What more is there to say about James Yancey? The child born with perfect pitch, master scientist of sound, who could elicit an earnest sound from every tool he'd touch. He revolutionized contemporary music from a basement in Detroit.
2014 marks the year Jay Dee would have turned 40. Posthumous releases have failed to capture the spark that made a Dilla beat a world of its own. It makes perfect sense, even armed with the beats and sessions and files he left behind, no one can truly replicate the feeling of Dilla.
In honor of the life that left us with so much, we're sharing five joints that exemplify the soul and grit that was one of a kind. Everyone has spoken their peace on Dilla, but still, nothing speaks like the music.
