‘The Legacy of J Dilla’
Producer/Director Chris Frierson and Esther Dere
Co-Producer Leah Harari
Producer/ Reporter Lauren Herstik
Watch our new documentary on Friday, April 6 on FX and Hulu.
J Dilla, born James Dewitt Yancey, grew up in Detroit in a household filled with music.
His father was in music groups that came to the family home to rehearse, and he would take a young Dilla to the record shop every Friday. “The record shop was James’s favorite place,” Maureen Yancey, Dilla’s mother, said in our documentary. “His dad got off work and would take him there as a treat.”
Dilla grew up on genres like gospel and jazz, but when it came to the music he made with his friends, it was all about hip-hop.
He spent his youth plugging away at his craft, making beats and creating a signature sound that utilized samples of old records. He would become one of the most influential producers in hip-hop.
After an illness, Dilla died in 2006 at age 32, leaving behind an expansive body of work, which includes production work for artists like Busta Rhymes, Erykah Badu, A Tribe Called Quest and Common.
“He used everything at his disposal,” the hip-hop producer DJ Jazzy Jeff said in our documentary, “and he did it better than all of us.”
Through conversations with Dilla’s family, friends and collaborators, our documentary charts a life and career that has left an indelible mark on music as well as the fraught negotiations over his legacy between his family and executors of his estate.
Supervising Producer Liz Hodes
Story Producer Nosarieme Garrick
Video Editor Geoff O’Brien
Director of Photography John Tashiro
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