The Witzard

Ma Dukes is prepping to release her son J Dilla 's long-awaited third posthumous album, Rebirth of Detroit this coming June 12th. Following Dilla 's sudden 2006 passing, 2 other incomplete records were eventually finished and released: The Shining (2006) and Jay Stay Paid (2009) at the hands of producers, Karriem Riggins/Pete Rock . Throughout his short career, J Dilla supposedly recorded troves of music that only his inner circle had ever heard; But now that his estate has gained back the rights to most of these "lost recordings," I'm hoping to see a few more proper releases like this fairly soon! Danny Brown , Guilty Simpson, Amp Fiddler , Illa J, Frank Nitt , Chuck Inglish, and Phat Kat are set to appear over 25 unreleased J Dilla donuts on Rebirth of Detroit . In preparation for the album, "Jay-Dee's Revenge" & "Birthright" will be issued as a limited edition 10-12" single on May 25th. So, don't forget: Rebirth of...

There are plenty of music collectors that claim to have "All Things Dilla." Maybe that's true, if there is such a thing. With that said, I can honestly say that I'm fortunate enough to be amongst this breed. And it's not because I am the most Internet-savvy or because I belong to some special group of music nerds that have the rarest shit. In fact, I only have possession of this rareness because I happened to be there when it all happened! And for whatever reason, call it divine intuition, I kept every cassette tape I was able to get my hands on. I tried to collect every beat-tape , remix, or freestyle possible. Even when we were just hanging out in Dilla 's basement in Conant Gardens , I'd often bring my hand held recorder and just tape us talking shit about any & everything. Dilla was never the type to hoard music. Very often he'd make mixtapes for us to listen to while we drove around in his sparkling green Beamer . Those leath...