J Dilla, alias Jay Dee was born as James Yancey on February 7, 1974. He was a hip-hop record producer, beat creator and MC, who emerged from the mid-1990s independent, underground hip-hop scene in Detroit, Michigan.



James Yancey began his career as Jay Dee, but since 2001 has assumed the name J Dilla as well.



Jay Dee was one of the classic crate diggers. The vinyl hungry B-boy was always on the lookout for the rare, the obscure, and the just plain wild -- almost anything unique and original would do. Jay Dee's strong point was his originality and the unique way he used sampled of old soul and jazz records. Even if he used a sampele that had been used a thousand times before, Jay Dee made it sound different, fresh. A true master in the art of sampling.



On a side note: between 1967 and 1972, hundreds of ragged funk 45s were released by tiny regional labels: recorded cheaply and pressed in small batches. In the ’80s, European collectors began to exhume these forgotten recordings from mom-and-pop record shops, garage sales, and defunct radio stations. Bringing them back to the continent, these crate diggers cashed in on Europe’s Americana fetish, feeding the burgeoning acid-jazz scene and creating a market for the now ubiquitous “rare groove” compilation.



At the same time, hip-hop producers like DJ Shadow and Pete Rock began to sample the same funk 45s, prizing the red-line horn blasts and rugged drum sounds. Over the past few years, an entire subculture of American crate diggers has grown up around these miniature Rosetta stones of flat, black plastic.



Through Jay Dee's / J Dilla's work on a string of singles and remix projects for artists De La Soul, Pharcyde, Busta Rhymes, and quietly serving as a member of A Tribe Called Quest's production team, The Ummah, Jay Dee became known as a major hip-hop prospect by the late 1990s.



The hip hop community took notice of his no-frills, breakbeat-laden classic hip-hop style after he helped craft albums for Common ("Like Water for Chocolate"), D'Angelo ("Voodoo"), Q-Tip ("Amplified") and the debut for his own group Slum Village ("Fan-Tas-Tic, Vol. 1").



By the time of his major label debut with Slum Village on "Fantastic, Vol. 2" in 2000, Jay Dee was recognized as one of hip-hop's most admired and desired producers.



His debut as a solo artist came in 2001 with the single "F**k the Police", followed by the album Welcome to Detroit, kicking off UK indie label BBE Music's "Beat Generation" series. With a growing reputation and impressive resume, he left Slum Village to pursue a major label solo debut on MCA. Work on this album was done in 2002 and 2003, but was never released.



Jay Dee's major output of 2003 was production for Common's Electric Circus, which was ridiculed by critics and praised by fans alike for its experimental nature.



From that point, his work has increasingly been released through independent record labels.



Producer/MC Madlib began a collaboration with J Dilla to form the group Jaylib in 2002, releasing the album "Champion Sound" in 2003. J Dilla appeared on tour with Jaylib in 2004, having various production, MC, and remix credits during 2004-2005 (most notably two tracks on Common's Be), but his output slowed for the first time since his debut. Articles in publications Urb (March 2004) and XXL (June 2005) have confirmed rumors of ill health and hospitalization during this period.



Despite a slower output of major releases, his cult status has remained strong within his core audience, fueled in part by the unauthorized circulation of his underground "beat tapes" (instrumental, raw working material), mostly through internet file sharing.



These beat tapes have chronicled a consistent quality of J Dilla's production style through raw break-beat sounds to more refined synth and sample-based cut-ups, while maintaining a natural-feeling soul and R&B influence. Producers Kanye West and Pharrell Williams have both gone on record praising his production sound. ?uestlove (real name: Amir Kalib Thompson), drummer from The Roots, is another noteworthy J Dilla fan, proclaiming him the greatest hip-hop producer of all time on many occasions.



Continuing his arc as an independent solo artist, two J Dilla solo albums, "Donuts" and "The Shining" have been announced as 2006 releases by independent labels Stones Throw Records and BBE, respectively.



Health concerns again reached a peak in November 2005 when J Dilla toured Europe performing from a wheelchair.



Jay Dee / J Dilla passed away on February 10, 2006 at his home in Los Angeles, California. He had suffered for over three years with an incurable blood disease, accociated with lupus nephritis.