A Tribute to J Dilla

J Dilla is one of the most influential hip-hop producers of all time. He is the author of many innovative techniques in music production. Curiosity, patience and love for the music were the three main ideologies of his. In this blog post, we will talk about several music production methods J Dilla used to create amazing sounding beats.

Start Sampling

J Dilla spent most of his time record shopping, browsing through hundreds of vinyl records and selecting tracks to sample. Sampling is a process of chopping a track into parts and playing them in a non chronological fashion. It’s also a process of modernizing classic records of the past. Make sure to hit your local records store for the material, just be ready that crate digging process is very time consuming.

Manipulate The Bassline

J Dilla used a Moog synthesizer to create an ever evolving bass line. Bass Line can be manipulated both during live recording and on already recorded sequence. This can be done through running the bass through various filters and oscillators available at your DAW via VSTs and on the physical synthesizers which let you control multiple parameters at the same time.

Turn Off Quantization

It is widely accepted to use the quantize function for drum and other loop patterns of the project. Quantization is a process where every sound is accurately and automatically placed on the project grid. J Dilla played the drums live, non quantized. This loose drumming technique gives birth to truly signature loops.

We have explored these concepts while developing the Hip Hop Waves sound pack.

J Dilla, record shopping.