J Dilla

By special request, Stones Throw has pressed up copies of Dilla’s beat sketch masterpiece Donuts with the “smile” cover, originally used for the CD version. When Donuts first rolled into the Lab, I gave it a cursory listen, and, wanting to get home to the new episode of Lost as quickly as possible, tossed off a pithy little blurb for it. It wasn’t until a few days later, when we all heard of Dilla’s passing, that I realized how much I really believed in the sentiments I’d written down. Here’s the original review. R.I.P., Mr. Yancey:

YOU REALLY NEED TO READ THIS? Everyone — from backpackers to big name producers — agrees that Dilla is the god, and this new record is only here to confirm what we already knew. Featuring 31 tracks of freshly-minted beats from the master himself, Donuts is a collection of instrumentals that not only manage to sound substantive and complete (despite the fact that they’re all under 2 minutes in length) but that also come together to form a cohesive whole. It’s a kind of new mission statement for the old dog, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Recommended.