RIP James “Jay Dee” or “J-Dilla” Yancey.
True hip-hop heads mourn the loss of one of the pillars of the new underground sound, as James “J-Dilla” Yancey was laid to rest this weekend due to complications from lupus, a disease that causes the immune system to attack healthy cells. According to information released by his management, Dilla had been fighting the disease for the better part of three years. Over that time, the illness significantly weakened his kidneys and joints, fueling rumors that he had passed away in early 2005. Unfortunately for his family and many fans, this weekend’s report of his untimely death were true. His mother found him dead in his bedroom at the age of 32.
Yancey now joins the long list of artists whose lives have ended in the peak of their career, as he had just released his second solo LP Donuts last week.
He was introduced to the hip-hop community as “Jay Dee” in 1995 as one of the producers on Beats, Rhymes, and Life, the fourth LP from A Tribe Called Quest. In the last ten years he has produced classics from Busta Rhymes, The Pharcyde, Erykah Badu, Common, De La Soul, and his own group Slum Village. During one of hip-hop’s most commercially mindless periods, Yancey chose to stay true to the spirit of sonic innovation in hip-hop production. Not only did he keep the “raw” sound alive, his style has influenced many of today’s most celebrated beatsmiths.
RIP Chris Gandy
One of my best friend’s younger brother was killed last week in Carbondale, Illinois, the town where my alma mater Southern Illinois University is located. A couple from the neighboring town of Murphysboro, Illinois sits in jail at the bond price of $1 million each. They are charged with striking Chris in the head with a blunt object and stabbing him to death, then setting his body and vehicle on fire in the attempt to conceal the murder. He was 23 years old and was about to graduate with a degree in Architecture.
Since he wasn’t famous, I can’t find a picture of him.
20 Questions
You ever read Vibe magazine.
It’s the most consistently wack hip-hop magazine in the world. It originated the now omnipresent trend of having an ad every other page, literally. Plus it caters to people who only want to know about rappers that are on the radio.
Anyway, the most ignorant thing about this magazine is that every issue ends with the feature called “20 Questions” where an unknown author asks questions to the reader about urban music notables. If you ever read it, you get the idea that this feature was the inspiration for this woman…
It’s a mini-chicken head convention every month.
That’s why I hate it, but its also why I always read it. In its chicken-headedness, it is astonishingly accurate in conveying the thoughts of the record buying public. In other words, it doesn’t piss me off as much that they ask what it is that they ask, but the fact that they aren’t lying when they ask it. It’s the voice of the club-hopping, booty shaking mainstream, right there in plain ink, every month.
Well dammit, I gotta voice too, and I got twenty questions of my own.
20 Questions: Backpacker Edition
1. After watching this year’s Super Bowl, doesn’t Shaun Alexander look like Ali Shaheed Muhammad’s first cousin?
2. Is it just us or does Nelly’s “Grillz” video remind you of Amos and Andy?
3. Is Common and Pharoah Monche ghost-writing for Diddy even remotely okay?
4. Some people say that Aaron McGruder’s Gangstalicious character was a jab at 50 Cent, Aren’t these pictures proof enough?
5. Speaking of emo-thugs, what’s up with the Game’s butterfly tat? So hardcore…
6. Doesn’t the world need a new Ras Kass album?
7. Aren’t we all afraid of MOP’s G-Unit debut?
8. Why do people insist on taking Mike Jones seriously?
9. Didn’t Free of 106 and Park lose twenty points when she started rocking a perm?
10. How funny is it that after all the hype Tony Yayo’s album flopped?
11. Where the hell is Vinia Mojica?
12. Isn’t Lil’ Wayne your favorite wack emcee?
13. Because of her extra-long torso, can we ever be convinced that Ciara doesn’t have a penis?
14. What does that mean for Bow Wow?
15. Is there a bigger bunch of assholes than the Dip Set?
16. Why do record labels only put money behind destructive images?
17. Even though all R&B songs have been the same since 1988, aren’t we glad that Neo-Soul is over?
18. Is there any question who’s buying all those Black Eyed Peas records?
19. Aren’t you ashamed to own their first album?
20. Does everything Jermaine Dupri touch turn to shit?
Feel free to send me your own questions to…
Open.mike.eagle@gmail.com
In the mean time, make sure to check outThe Final Bootleg
It damned near brought a tear to my eye. I felt like I was watching the last episode of the Cosby Show. Like skinny Janet says, you never know what you got til its gone…
Peace
OpenMikeEagle
Out.
