Busta Rhymes and Mick Boogie Team Up for Special J Dilla Mixtape

Busta Rhymes and Cleveland based DJ Mick Boogie have teamed up to create an exclusive new mixtape based on the work of late producer J Dilla. The project is called Dillagence and is available as a free download from Mickboogie.com as of today. The mixtape features exclusive Dilla produced Busta tracks as well as contributions from MOP, Cassidy, Papoose, Talib Kweli, Rah Digga, Q-Tip and Raekwon. James “J Dilla” Yancey, a Detroit native, has been hailed as one of Hip-Hop’s most groundbreaking and influential producers. Before his tragic death in January of 2006 following a long bout with Lupus, he worked with many of rap’s biggest names and produced scores of classic material. “The amount of love he gets is just so amazing,” Mick Boogie told XXLMag.com. “I leaked the details and cover of this on my blog, and within hours, I had literally hundreds of emails asking for early copies of this. As long as I’ve been in the game, I’ve never seen such amazing response. The love and respect his audience has for him is so sincere and incredible.”

Dillagence came about as a result of a conversation Mick and Busta had several months ago. “Mick Boogie came up with this idea of us doing this tribute to the Dilla, and I felt like the timing was right,” Busta explained. A couple of weeks ago, Mick checked his email and found several completed tracks from Busta over previously unheard Dilla production. After about a week of tweaking, the mixtape was ready to hit the streets. Despite the upbeat nature of the project, which was always intended as a tribute to his late friend, Busta found the process to be an emotional one. “For me, it was difficult. When emotions are attached, it’s always difficult,” the rapper noted. “When you have to live through that individual because that individual is not around anymore.” Nevertheless, the MC felt a responsibility to the friend he lost and the family he left behind. “Dilla was my friend, Mrs. Yancey is my family,” Busta continued. “This was an obligation of mine to honor him because he has contributed to me in so many ways, from the music on a business level to the music on a personal level. He fulfills what I was missing in my spirit. Dilla lived and breathed this Hip-Hop culture. It was everything to him.”