J Dilla’s Mother to Launch Ruff Draft Records

More than six years have passed since J Dilla's untimely death, but his legacy continues to live on.

Building off of the multiple releases that have come out since the legendary beatsmith passed away on February 10, 2006, following battles with lupus and blood disease, TTP, it was recently announced that Dilla's mother will be launching a label in his name, called Ruff Draft Records. Though the label will focus on the unreleased material from Jay Dee's own catalog, it will also give an opportunity for new artists to be heard. “We want to make it more feasible to interact with these children, we don’t know how many J. Dilla’s we have out there,” Maureen “Ma Dukes” Yancy said to AllHipHop.com. “Somebody has to find them.”

Rebirth of Detroit will be the first album released on Ruff Draft Records, as it's scheduled to hit stores June 12. The album will be the fifth posthumous release from the Detroit-bred producer, as it follows up The Shinning (2006), Jay Love Japan (2008), Jay Stay Paid (2009) and Donut Shop (2011).

During his too brief but celebrated career, Dilla gained recognition for his work as a member of Slum Village, as well as for his collaborations with A Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes, De La Soul, The Pharcyde, The Roots, Common and more. —Adam Fleischer