The Music Snobs is a monthly podcast on Black music — and beyond
On this episode of The Music Snobs
In the 16 years since J. Dilla‘s untimely passing, the shadow of the visionary hip-hop producer looms large over his birthplace Detroit — and the entire world. The long-awaited return of TMS asks: Is J. Dilla the greatest influence on music in the 21st century? Get ready for a challenging debate, diving deep into the genre of music that wouldn’t exist without Jay Dee, his reinvention of rhythm — and whether his early death impacted his legacy. The return of The Snobs closes with a roundtable that looks to the future, deciding who’s taken Dilla’s sound forward the most since his departure, but not before the crew digs in to Jay Dee’s greatest ever beats. The Music Snobs are finally back to explore one of the best to ever do it, as only they can.
Music played on this episode of The Music Snobs
Background listening from The Music Snobs
On a previous episode, we debated the impact of seminal ’90s hip-hop group, A Tribe Called Quest — and the controversially unfamiliar production style built by Dilla & The Ummah for ATCQ’s 1996 ‘Beats, Rhymes & Life’. Enjoy that episode, and our opinions on the album’s enduring legacy and influence, right here: A Tribe Called Quest: The Most Important Group in Hip-Hop History?
Further reading
- Vibe magazine contemporary review of ‘Fantastic (Vol. 2)’, published August 2000 (by Noah Callahan-Bever)
- On: Robert Glasper, genre fluidity in Black music, and the influence of J. Dilla (by Matthew Allen)
- Why J. Dilla May Be Jazz’s Latest Great Innovator (by Giovanni Russonello)
Further listening
- Dilla In The Autumn Wind – mixed by AllyAl