11.
J Dilla – Donuts
Donuts is a masterpiece. It’s another one of those records that is so colorful and textural that no two listens are ever the same. There are new discoveries and new things to focus in on every time I hear it – and that’s saying a lot, because I’ve listened to it hundreds of times at this point. The flow of it is pure magic, it’s the world’s greatest five-dimensional collage. There are so many moments on this record that are so good that I get that feeling like I need to punch the wall with joy. It’s just so undeniable, and always fresh and exciting. I really do think that the fact that he made this in hospital in the weeks leading up to his death accounts for a lot of where the beauty comes from. I think his illness and his impending death really had him pushing the limits of psychedelia. At least that’s what I imagine. I think if you are mixing a record on your deathbed you are bound to take it to places that were previously unimaginable. I find it to be a very visual record, and I always try to imagine how he felt, and how that ended up translating into pushing the ultimate boundaries of life into the unknown. R.I.P Jay Dee.
