Released: 05/04/24
Widely regarded as one of the greatest hip-hop producers of all time, the late, great J Dilla (AKA James Dewitt Yancey) was a true visionary who pushed the genre in thrillingly new and multifarious sonic directions – a fact not lost on the numerous hip-hop and R&B luminaries who asked Yancey to sprinkle their projects with his magic dust, among them: Slum Village, Busta Rhymes, Common, Erykah Badu, A Tribe Called Quest, and The Roots.
Since his death in 2006, Dilla’s mum Maureen ‘Ma Dukes’ Yancey has worked tirelessly to further her son’s legacy, the latest result of her laudable mission being Motor City, a truly amazing collection of rare and unreleased Jay Dee instrumentals, inspired by Dilla’s hometown of Detroit. All the tracks here are hand-selected and sequenced by Ma Dukes, with the record itself conceived as a ‘letter’ to her son, and packaged in a limited-edition mailing envelope, complete with a handwritten message, inside, from Ma Dukes to Dilla. The vinyl also includes access to an exclusive mix of the album by Dilla’s close friend J Rocc, a world-renowned DJ, and founder of the Beat Junkies. Be warned, it’s hard not to get a bit emotional listening to Motor City, overflowing as it is with the intense love of a mother for her incredibly gifted son.