XXcLusive: Charles Hamilton Takes J Dilla Credits Off Album, LP Drops For Free Online This Tuesday

The hip-hop community was taken aback when XXL freshman alumnus Charles Hamilton announced that the late Detroit producer J Dilla would be listed as an executive producer on his major label debut, This Perfect Life. XXLMag.com caught up with the young spitta this morning (June 10) and he has since changed his album credits.

Due to legal issues, Charles told XXL that he had to take Dilla’s name off the disc. “I meant no harm by it and basically my intentions and the reaction have nothing to do with it, it really is a family issue that doesn’t concern me,” he shared with XXL. “And though my intentions were to help the family out, it turns out that it had been a lot more complicated to try to get his name involved in it.”

Hamilton hoped that he would be able to offer some financial support to Dilla’s family by involving him in the project. “My plan was, as everybody in the industry knows, executive producers get a percentage of sales and revenue, so I figured if his name is on the album, at least some money can go into their pockets, because everybody knows about the financial hardships of Ma Dukes.”

Yet, he added the whole situation was a complete “legal mess.” “I spoke to some representatives of the family yesterday they were like dude we totally understand what you were doing, at the same time it’s a legal mess, it’s a lot crazier than I ever imagined it to be,” he admitted. “All I wanted to do is try to help out the family, for somebody who in essence helped me out.”

Hamilton’s album is unexpectedly dropping for free online this Tuesday (June 16). The Harlem MC says that the disc will still be coming out on Interscope later this summer in a different format. “[It’s coming] late August, we’re working on an entire box set for it,” he said. “This is not gonna be your average release. This is more of a campaign of positive living and thinking."

When asked how Interscope feels about him dropping the album for free before the official release he said, “As long as I’m doing what I have to do with the box set, they totally understand,” he explained. “So it’s a trust thing. This is one of the first times, because of what I’ve been doing as far as putting out free music they trust that, and they know the quality of the music and the album. The hard part, and I say hard but not difficult, like the dope part, [is] the campaign that’s behind it - which is including a DVD [and] a short film. And it's coming out just in time for school.”

This Perfect Life can be found on various sites online on Tuesday. – Jesse Gissen