Dilla Time

Starred review from November 22, 2021
A little known but influential rap genius gets his due in this spirited biography. Music journalist Charnas (The Big Payback) profiles James Dewitt Yancey (1974–2006), aka J Dilla, a rap producer—really a composer—and drum machine virtuoso who created innovative beat tracks with off-kilter rhythms and samplings that, Charnas argues, revolutionized pop music. Set against the atmospheric panorama of Detroit’s rap scene, Charnas’s probing narrative follows Dilla’s ascent through the hip-hop ranks: from getting a whirlwind of producing gigs to presiding at strip clubs, occasionally brandishing a firearm, and dying young (of a rare blood disease) at the age of 32. Charnas’s account is no hagiography: here, Dilla is a canny and sometimes generous, but prickly figure, not a Tupac-style prophet. And there are some rather moving passages, especially in scenes of Dilla’s mother, Maureen, tending to him in his decline. The book’s heart is its rich, evocative musicological analysis, complete with rhythm diagrams, of Dilla’s beats (“The hyperactive kick drum raced ahead of the samba sample, which in turn seemed to be racing ahead of the snare drum—which gave the paradoxical illusion that the snare was somehow late, making the beat feel oddly relaxed, tumbling endlessly forward”). Charnas’s engrossing work is one of the few hip-hop sagas to take the music as seriously as its maker.

January 1, 2022
Charnas (The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip-Hop, 2010) presents a detailed, well-researched, and passionate analysis of the music and life of the influential hip-hop composer, producer, and musician James Dewitt Yancey, aka Jay Dee or J Dilla. Charnas has written not simply a biography but, rather, an unconventional, journalistic documentation of musical sounds and their progressions in history and culture, whether originating in Africa, Europe, or elsewhere. He writes with particular focus on time signatures as well as how Dilla's techniques for utilizing his instrument, an MPC drum machine, subverted conventions, transforming hip-hop and creating a new form of electronic music that altered his and other artists' perceptions. "What Dilla created was a third path of rhythm, juxtaposing those two time-feels, even and uneven simultaneously, creating a new, pleasurable, disorienting rhythmic friction and a new time-feel: Dilla Time." Although he died young at 32, J Dilla's aesthetic and prolific musical output will continue to engage and influence artists for years to come.

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February 1, 2022

Charnas's (The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip-Hop) intricate biography chronicles the life of producer J Dilla (1974-2006), born James DeWitt Yancey. Charnas covers his subject's early life, his unparalleled genius on the drum machine, and his evolution into the solo artist J Dilla. Dilla broke into hip-hop in Detroit in the early '90s, with a disorienting style that led to a complete transformation of the sound of popular music. Drawing from more than 190 interviews, Charnas paints a vivid picture of a sometimes-disagreeable artist, obsessed with creating music, who spent his free time at strip clubs and was often the target of harassment by Detroit police. Charnas deconstructs the new path of rhythm that Dilla forged and provides visual examples of rhythm, beats, and pulse arrangements to illustrate why his style was so unique. Particularly moving is Charnas's exploration of Dilla's reliance on his mother his entire life; she was his caregiver when he died at 32 from a rare blood disease, and she has led efforts to keep his memory alive. VERDICT Examining Dilla's posthumous legacy in detail, Charnas asserts that the once best-kept secret in music is now a recognized trailblazer. A must-read for those interested in music history and in Dilla.--Lisa Henry

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Starred review from February 1, 2022
An ambitious, dynamic biography of J Dilla, who may be the most influential hip-hop artist known by the least number of people. A professor at NYU/Tisch's Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music best known for his chronicle of the business of hip-hop, The Big Payback, Charnas uses myriad storytelling techniques to make his case for the importance of James Dewitt Yancey (1974-2006), aka J Dilla. To explain Dilla's groundbreaking approach to rhythm, the author uses graphics to approximate conventional rhythms and contrasts them with the hip-hop producer's method of slowing some elements while accelerating others. He also offers playlists so readers can hear how Dilla transformed songs and how, eventually, his approach took over hip-hop in the late 1990s. To the author's credit, he also explains why technological advances allowed other producers and DJs to mimic the sonic style Dilla pioneered--often with broader success, as producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis did on Janet Jackson's chart-topping smash "Got Til It's Gone." Of course, Dilla generated his own hits, with important remixes like the Brand New Heavies' "Sometimes" and, most notably, his production of Common's "The Light." His 2006 album, Donuts, is considered a classic of instrumental hip-hop. As definitively as Charnas chronicles Dilla's rise through the ranks of Detroit hip-hop and his partnership with Q-Tip, Questlove, D'Angelo, and other significant figures, his reporting on how success didn't solve all of Dilla's personal problems or protect him from illness sets this tale apart. The author's discussion of Dilla's decline and death from a rare blood disease and lupus is particularly heart-wrenching, especially against the backdrop of his blooming career. Also memorable is Charnas' chronicle of the family in-fighting that followed his death, which even spilled over into lawsuits against fan-created fundraisers at a time when Dilla's work was finally being celebrated around the world. A wide-ranging biography that fully captures the subject's ingenuity, originality, and musical genius.

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