30/11/2025
Just finished this. I’m one of those fans who came to Dilla very late, starting with Donuts. I have loved this record for years and it was one of my gateways into hip hop, a genre I hugely neglected in my younger days.
One of the biggest revelations for me is that Donuts was likely produced on Pro Tools and not on an MPC while Dilla was in hospital, dispelling one of the long-held myths about the making of the album.
I was also fairly ignorant of what Dilla had done before Donuts so it was a real pleasure to learn more. I didn’t even know that he had produced Erykah Badu’s ‘Didn’t Cha Know’!
I really appreciated the illustrations which showed the microscopic ways in which Dilla nudged the elements of his beats, subtly shifting the timing to fall outside of the traditional swing of African American music - hence the title, Dilla Time.
He did with machines such as the MPC what was previously only played perhaps by top jazz drummers, and even then he put his own feel on it. These rhythms were consciously incorporated into the playing of collectives such as the Soulquarians, who sought to emulate the feel of unquantized (or “drunk”) beats with human musicianship. D’Angelo, Robert Glasper, Kendrick Lamar and so many more artists boast direct links to the Dilla universe.
Even if you have a passing interest in Dilla’s music, this book by Dan Charnas is well worth your time.
