3. Slum VillageFantastic, Vol. 2
I absolutely love that record. There’s so many hip-hop records that I could choose, but there’s something about the minimalism and rawness in that record, it just feels totally timeless to me. I’m never disappointed to hear it. I’m a huge fan of J Dilla and his production and I think he’s someone with a profound understanding of music, but particularly rhythm. I love music that feels very raw. Minimalism is an interesting word because people assume that it means there’s not much going on, but that’s kind of a misconception. I think if you take apart a Jay Dee production, you’ll find there’s tonnes of shit going on.
It feels like a lesson in feel. Everyone’s delivery and the syncopation is a dream. It’s been fascinating watching Jay Dee’s legacy take off. I remember feeling like I was in this niche bubble, maybe ten, 15 years ago, of Dilla obsessives, but it feels like it’s become such a broad reference point now. There’s so many people who champion his music now and that’s as it should be. As a producer I’m really inspired by what he was involved with. There’s a real sense that if you took him out of the picture everything would change, certainly for a lot of the music that I love and am inspired by. I don’t think a record like Voodoo would have happened without Dilla, basically. It’s amazing when someone’s made a contribution of that significance, but again by being totally themselves and idiosyncratic and really weird, really experimental. I love that that’s the spirit that influences such great work.
