Since 2006, the shortest month of the year gained another layer of significance. February holds, in its scant 28 days, James Yancey's birthday and the day he left this realm. There are no shortage of words on the Internet to describe Jay Dee aka J Dilla's mastery, influence and importance in modern music. I won't go into that here. Instead I'll just share the trite meme that's spread across the globe in seven short years: he changed my life. I wouldn't have met important people in my life or had important experiences if it were not for the legacy of a man I never met.
Today's Friday Five celebrates his work with five selections from his vast and luminous catalogue. This is not a best-of, this is not meant to be comprehensive. Just five tunes that I love and can always listen to. Enjoy and as always, turn it up!
