J Dilla - Legacy

Legacy

J Dilla leaves behind two daughters. In May 2006, J Dilla's mother announced the creation of "The J Dilla Foundation," which will work to cure people affected by lupus.

Dilla's death has had a significant impact on the hip hop community. Besides countless tribute tracks and concerts, Dilla's death created a wealth of interest in his remaining catalog and, consequently, Dilla's influence on hip hop production became more apparent.

Dave Chappelle gives a special dedication to J Dilla in his movie Dave Chappelle's Block Party, which includes the statement "This film is dedicated to the life and memory of Music Producer J Dilla, aka Jay Dee (James D. Yancey)". The film focuses mostly on members of the Soulquarians, a collective of hip hop musicians of which Yancey was also a member.

J Dilla's music has been used in various television programs. Cartoon Network's late night programing block, Adult Swim, has played the songs "Waves", "Welcome to the Show", and "Mash" during the commercial bumpers in between shows, as well as a number of tracks on their Chrome Children EP. In May 2010, UK mobile network 02 used Jaylib's "The Red" instrumental in their 'Pool Party' ad. A recent BBC documentary inspired by the olympic runner Usain Bolt, contained two J Dilla-produced songs - "So Far To Go" by Common and "Runnin'" by The Pharcyde.

In February 2007, a year after his death, J Dilla posthumously received the Plug Award's Artist of the Year as well as the award for Record Producer of the Year. In Dilla's hometown of Detroit, House music veteran Carl Craig has fronted a movement to install a plaque in honor of J Dilla in Conant Gardens (where the artist grew up and initiated his career). A resolution for the proposed plaque was passed by the Detroit Entertainment Commission in May 2010, and is currently awaiting approval by the Detroit City Council. J Dilla continues to be remembered as one of the most important figures of the hip hop generation.

Outside of Hip Hop, Dilla has proven to be highly influential to the works of bands and producers within the United Kingdom. Jack Barnett of These New Puritans has been seen occasionally wearing a "J Dilla Changed My Life" t-shirt. The band subliminally honored Dilla by replicating the notable minimal driving drum pattern of 'Jungle Love' from "The Shining" on "InfinityytinifnI" which is found on the album 'Beat Pyramid'. Southend-on-sea shoegaze-punk band The Horrors, London indie rock bands The xx, Golden Silvers and Mystery Jets alongside electronic producers Joy Orbison, Darkstar and Micachu & Kwes have all cited Dilla as a major musical influence.

Despite these accolades, there have been documented conflicts between his mother and the executor of his estate Arthur Erik regarding future Dilla releases. In an interview with LA Weekly, Erik described how difficult it was for the estate to "protect his legacy" due to bootlegging and unofficial mixtapes. He stressed how important it was for the estate to gather all possible income related to Dilla's name, as Dilla had to borrow money from the government due to mounting medical bills at the end of his life.

A few weeks later Dilla's mother, who has appeared on such unofficial mixtapes such as Busta Rhymes' Dillagence, gave her take on these issues. In addition to stating that Arthur Erik and Dilla's estate has chosen not to communicate with his family, she has stated that he has barred anyone from use of Dilla's likeness or name.

One of the things Dilla wanted me to do with his legacy was to use it to help others, people with illness, kids who were musically gifted but had little hope due to poverty. I wanted to use my contacts to help people out and it was squashed because we weren’t in compliance with the state and there was nothing we could do about it. I’m Dilla’s mother and I can’t use Dilla’s name or likeness, but I know that I still can honor him by doing his work.

Mrs. Yancey also has mentioned that Erik was in fact Dilla's accountant and not his business manager in his lifetime, and that he fell into his position because she and Dilla were first and foremost concerned about his health and not with getting paperwork in order. She also stated that Dilla's friends in the hip hop community, such as Erykah Badu, Busta Rhymes, Madlib, Common and The Roots, have contacted her personally for future projects with Dilla beats, but the estate has vetoed all future projects not contracted prior to Dilla's death. She also implied that Dilla would not support the estate's practices, such as their persecution of bootleggers and file sharers.

Dilla was about love in many formats and for his estate to have done the exact opposite is not having any respect for him or who he was.

Due to Dilla's debt to the government, the family receives no income from projects. Dilla's children are being supported by the social security their mothers have drawn Likewise, Mrs. Yancey is also still paying off Dilla's medical bills that she helped finance, leaving her also in tremendous debt. She still lives in the same Detroit ghetto, is still a daycare worker at Conant Gardens and also suffers from lupus, the same disease which killed Dilla. To help pay the cost of medication and keep her household afloat, Delicious Vinyl donated all proceeds of Jay Dee - The Delicious Vinyl Years to Mrs. Yancey in 2007. In 2008, Giant Peach created a donation paypal account for her and RenSoul.com released a charity mixtape. Despite these actions, it would appear that little income has been generated, as Stones Throw has just released a charity t-shirt on its website.

In a recent article on the family's troubles in Vibe magazines, his mother revealed that the family lost their old home in Detroit due to her taking care of Dilla in his final days. The mother of one of Dilla's children, Monica Whitlow, also broke her silence on the issue of the estate and his legacy:

It pisses me off, everything that's going on with this estate. It's ridiculous 'cause it's been three years, and my baby has not seen anything from this estate.

On January 24, 2010, an announcement was made on j-dilla.com, regarding the J Dilla Estate and the Yancey family.

"The family of late music producer James “J Dilla” Yancey is extremely pleased to announce the appointment of West Coast probate attorney Alex Borden as administrator of Yancey’s estate, and also to announce the establishment of the official J Dilla Foundation. The developments mark a new chapter in preserving and enhancing the legacy of the legendary artist and secure a means of future prosperity for his mother, Maureen “Ma Dukes” Yancey, daughters Ja’Mya Yancey and Ty-Monae Whitlow, and brother, John “Illa J” Yancey."

The J Dilla Estate will be working with the Yancey family in all business dealings of J Dilla's catalog of music.