LIGHT UP THE SPLIFFS

J Dilla - Lightworks

I've been listening to Donuts non stop lately. I remember right after Dilla's death, people were raving about this record constantly. I was put off for a while, and avoided listening to it. If I had heard it then, I don't think I would have "gotten" it either. I just wasn't open to this kind of music at the time. After my friend Caleb raving to me about this record for a while, and hearing that DOOM was sampling Dilla's track "Lightworks" on his new record, I decided to give Donuts a spin.

When I was through with my first listen, I was impressed, but still not sold. After talking to Caleb about it for a little bit and discussing the record, I went back and listened to the song "Stop" and I was utterly blown away. I started back at the beginning and everything just made sense. The samples are combined absolutely flawlessly. Each new track challenges any conceptions the listener may have made about the album to that point. Just when you think Donuts is going to play out like a straight forward, neo-soul mixtape, a track like "People" or "Lightworks" comes on and just shatters whatever idea you had of what this album is really all about.

Understanding the context of when and how this album was recorded really does add another layer of depth to the album that is hinted at, but not obvious. Since Dilla relies on his own weird, cryptic method to tell his story, knowing the background is necessary to piece everything together. J Dilla knew that this was going to be his last album and he hints at it throughout the record with samples that blurt out things like "You're gonna need me some day." Track titles like "Last Donut of The Night" and "Bye" show that he was sure that his days were numbered.

Anyway, if you know this album, nothing I'm saying is new. If you haven't given this one a chance yet believe the hype, its THAT good.

If you're interested in reading more about the album, this blog has been running a series of brief yet insightful essays about each track on Donuts in celebration of the third year anniversary of its release.