“The most humble, modest, worthy and gifted beat-maker I’ve known… Jay Dee had a passion for life and music, and will never be forgotten. He’s a brother that was loved by me, and I love what he’s done for us. And though I’m happy he's no longer in the pain he’d been recently feelin’, I’m crushed by the pain of his absence.”
-The Roots, Can’t Stop This, Game Theory (2006)

“He defied the laws of physics when it came to the MP”
-Busta Rhymes, Dillagence, Dillagence (2007)

“… He’s resting in peace, in the sky, looking down… Rest in peace, homie.”
-Termanology, Outro (A Tribute To Jay), If Heaven Were a Mile A Away (2008)

It’s been three years since the world lost the greatest music producer of all time. James “J Dilla” Yancey was his name, and making beats was his game. As hundreds of thousands of people, around the world, would agree, J Dilla was the personification of perfection. His ingenuity surpassed not only peers, but forerunners in the music industry. Dilla’s quest to find meaning through music touched, changed and transformed the lives of so many people. Without saying much, Dilla, as Busta Rhymes acknowledged, “spoke volumes” through his beats and sounds. If The Roots are right, that “there’ll never be another one like him,” Hip-Hop listeners might want to prolong the legacy of Dilla as much as opportunity permits.

Dilla’s influence seems to be most visible in the fans he accrued over the years. Dilla’s fans, of which I’m one, are addicted to the sound and tone he nurtured with unseemly flawlessness. His understanding of human emotions, blended with the manipulation of rhythm, helped J Dilla become one of Hip-Hop’s most beloved figures. The intricate relationship Dilla had with his fans is so strong that, in November 2007, when Mick Boogie and Busta Rhymes released their tribute mixtape to Dilla, Dillagence, the website server, bombarded by legions of visitors, crashed multiple times, within the same day. The same characters responsible for the site crashing can be caught sporting a “J Dilla Changed My Life” T-shirt, on any given day. Why not? Dilla’s unashamed devotion to his craft has inspired many Hip-Hop listeners, critics, scholars, intellectuals, producers, DJs, B-Boys, B-Girls, Graffiti Artists, and lyricists. A man who, despite being on the fringe of death, still saw it fit to keep vibrant his passion, is worthy of the accolades he’s received posthumously.

Donuts, the soul-wrestling compilation Dilla released 3 days before his death, 3 years ago, was birthed from the loins of musical fidelity. Met by critical acclaim, Donuts was an explicit validation of Dilla’s eclecticism. From “Lightworks” to “Two Can Win,” Dilla never wavered in amazing the listener; from “Time: The Donut of the Heart” to “Don’t Cry,” Dilla made plain the desires of his heart. For one who courageously completed Donuts, while engaging in a deadly bout with Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, Dilla’s unmistakable devotion is a wonder of the world.

Dilla’s love for music, his fans, and his peers, makes it hard to think of a world devoid of his physical presence. Love, which was a central factor in Dilla’s craft, is what oozes out of the speakers, whenever a Dilla beat is being played. Love, which Dilla’s soul remains wrapped around, is the defining quality in his sound. Love, the definition of Dilla’s legacy, remains the tidal-wave-like force in his life-after-death existence. Dilla is alive! Oh yes, he is!

On this 3^rd anniversary of your passing, Dilla, we honor, thank, appreciate, miss, and cherish, you. Your timelessness will never exceed us. Your resurrected soul now advocates on behalf of those who never once faulted in their commitment to preserve the memories of your existence. We would, forever, revel in your divine ability to speak through sounds, and reach the deepest corners of the soul. J Dilla, live FOREVER!

Yours Sincerely,