Dilla Time

J Dilla changed how producers hear time — that off-kilter, human swing. A tribute to him can't just illustrate the man; it has to carry the feel, with the cultural literacy the work deserves.

I made rhythm the brief. Dilla's timing drove the pacing, the motion, the composition — not just the subject matter. I pulled from the era and the culture around the music so it reads true to the people who already know.