Slum Village

De La Soul on How J Dilla Invented The Modern Beat Tape

In an exclusive interview, De La Soul discuss why J Dilla beat tapes were treated as the holy grail amongst… Read More

February 7, 2023

The 17 Best J Dilla Beats Of All Time

J Dilla wasn't just your favorite producer's favorite producer, he was also your favorite rapper's favorite producer — and these… Read More

February 7, 2023

How J Dilla’s Relationship with the Strip Club Chocolate City Inspired His Creative Process

Those who knew J Dilla best understood how his love for strip clubs — especially Detroit's now-shuttered Chocolate City —… Read More

November 7, 2022

Young RJ of Slum Village Says the Group’s New Album Is Coming

Young RJ of Slum Village spoke with REVOLT about his history with J Dilla and the group's surviving members preparing… Read More

October 27, 2022

5 Albums That Made Neo-Soul Possible

The source code of neo-soul is scattered across a number of genre-defiant projects that pushed, and eventually broke, boundaries in… Read More

March 4, 2022

The Look of Love: An Introduction to J Dilla, The Rapper

For Dilla Day 2022, we celebrate the deceptively deep catalog of daggering wordplay from J Dilla, an innovative producer who… Read More

February 7, 2022

This Youtube Channel Has Been Uploading J Dilla Rarities for Months

A trove of obscure instrumentals from the late producer has surfaced. In the 15 years since J Dilla died, the… Read More

April 17, 2021

30 Essential Q-Tip Guest Verses You Need to Hear [Playlist]

Featuring is Okayplayer's new playlist series celebrating guest appearances from hip-hop's most iconic artists. For our inaugural edition, we focus on… Read More

April 10, 2021

Remembering the Time Daft Punk Enlisted J Dilla to Remix “Aerodynamic”

A Daft Punk sample led to a rare gem of the J Dilla discography. On Monday French electronic duo Daft… Read More

February 22, 2021

Here’s How J Dilla Hid Beats from Artists on His Own Tapes

According to a longtime friend and collaborator, the late producer was stashing instrumentals for himself in plain sight. Detroit's own,… Read More

February 10, 2021

House Shoes Remembers a J Dilla Too Obsessed with Fidelity to be Lo-Fi

House Shoes retraces the highs and lows of his relationship with J Dilla, weighs in on the "godfather of lo-fi"… Read More

February 7, 2021

In Hip-Hop and Beyond: Sade [Playlist]

Featuring deep cuts and classics from Mobb Deep, Black Star, MF DOOM, J Dilla, Freddie Gibbs, Snoop Dogg, and so… Read More

January 16, 2021

The 21 Best Hip-Hop Sequels of All Time

Who says the sequel is rarely better than the original? We did a deep dive into the history of various… Read More

December 2, 2020

J Dilla’s Innovative Sampling Technique Dissected in New Podcast

Hear veteran music journalist, Dan Charnas, examine the pioneering rhythms and sampling rituals of J Dilla. A new episode of… Read More

October 10, 2020

“J Dilla Was the Most Creative Producer I Ever Heard”: John Salley Talks Signing Slum Village to Their First Deal

Salley attempted to broker a deal for the group but was unsuccessful. Renaissance man John Salley recently joined the latest… Read More

May 19, 2020

Reminisce on the Early Days of Slum Village in T3’s “Mr. Fantastic” Lyric Video [Premiere]

Slum Village's T3 has released his debut EP, Mr. Fantastic. Even after all of these years, Slum Village still lives… Read More

January 24, 2020