Synopses & Reviews
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
"This book is a must for everyone interested in illuminating the idea of unexplainable genius." — Questlove
Equal parts biography, musicology, and cultural history, Dilla Time chronicles the life and legacy of J Dilla, a musical genius who transformed the sound of popular music for the twenty-first century.
His name wasn't known to mainstream audiences, and when he died at age thirty-two, he had never had a pop hit. Yet since his death, J Dilla has become a demigod, revered as one of the most important musical figures of the past hundred years. At the core of this adulation is innovation: as the producer behind some of the most influential rap and R&B acts of his day, Dilla created a new kind of musical time-feel, an accomplishment on par with the revolutions wrought by Louis Armstrong and James Brown. Dilla and his drum machine reinvented the way musicians play.
In Dilla Time, Dan Charnas chronicles the life of James Dewitt Yancey, from his gifted Detroit childhood to his rise as a sought-after hip-hop producer to the rare blood disease that caused his premature death. He follows the people who kept Dilla and his ideas alive. And he rewinds the histories of American rhythms: from the birth of Motown soul to funk, techno, and disco. Here, music is a story of what happens when human and machine times are synthesized into something new.
This is the story of a complicated man and his machines; his family, friends, partners, and celebrity collaborators; and his undeniable legacy. Based on nearly two hundred original interviews, and filled with graphics that teach us to feel and "see" the rhythm of Dilla's beats, Dilla Time is a book as defining and unique as J Dilla's music itself.
Review
"An ambitious, dynamic biography of J Dilla, who may be the most influential hip-hop artist known by the least number of people… A wide-ranging biography that fully captures the subject's ingenuity, originality, and musical genius." Kirkus (starred review)
Review
"Dilla Time is a portrait of a complex genius taken too young, as well as a glorious study of the music and culture he created." Spin
Review
"It's no ordinary book… equal parts biography, musical analysis and cultural history delving deep not only into Dilla's history and music but also into the histories of rhythm and his hometown of Detroit." Variety
Review
"[Dilla Time] do[es] what good music books should: send you back to the source material… Dilla Time is an important piece of music writing, affording its African-American subject the respect that the rock establishment has long accorded its white heroes." The Economist
Synopsis
WINNER OF THE PEN/JACQUELINE BOGRAD WELD AWARD FOR BIOGRAPHY
A NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER
"This book is a must for everyone interested in illuminating the idea of unexplainable genius."
--Questlove
His name wasn't known to mainstream audiences, and when he died at age thirty-two, he had never had a pop hit. Yet since his death, J Dilla has become a demigod, revered as one of the most important musical figures of the past hundred years, a genius who transformed the sound of popular music for the twenty-first century. With revelatory detail, Dan Charnas shows how, as the producer behind some of the most influential rap and R&B acts of his day, Dilla created a new kind of musical time-feel. Dilla and
his drum machine reinvented the way musicians play.
Equal parts biography, musicology, and cultural history, Dilla Time chronicles the life and legacy of James Dewitt Yancey, from his Detroit childhood to his rise as a sought-after hip-hop producer, to the rare blood disease that caused his premature death. This is the story of a complicated man and his machines; his family, friends, partners, and celebrity collaborators; and his undeniable legacy. Based on nearly two hundred original interviews, and filled with graphics that teach us to feel and "see" the rhythm of Dilla's beats, Dilla Time is a book as defining and unique as J Dilla's music itself.
Synopsis
It's Dilla Time. Finally. Dilla Time is the story of the invention of a new kind of time, a new kind of sound by the most influential music producer of the last 25 years, someone you may never heard of: J. Dilla. He's revered by rappers, producers, and living legends of music-but Dilla himself never rose to mainstream fame, despite revolutionizing the way music sounds before his untimely death at the age of 32.
About the Author
Dan Charnas is the author of the definitive history of the hip-hop business, The Big Payback. He's also the author of Work Clean, a book detailing applying chefs' techniques to almost any life situation. He was also the co-creator and executive producer of the VH1 movie and TV series, The Breaks. He lives in Manhattan, and is an associate professor at NYU/Tisch's Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music.