R.I.P to my man Jay Dee

Appreciate your favorite producer while they're still around. That seems to be the overriding moral behind the unexpected passing of James Yancey, AKA Jay Dee, AKA J-Dilla, AKA the man no less an authority than ?uestlove considers the greatest Hip-Hop producer of all time.

So go ahead, let your favorite Hippety Hop beatsmith know how much you appreciate the many hours of dopeness they've given you. So go ahead, knit Madlib a sweater. I'm sure he'd appreciate it. Send Kanye West, DJ Premier or 9th Wonder a thank you card to let them know you love em. This is especially important in Kanye's case because I get the impression he doesn't realize how important his music is to so many people.

My initial reaction upon learning of Jay Dee's death was utter shock and astonishment followed by a very selfish mourning for all the dope beats he'll never get a chance to create.

I'll admit: it took me a while to warm up to Jay Dee's production. Initially I found his stuff too raw and minimimalist, too lacking in melody or melodicism. I think I had my "eureka" moment during his "Welcome 2 Detroit" album when the beauty and wonder of Dilla's production became apparent to me for the first time. I came to love Jay Dee's sound because it's so raw and minimalist. He took Pete Rock's chilled-out sound back to the basement with dirty keyboards, neck-snapping drums and funky backwards keyboard melodies.

You might not recognize Jay Dee's name off the bat but go and check out the credits to some of your favorite albums and if you have good taste you'll be finding his name everywhere: as a member of the super-production squad The Soulquarians (alongside the none too shabby likes of James Poyser, D'Angelo and ?uestlove), as part of A Tribe Called Quest's Ummah squad, as half of Jaylib and as a rapper and producer for Slum Village. Jay Dee was the kind of all-time great guys like Madlib and Kanye West could give a quarter or third an album over to and be assured that there would be no drop in quality between their work and his. If anything Jay Dee took Madlib to school production-wise on the Jaylib album: his beats towered over Madlib's. The banshee soul wail powering "The Red" is so damn funky Kevin Federline could freestyle about the Pavarottis pursuing him and the track would still be a monster.

So do yourself a favor and appease the pagan gods of hip hop at the same time. Crank up "Labcabincalifornia", "Champion Sound" or "Fantastic Volume 1", pour out a little liquor and remember the great J-Dilla, one of the illest ever to fuck with the beats.