February 7th, to me, should be a global holiday.
Because it is the day that two individuals, one in the heralded industrial heartland city of America in Detroit, Michigan and the other in the electric capital city of Japan, were born. James “J Dilla” Yancey and Jun “Nujabes” Seda. Two men who gave the world a tremendous gift of artistry through their music. Two men who left this world far, far too soon. There’s one or two people who I’ve come across in the past few years that will engage me in conversation to essentially goad me into denigrating Hip-Hop culture, based on the offerings of the contemporary rap that’s in rotation and highly marketed. I can usually see that play in effect from a mile away, but it allows me to counter and ask them: “Have you ever listened to Nujabes and/or J Dilla?” That question will lead to me playing one or two select tracks from either of the producers. For Dilla, it always winds up being “So Far To Go” with Common and D’Angelo from The Shining album released in 2006, and for Nujabes, I go with “Blessing It (Remix)” with Substantial and Pase Rock. They listen to either one of those, and their stance changes almost immediately.
That’s the power of these two musicians. What I find amazing is how they both captured people’s attention gradually but decisively with their musical output. I got into Nujabes primarily like a lot of other people did, through the groundbreaking 2003 anime Samurai Champloo. That opening theme song with Shing02 still fires me up to this day. TO THIS DAY. From there, I dove into the full soundtrack and then his first album, Metaphorical Music. When it comes to Dilla though, it was in “a-HA” moments through his work on tracks such as The Pharcyde’s “Drop” (billed as Jay Dee - more on that) and A Tribe Called Quest’s “Get A Hold”.
The music they brought forth still resonates. I can spin playlists of Dilla instrumentals for hours, and that’s not an understatement thanks to his prodigious output before dying of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and lupus at age 32, some of which moves you to overpowering emotion. “Last Donut of The Night”, from his Donuts album, is a prime example. The estate and Ma Dukes are still releasing unheard collections of beats created by Dilla, many which are untitled. With Nujabes, who would lose his life in a tragic car crash four years after Dilla transitioned, would have two more studio albums drop in Modal Soul and Spiritual State. "Thank You" with Apani B and "Peaceland" are fixtures on my playlist, each song bringing varying degrees of euphoria to me.
Long story short, if you get a chance, please PLEASE bump some Dilla or Nujabes today - or both. And support those still keeping their music and legacy alive. Detroit, Dilla's hometown, just declared today "Dilla Day" in that city. Substantial, one of the top veteran MCs and a close collaborator and friend to Nujabes, is holding a tribute concert tonight down in Virginia. Don't miss out on some truly great music from these two on a special day.