J Dilla's Donuts: More Complex Hip-Hop

The first thing that a listener needs to know before listening to Donuts is that J Dilla was way more complex than most other hip hop artists today. If a person likes the newest Lil' Jon or 50 Cent track, they will most likely not enjoy Donuts very much.

Dilla takes us on a journey through his very complex mind enriching us with the way he believed hip hop should be. I am now a believer too. I have recently seen a t-shirt for sale online that reads, "J Dilla Changed My Life." If a listener had never heard any of Dilla's work before, then heard Donuts, they may purchase this and completely agree with the message on it.

I personally have always enjoyed underground hip hop, but had never experienced J Dilla. I had heard of him, but had never really thought to take a listen. I regret waiting as long as I did. Hearing of Dilla's passing and learning that his album had been released just three days before, I decided to make a purchase. After listening 43 minutes and 23 seconds or music dispensed over 31 tracks my mind was boggled. What had I been missing all this time?

I had been missing the music that I really wanted for years. I had always starved for something a little bit different, even strange, with a new twist on things. I had been left out of something that would get me away from the commercialization of the genre of music that I loved so much.

"Waves" was the first track that blew my mind, though the two before it were excellent also. With all instrumentation and vocal samples reversed, J Dilla turned something that may have been a normal sounding sample, into something unheard of. The creativity and drums on this song are incredible.

Three songs after "Waves" is a song that had me absolutely losing my mind called "Stop." I struggle with the words to describe this track. It is so creative that you almost have to listen to it three or four times in a row. The vocals are top notch and are accompanied by thick instrumentation with a head nodding drum pattern.

After listening to 19 more Dilla masterpieces, not including the somewhat obnoxious "Glazed," came "Two Can Win." Half way through my neck started to hurt because I was nodding so rapidly and hard. After the song was done, I mentally marked it down as one of my top 10 favorite hip hop songs of all time. For me it could even possibly sneak into the top five. It can hardly be described as an instrumental with its soulful vocal samples. Everything is layered perfectly as J Dilla seemingly put very much time into this one.

The rest of the album is just as consistent with classics such as, "Don't Cry," "Anti-American Graffiti," "Gobstopper," and "Last Donut of the Night."

It is clear that J Dilla wanted an album that would mean something more to listeners than the music that has dominated our airwaves recently. He came through, producing one of the most interesting and creative albums of all time. If you are a hip-hop fan and you do not yet have Donuts, you had better add it to the collection immediately.

R.I.P. J Dilla.