I was having a conversation with my homie Dee Phunk the other day regarding my plans to attend the 3rd annual Dilla tribute party Rare Form is throwing when he paused and asked me, “Wait, do you know anything about Dilla?” Appalled, I scoffed back via IM, “ummm duh!”

I  then proceeded to rattle off the lil bit of knowledge I had on the producer in question. I guess it was enough to get my hip-hop pass back because he replied approvingly, “Oh, ok.” But the exchange made think of how many people don’t know his work yet buy the shirts and rep for him now cause it has become trendy. It’s much like throwing on a Che Guevara shirt just because you see Jay-Z wearing one. So, it led me to ask him, “If you had to school someone about Dilla, what would you tell them?”

To answer me, Dee put together a lil blog that I will feature here (awww, my first guest blogger). So, before you iron your “I heart Dilla” t-shirt this weekend, check out his response:

Dilla 101 (From a Fan’s Perspective) – By Dee Phunk

Detroit native producer / sometimes-emcee James “J Dilla” Yancey left his physical state on February 10th, 2006 due to complications from lupus, a very rare and highly debilitating disease – a very sad story indeed.  But what can be considered just as sad was that it happened when many feel that Dilla was on the cusp of breaking out and being that next big thing: the producer that claws his way out of obscurity and enjoys mainstream success.

Was Dilla driving towards that goal?  Of course not, he was modest about his genius.  He just really enjoyed making music.  And that’s what separates the great people from the pack of monotony.  Since his untimely passing, many people have taken his legacy into their own hands and helped spread his music to anyone willing to learn.  I’m definitely one of those people. His discography is vast, leaving something for everyone.  If I had to give someone a quick introduction to the man, I’d probably start slow and easy.  Here are some jump off points…

1) Ever been at the club and danced to Q-Tip’s “Vivrant Thing?”  Ever been in the shower and rapped / sung really badly along to “Passin’ Me By” by The Pharcyde?  Ever broke up with someone and had Janet Jackson’s “Got ‘Til It’s Gone” on repeat?  Congratulations.  You already like Dilla.  He produced all of those.

2) Wikipedia can be inaccurate at times depending on whatever foolios are updating.  But Dilla’s page is pretty on the money as his true supporters make it their duty to keep every thing on point.  Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J_Dilla to read up on how he got his start, the path his career took and more.

3) Chances are if you like artists such as A Tribe Called Quest, The Roots, Busta Rhymes, Common, De La Soul, The Pharcyde, Erykah Badu, and D’Angelo, you will probably enjoy the majority of Dilla’s music.  If you own any CDs by any of these artists, read thru the liner notes and find his name.  His style goes from smooth soul all the way to hardcore hip-hop.  His range was almost limitless.  Slum Village’s Fantastic Vol. 2, Q-Tip’s first solo effort Amplified and Common’s critically-acclaimed Like Water for Chocolate are great springboards.  If you like those and are feeling dangerous, you might be able to move to more advanced things like Jaylib’s Champion Sound (a collaboration between him and LA-based beatsmith Madlib) and his final album, Donuts.  Neck brace not included.

4) If your favorite hip-hop producer doesn’t list Dilla in their top 10 favorite producers of all time (sometimes I think it should be top 5, but whatever), they should be beaten unconscious.  J Dilla mastered the art of sampling and probably had a lot more tricks up his sleeve.  He had an uncanny knack for chopping up samples and re-stitching them back together seamlessly.  Many folks are floored when they hear the original samples for some their favorite Dilla instrumentals.

5) If this story doesn’t make you a believer or at least pique your interest ever-so-slightly, then you should get your pulse checked.  It’s a wonderful tale narrated by ?uestlove of The Roots about a music geek and a conundrum over a Roy Ayers sample: http://www.rappersiknow.com/2008/11/26/questlove-vs-jay-dee-the-little-brother-beat-story/

I’m not going to guarantee positive results.  Not everyone likes Dilla.  But I feel if you do like a certain style of music and can gradually open your mind to other artists, he can find a place in your iPod.  Maybe even a permanent one.  He’s already found a place within many peoples’ hearts.

For more of Dee Phunk’s music musings, check out his blog www.treesforbreakfast.com.