There really isn’t that much that I can say about J. Dilla that hasn’t been said already. For me his music will forever be the soundtrack to my life. My personal discovery of his music came at a time when I was tired of what most hip hop artists had to offer. Granted, I have been a fan for a long time already, without realizing that he was the main ingredient in the sound that artists like Common, A Tribe Called Quest, The Pharcyde and The Roots have been producing. J. Dilla  was an innovator and a shapeshifter, abandoning his sound in favor of something new and original as fast and as often as he would create a unique style, time after time. To most hip hop purists, DJ Premier, Pete Rock and RZA, amongst others, are the paramount of hip hop production, and rightfully so. I would never disrespect these great producers, take away from their legacy or engage in these debates of opinions, but personally, J. Dilla made music that mattered to me the most. His sound, always changing, challenged how I heard and felt music. It was as if he made music for me personally.

James “J. Dilla” Yancey passed away in February of 2006. I was working at my desk at home and reached out to Brian Atkins, whom I collaborated with previously on a DVD project for The Roots, only to find out that he was at J.Dilla’s wake in Los Angeles. I was shocked and very upset. He was one of the few artists whom I kept on my radar and losing him was going to affect my selection of new music tremendously. Brian also filled me in that he was shooting some footage during the wake and was planning to release it eventually for the fans of J.Dilla. When he asked me to participate in this project, I immediately started to brainstorm. I did alot of early concepts and visual designs, trying to define a look and feel, creating video transitions and DVD menu chapters. J.Dilla’s camp was getting ready to release his LP, “The Shining”, and I got to toss around some ideas for that as well. The DVD was pretty much completed but because of scheduling and red tape, it was put on pause indefinitely. 

Not until February 2011, exactly five years since Dilla’s passing, did we revisit this project. Brian decided to upload this video, now titled “J.Dilla: Still Shining” online, so that all J.Dilla fans could have access to it and I helped him with his goal by creating thejdillaproject.com. This was probably my most personal work to date. It was rough, chaotic and unpolished, but it was honest and organic. It was about one of my icons and I am proud to say that I got to create something official for J.Dilla in this lifetime.

Watch the Documentary here