Hear an Unreleased J Dilla Mixtape

Many posthumous J Dilla projects have been released in the decade since his passing. Quite a few have been billed as "unreleased" despite some of the tracks being online for years. But now, a genuinely unreleased mixtape from Jay Dee has dropped.

BBE Records has unleashed a mixtape from J Dilla titled Back to the Crib. This mix by the legendary producer was made some time between mid-1999 and early 2000. Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Roberta Flack, the Doobie Brothers, Chaka Khan, Donald Byrd and Sade are just a few of the artists featured on the tape. Peter Adarkwah, the co-founder of BBE Records, shared some background info on how he got his hands on Back to the Crib.

"Towards the end of 1999 or early 2000, it was my first trip to Detroit," Adarkwah wrote. "James (J Dilla) was working with James Poyser on Erykah's Mama's Gun LP. We'd checked out a couple of record stores (I can't recall where or their names) and this tape was playing in the car. I recall 'Think Twice' was on the tape and I suggested there and then that he do a cover with Erykah for the BBE album. We didn't get the Erykah feature, but people sure remember James' cover. We drove past a sign, it said Welcome To Detroit and I suggested that would be a good name for the album. When we pulled over James gave me the tape and said this is yours, or words to effect."

This mixtape serves as some promo for the reissue of J Dilla's The Shining which will drop Aug. 29 on BBE Records in celebration of its 10th anniversary. The new release will mark the first time it has ever been available on seven-inch vinyl. You can pre-order the 10th anniversary edition now via this link. The tracklist and stream for Back to the Crib are below.

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