J. Dilla: The Greatest Influence On Music In The 21st Century?

On this episode

In the 16 years since J. Dilla's untimely passing, the shadow of the visionary hip-hop producer looms large over his birthplace Detroit — and the entire world. The long-awaited return of TMS asks: Is J. Dilla the greatest influence on music in the 21st century? Get ready for a challenging debate, diving deep into the genre of music that wouldn't exist without Jay Dee, his reinvention of rhythm — and whether his early death impacted his legacy. The return of The Snobs closes with a roundtable that looks to the future, deciding who's taken Dilla's sound forward the most since his departure, but not before the crew digs in to Jay Dee's greatest ever beats. The Music Snobs are finally back to explore one of the best to ever do it, as only they can.

Further reading

• Vibe magazine contemporary review of ‘Fantastic (Vol. 2)’, published August 2000 (by Noah Callahan-Bever)
• On: Robert Glasper, genre fluidity in Black music, and the influence of J. Dilla (by Matthew Allen)
• Why J. Dilla May Be Jazz’s Latest Great Innovator (by Giovanni Russonello)

Further listening

• Dilla In The Autumn Wind - mixed by AllyAl

Links:

• Why J. Dilla May Be Jazz’s Latest Great Innovator — Visionary hip-hop producer J Dilla never found mainstream success during his brief lifetime. But in the seven years since his death, Dilla — who would have turned 39 today — has come to represent a major inflection point on hip-hop's evolutionary tree.