artist: J. Dilla ft. Common & D'Angelo
Song: "So Far To Go"
One of the most quintessential rap ballads of our time, this is one of Dilla's standout moments.

Artist: Common
Song: "Love Is"
On Be, Common linked up with Kanye for majority of the album's production, but hidden in there were some Dilla gems as well. Here's one of them.

Artist: J. Dilla ft. Dwele
Song: "Think Twice"
The Donald Byrd classic has been remade numerous times, but Dilla's attempt is far and away the best.

Artist: Q-Tip
Song: "Breathe and Stop
Lyrically, not Q-Tip's finest moment, but still, this one gets the party started if it hasn't already.

Artist: The Pharcyde
Song: "Bullshit"
The explicit title hardly matches up with this laid-back J. Dilla groove.

Artist: Busta Rhymes
Song: "Enjoy Da Ride
Busta and Dilla were underrated tandem, and this cut from Busta's Anarchy is proof.

Artist: J. Dilla ft. Phat Kat
Song: "Untitled (Track)"
A lot going on in this beat, so pay attention. The elements sneak up on you, as is the case with a lot of J. Dilla production.

Artist: J. Dilla ft. Q-Tip and Talib Kweli
Song: "Lightworks"
One of Dilla's spacier cuts found on his much revered, Donuts album.

Artist: The Pharcyde
Song: "Drop"
Another Pharcyde classic from Labcabincalifornia.

Artist: Slum Village
Song: "Jealousy"
A funky groove with a salsa type feel to it, only in Dilla's head do these things make sense and end up sounding like this.

Artist: J. Dilla ft. Black Thought
Song: "Love Movin'"
The Roots crew MC gets busy with Dilla from The Shining album.

Artist: Common
Song: "It's Your World"
Another Dilla/Common collabo from Com Sense's Be album.

Artist: Q-Tip
Song: "Vivrant Thing"
It's ironic how many fans called Q-Tip a sell-out when "Vivrant Thing" was first released to the masses, especially when you consider one of the purest, most beloved producers in the game contributed to this song.

Artist: The Pharcyde
Song: "Somethin' That Means Somethin'"
A jazzy bass line lays down the foundation for the funk in this track.

Artist: Slum Village ft. D'Angelo
Song: "Tell Me"
D'Angelo manages to create a memorable hook through mumbling, which is the perfect tone for Dilla.

Artist: Slum Village
Song: "Players"
No shade towards Slum Village, but the biggest star of this song is that lush groove Dilla gives his boys to rhyme over.

Artist: Common ft. Mos Def
Song: "The Questions"
One of Dilla's greatest talents was the way he could make his produced beats sound like live instrumentation and "The Questions" is a stellar example of what we mean.

Artist: Q-Tip
Song: "Higher"
A stand-out track from the Amplified album, out of this beat, J. Dilla blends the reinvigorated Q-Tip with his former Tribe self...