I loved J Dilla ever since I saw that video by Vox.

That was my introduction to him. Not his music. I watched that video multiple times throughout the years and I love him more each time. I watched a few other videos about him. Some interviews, breakdowns by Digging the Greats, and I listened to his music. If I remember correctly, I guess that video and Dilla are why I love drums the way I do, why I love the scratch effect so much, and why I love making music in general.

I am writing this to talk about a few of his songs I listened to and how they influenced me or what I want to learn from them.

Keep On - Dwele, Slum Village

I was listening to this playlist called "J Dilla - Production Discography Playlist" on shuffle and I came across this song day before yesterday. The bassline in this song ABSOLUTELY AMAZED ME. The placement of the bass notes is very new to me. Because of all the YouTube videos I watched to learn about music production, my brain is programmed to think that the bassline has to be on the kick and accompany it. This song (Dilla in general) combines the kick and bass to form the low-end. This was new to me because I think of drums as the groove part of the track and bass as the sole low-end filler. The kick's frequency is low, it sits in the low end. It's in my face, I just didn't think to see it. To me, this was the bassline of freedom. It was fascinating to listen to. On the first listen, my brain couldn't comprehend what just happened and I have been listening to this on loop since then.

AND THE SPACE IN THE TRACK! The beat was so simplistic, that it left a LOT of space for the vocals and they work perfectly with the beat. The arp-y melody is sort of sprinkled here and there to taste and it's just magical. A kick, a snare, little hats, an extremely groovy bassline, a sprinkle of melody and THAT IS ALL! It was simplicity itself. It also has fun timing, like all the other Dilla songs. He is always on his own grid. It might not line up, but it sounds PERFECT.

Motor City 14 - J Dilla

This has a very hand-played feel to it. The bass, the drums, everything. Listening to it feels like he was just vibing with the samples he loaded, having a lot of fun. That makes me very happy. There is rushing, there is dragging, but it's all part of the groove. Nothing feels like a mistake. If something goes off-grid in something I make, it doesn't stop bothering me. But this guy doesn't care about anything but the vibe. There is no high-end either! It feels like he knows what the main character of his song is. He knows what to give the center stage to and anything else that grabs attention from it is a distraction and has to be removed. I need that clarity in my music. I don't know what my main characters are. Need to fix that flaw as soon as possible.

Forth and Back - Slum Village, Kurupt

Dilla plays a snare on the 2 and a clap on the 4. That too, for me is magic. Sounds awesome. It's not like I've never thought about it. But I have only seen it sound good on YouTube tutorials. Not in an actual song. So this is new to me. I know this works now and I know how well it works.

The drums in this are rigid but the bassline is the groove. It moves, has a life of its own and moves the song a little more. Makes me swing. This kinda things excite me very much. And the second bass note coincides with the snare. I don't think I would've done something like that excites me too. Because I would've thought of leaving the other hits alone and sticking the kick and the bassline together very strictly.

I feel the features I have on my DAW, make me see too much and in turn, worry too much. Sort of like sensory overload. I think I'm lucky to have the level of control I do, but this control makes me control the groove too much. I feel maybe if I saw less, I would focus more on the feel rather than what it looks like on screen. No one cares about the screen! The end result is an audio! I should get that through my skull very fast.

Runnin' - The Pharcyde

I saw the video explaining the drums on this song by Diggin' the Greats and I was blown away.

A 20 BAR LOOP!! The best I can do if I push myself extra hard is 8 bars, so this is an entirely new level for me. I can't even fathom how he did this. This one, the drums ride the song. The bassline isn't always there. It is played selectively during the chorus and some parts of the verse. Peculiar choice. I always thought no bassline was empty. But maybe that emptiness is good? I don't know anymore. All I know is there are no rules, only guidelines. And I should remember to break them every now and then.

Lot's of great scratching too. It just feels so very human to scratch. The song is playing, the song is musical and groovy, and then you meddle with the flow of the song, make it go back and forth real fast, and THAT BECOMES MUSICAL! It's fascinating to me. I want to be able to achieve this someday.

Got 'Til It's Gone - Janet Jackson, Q-Tip, Joni Mitchell

THE ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL SCRATCHES! It is just so very refreshing for me to listen to scratches. They are always awesome.

The bassline too, is played with so much. Like Brian Raydar Ellis said in that Vox video I mentioned above:

You listen to his Moog bass. It couldn't care less if it got there on time, but somehow it does.

Everything about how he plays his bass is very very fascinating. Sometimes, I hear a full note. Sometimes, the length gets cut off to make space for the next one. But never once does this mess with the feel of the song. BEAUTY.

Out of the grid, but never out of place. Never out of groove. To me, that's Dilla.