- 01African RhythmsOneness of JujuAdarkwah asked James to spin the title track, “African Rhythms.”
- 02Think TwiceDonald ByrdDriving in James’s truck, they listened to “Think Twice,” a staple hip-hop sample for the Native Tongues and neo-soul crowd from Donald Byrd—a seventies jazz-soul icon and Conant Gardens native.
- 03The ClapperJay Dee, BluIt became a song called “The Clapper,” and was the first beat that Jay Dee rapped over that wasn’t one of his own making.
- 04Welcome 2 DetroitJay Dee aka J DillaThree months after James signed the deal, Adarkwah had the finished master tape for James’s album, Welcome 2 Detroit, in his hands.in the selected discography
- 05Come Get ItJay Dee, ElzhiThe record contained the most severe deployments yet of James’s signature time-feel: songs like “Pause” and “Come Get It” were the rhythmic equivalents of a train derailing and righting itself, repeatedly.
- 06B.B.E. (Big Booty Express)Jay Deeanother track that evoked Kraftwerk and the Detroit techno of his youth, its title a grateful nod to Adarkwah, “B.B.E. (Big Booty Express)”
- 07Rico Suave Bossa NovaJay Deeand his first productions with all traditional instruments, including the Brazilian jam with Riggins, “Rico Suave Bossa Nova,” and James’s cover of Donald Byrd’s “Think Twice,” keyboards and brass played by another Detroit musician, Andwele Gardner.
- 08EveSpacekJames did not know what to do with Spacek’s song, called “Eve,” especially Spacek’s lilting, trilly vocal.
- 09Get Dis MoneySlum VillageIn a scene from Office Space, the movie that featured Slum Village’s “Get Dis Money,” a character named Michael Bolton detests that he shares his name with the famous easy-listening singer.
- 10Like Water for ChocolateCommonDuring the making of Like Water for Chocolate, “Jay Dee” similarly became “J Dilla.”
- 11Just Friends (Sunny)Musiq SoulchildThere was a reason for this aesthetic shift that James did not articulate: Not long after James wrapped up work on Welcome 2 Detroit, Musiq Soulchild hit American radio with his debut single, “Just Friends (Sunny).”
- 12The BlastTalib KweliAround the same time, fellow Soulquarian Talib Kweli teamed up with the Cincinnati-based producer Hi-Tek on a song called “The Blast,” in which every rhythmic element was set against the others—dragging shaker, rushed snare, loose bass line.
- 13The LightCommonDerek arranged her first discussions with James, which accelerated once “The Light” became a hit.in the selected discography
- 14Fuck the PoliceJay DeeJames channeled his rage into a song, “Fuck the Police,” that drew its name from N.W.A’s famed anthem.in the selected discography
- 15Ma DukesFrank-n-DankAnd Frank did succeed in getting James to keep one song almost as it was: “Ma Dukes,” a tribute to Norma Bush and Janice Harvey over a lilting sample of the guitar intro from the Supremes’ song “The Wisdom of Time.”in the selected discography
- 16The Wisdom of TimeThe SupremesAnd Frank did succeed in getting James to keep one song almost as it was: “Ma Dukes,” a tribute to Norma Bush and Janice Harvey over a lilting sample of the guitar intro from the Supremes’ song “The Wisdom of Time.”
- 17Take Dem Clothes OffFrank-n-Dank (as Jay Dee featuring …)To assuage Goldstein’s concerns about Frank-n-Dank, Jay Dee went back into the lab with his artists and came up with “Take Dem Clothes Off.”in the selected discography
- 18TaintedSlum VillageWhile James’s project languished, his former collaborators ended up with a modest hit, “Tainted,” written by the group with Karriem Riggins and Dwele.
- 19Show Me What You GotBusta RhymesEothen “Egon” Alapatt, Stones Throw’s general manager, thought the bootleg innocent enough as bootlegs go: Jay Dee had already used the beat for the Busta Rhymes song “Show Me What You Got,” and Egon was sure that Busta’s label, Elektra, wouldn’t care.in the selected discography
- 20Fan-Tas-TicSlum VillageGroove Attack had also released some of the Slum Village tracks from Fan-Tas-Tic under the artist name “J-88.”in the selected discography
- 21PushFrank-n-DankThey recorded a new Frank-n-Dank single, “Push,” and James whipped up six brand-new tracks in the course of a week for an EP he dubbed Ruff Draft.in the selected discography
- 22Ruff DraftJ DillaThey recorded a new Frank-n-Dank single, “Push,” and James whipped up six brand-new tracks in the course of a week for an EP he dubbed Ruff Draft.
- 23Electric CircusCommonThe news coincided with the release of two MCA albums from the Soulquarian family—Common’s Electric Circus and the Roots’ Phrenology.
- 24PhrenologyThe RootsThe news coincided with the release of two MCA albums from the Soulquarian family—Common’s Electric Circus and the Roots’ Phrenology.
- 25NewnessMusiqOn Musiq Soulchild’s second album in 2002, Ivan Barias and Carvin Haggins continued to misalign time grids by rushing the snare on songs like “Newness.”
- 26Let’s GrowRoyce da 5'9"He had his own influences, and freely admitted that some of his productions were his own takes on the work of his contemporaries, like “Let’s Grow,” the song he recently did with Detroit’s Royce da 5'9": “See, that was my Timbaland impression,” James told Y’skid.in the selected discography