Just in time for Valentine’s Day and — Hydeout Donuts month. I’ll explain.
February is a month I personally dedicate to two of the most talented producers in the industry, J Dilla and Nujabes, who incidentally shared the same birthday and who both tragically passed away in February (in 2006 and 2010). In their relatively short lifetimes, they were both able to revolutionize the hip-hop soundscape with innovative infusions of jazz and soul. Hydeout Productions is the name of Nujabes’ independent record label, while Donuts was Dilla’s ninth studio album released in ’06.
So every February I listen to their music religiously, and it’s like I go through a whole spiritual transformation in the process. The sensation is kind of difficult to describe, but let me try: it’s like connecting a fucking vacuum hose to the vault of all the positive vibes and feelings that exist in this sweet world and sticking the other end in my ear. BOOM. bap.
Today’s Weekly Fix features Jay Dee.
Regardless of what month it is, I would bump any Dilla track any day of the week, but I thought this one deserved a special mention. J Dilla has worked with many, many notable MCs in his career, but Common stands out from all of them. Their energies just matched perfectly; Dilla’s soulful sound jived well with Common’s conscious content and complex flow. I like to think to myself that in every track he produced, Dilla would leave in it a tiny part of his soul. Just enough to touch that of any listener’s. Every once in a lifetime, a talented MC will hook up with an equally talented producer and it’s an insta-hit. I think Common and Dilla’s collabs had much of the same vibe. This is a track off of Common’s 2005 album Be, which was nominated for 4 Grammys in ’06, which just goes on to tell you how influential Common’s powerful messages and Dilla’s smooth, mellow sounds were.
“Love is…” everything. This song expresses in pure, condensed poetry what love means to Common, but I’m sure he isn’t the only one who shares those views. It’s an emotion, it’s a state of being, it’s a lifestyle, it could be anything. It’s also something that’s much too complex to describe in words, but you can probably understand it through the medium of music (especially if it’s a Common/Jay Dee joint). That’s what this track is to me. Enjoy.
Weekly Fix #5: “A letter to the people, love always”
Domed Knowledge 