- 01The ListeningLittle BrotherThey listened to James’s tracks, and to The Listening—the debut album from Little Brother that Beni B had given to James in London.
- 02Electric CircusCommonThe moment stayed on Common’s mind as the rapper faced a transition of his own.
- 03Fantastic, Vol. 2Slum VillageRice’s studio, sliding him the Alicia Myers record James sampled for Slum Village’s Fantastic, Vol.in the selected discography
- 04The Jazz Messengers at the Cafe Bohemia, Volume 2The Jazz MessengersThe first two records he ever bought, at the age of twelve, were The Jazz Messengers at the Cafe Bohemia, Volume 2 and De La Soul’s 3 Feet High and Rising.
- 053 Feet High and RisingDe La SoulThe first two records he ever bought, at the age of twelve, were The Jazz Messengers at the Cafe Bohemia, Volume 2 and De La Soul’s 3 Feet High and Rising.
- 06Cantaloupe IslandHerbie HancockBut Wolf also thought most of the previous attempts to “merge” the genres were cheesy as hell, like Blue Note’s Us3—their “Cantaloop” based on a loop of Herbie Hancock’s “Cantaloupe Island”; or contrived, like the Jazzmatazz series: Here’s hip-hop, here’s jazz, let’s put them together!
- 07Saudade Vem CorrendoLuiz BonfáHe’d much rather hear Jay Dee manipulate Luiz Bonfá’s samba guitar from “Saudade Vem Correndo.”
- 08Shades of BlueMadlibIn 2002, Blue Note Wolf met Peanut Butter Wolf and hammered out a deal for Madlib to mine the Blue Note vaults to create an album’s worth of dusty hip-hop, Shades of Blue.
- 09Think TwiceDonald ByrdWolf loved Dilla’s remake of Donald Byrd’s “Think Twice” on Welcome 2 Detroit—the original song had been a Blue Note release—and Wolf suspected that the producer might want to remake another Byrd track.
- 10Welcome 2 DetroitJay Dee aka J DillaWolf loved Dilla’s remake of Donald Byrd’s “Think Twice” on Welcome 2 Detroit—the original song had been a Blue Note release—and Wolf suspected that the producer might want to remake another Byrd track.in the selected discography
- 11OblighettoBrother Jack McDuffBut James’s response surprised him: Brother Jack McDuff’s “Oblighetto,” the source of the sample behind one of James’s collaborators’ classic hits: A Tribe Called Quest’s anthemic “Scenario.”
- 12ScenarioA Tribe Called QuestBut James’s response surprised him: Brother Jack McDuff’s “Oblighetto,” the source of the sample behind one of James’s collaborators’ classic hits: A Tribe Called Quest’s anthemic “Scenario.”
- 13Without YouLucy PearlA few years back, James had told House Shoes a story: He had been asked by his Ummah brothers, Raphael Saadiq and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, to remix a song called “Without You” for their new group, Lucy Pearl.
- 14Oblighetto (J Dilla Remix)J DillaThe “Oblighetto Remix” by J Dilla was vindication for Eli Wolf, too, who saw jazz as a way musicians thought rather than something they played, and to him, J Dilla was firmly in that fraternity.
- 15Champion SoundJaylibThe cover of Jaylib’s Champion Sound, released in October 2003, would feature instead an illustration, something Jank thought perfectly symbolized the spiritual connection between Detroit and Los Angeles: a tire tread.in the selected discography
- 16Detroit Deli (A Taste of Detroit)Slum VillageIn a final irony, Kanye West had produced the first single from Detroit Deli (A Taste of Detroit), the forthcoming album from Slum Village.
- 17SelfishSlum VillageSlum shot the video for the song “Selfish” in Los Angeles.
- 18Do YouSlum VillageJames ultimately made two contributions to the album: The beat for “Do You” transformed a Michigan classic, MC Breed’s “Ain’t No Future in Your Frontin’,” fragmenting the original sample, Zapp’s “More Bounce to the Ounce,” reharmonizing it with a new bass line and misaligned clavinet chords, “simple-complex.”in the selected discography
- 19Ain’t No Future in Your Frontin’MC BreedJames ultimately made two contributions to the album: The beat for “Do You” transformed a Michigan classic, MC Breed’s “Ain’t No Future in Your Frontin’,” fragmenting the original sample, Zapp’s “More Bounce to the Ounce,” reharmonizing it with a new bass line and misaligned clavinet chords, “simple-complex.”
- 20More Bounce to the OunceZappJames ultimately made two contributions to the album: The beat for “Do You” transformed a Michigan classic, MC Breed’s “Ain’t No Future in Your Frontin’,” fragmenting the original sample, Zapp’s “More Bounce to the Ounce,” reharmonizing it with a new bass line and misaligned clavinet chords, “simple-complex.”
- 21ReunionSlum VillageAnd James took a verse on the song “Reunion,” albeit without Baatin’s presence, in which James got off a trademark boast, saying he “repped more D than twelve Eminems.”in the selected discography
- 22ClairSingers UnlimitedHe played “Clair” by Singers Unlimited, the basis for Slum Village’s “Players”; then “Give It to Me Baby” by Rick James, deconstructing it on the spot so that it became Common’s “Dooinit.”
- 23PlayersSlum VillageHe played “Clair” by Singers Unlimited, the basis for Slum Village’s “Players”; then “Give It to Me Baby” by Rick James, deconstructing it on the spot so that it became Common’s “Dooinit.”
- 24Give It to Me BabyRick JamesHe played “Clair” by Singers Unlimited, the basis for Slum Village’s “Players”; then “Give It to Me Baby” by Rick James, deconstructing it on the spot so that it became Common’s “Dooinit.”
- 25DooinitCommonHe played “Clair” by Singers Unlimited, the basis for Slum Village’s “Players”; then “Give It to Me Baby” by Rick James, deconstructing it on the spot so that it became Common’s “Dooinit.”in the selected discography
- 26É Isso AíBaden PowellHe played “Clair” by Singers Unlimited, the basis for Slum Village’s “Players”; then “Give It to Me Baby” by Rick James, deconstructing it on the spot so that it became Common’s “Dooinit.” Then J-Rocc played Baden Powell’s “É Isso Aí.”
- 27I Don’t KnowSlum VillageJames had sampled only a fraction of that Powell song for Slum’s “I Don’t Know.”
- 28Cause I Love YouLenny WilliamsHe took dusty old soul records, like Lenny Williams’s “Cause I Love You,” jacked up the speed, chopped the music and vocal alike, and made a new track for the Chicago rapper Twista, “Overnight Celebrity.”
- 29Overnight CelebrityTwistaHe took dusty old soul records, like Lenny Williams’s “Cause I Love You,” jacked up the speed, chopped the music and vocal alike, and made a new track for the Chicago rapper Twista, “Overnight Celebrity.”
- 30Me and Mrs. JonesBilly PaulThree years after his 1972 smash “Me and Mrs. Jones,” Billy Paul recorded a lesser-known song, “Let the Dollar Circulate.”
- 31Let the Dollar CirculateBilly PaulJones,” Billy Paul recorded a lesser-known song, “Let the Dollar Circulate.”
- 32Dancing MachineThe Jackson 5James splintered the Jackson 5’s “Dancing Machine” intro into bits: Michael Jackson singing the words “move it,” fragments of background harmony from his brothers.
- 33Much Better OffSmokey Robinson & The MiraclesOther songs went through James’s electronic blender: Smokey Robinson and the Miracles’ “Much Better Off”; Brenton Wood’s “Gimme Little Sign”; Mary Wells’s “Two Lovers History”; the Impressions’ “We Must Be in Love”; the Supremes’ and the Temptations’ version of “Sweet Inspiration”; “My Baby Must Be a Magician” and “You’re the One” by the Marvelettes.
- 34Gimme Little SignBrenton WoodOther songs went through James’s electronic blender: Smokey Robinson and the Miracles’ “Much Better Off”; Brenton Wood’s “Gimme Little Sign”; Mary Wells’s “Two Lovers History”; the Impressions’ “We Must Be in Love”; the Supremes’ and the Temptations’ version of “Sweet Inspiration”; “My Baby Must Be a Magician” and “You’re the One” by the Marvelettes.
- 35Two Lovers HistoryMary WellsOther songs went through James’s electronic blender: Smokey Robinson and the Miracles’ “Much Better Off”; Brenton Wood’s “Gimme Little Sign”; Mary Wells’s “Two Lovers History”; the Impressions’ “We Must Be in Love”; the Supremes’ and the Temptations’ version of “Sweet Inspiration”; “My Baby Must Be a Magician” and “You’re the One” by the Marvelettes.
- 36We Must Be in LoveThe ImpressionsOther songs went through James’s electronic blender: Smokey Robinson and the Miracles’ “Much Better Off”; Brenton Wood’s “Gimme Little Sign”; Mary Wells’s “Two Lovers History”; the Impressions’ “We Must Be in Love”; the Supremes’ and the Temptations’ version of “Sweet Inspiration”; “My Baby Must Be a Magician” and “You’re the One” by the Marvelettes.
- 37Sweet InspirationTemptationsOther songs went through James’s electronic blender: Smokey Robinson and the Miracles’ “Much Better Off”; Brenton Wood’s “Gimme Little Sign”; Mary Wells’s “Two Lovers History”; the Impressions’ “We Must Be in Love”; the Supremes’ and the Temptations’ version of “Sweet Inspiration”; “My Baby Must Be a Magician” and “You’re the One” by the Marvelettes.
- 38My Baby Must Be a MagicianThe MarvelettesOther songs went through James’s electronic blender: Smokey Robinson and the Miracles’ “Much Better Off”; Brenton Wood’s “Gimme Little Sign”; Mary Wells’s “Two Lovers History”; the Impressions’ “We Must Be in Love”; the Supremes’ and the Temptations’ version of “Sweet Inspiration”; “My Baby Must Be a Magician” and “You’re the One” by the Marvelettes.
- 39You’re the OneThe MarvelettesOther songs went through James’s electronic blender: Smokey Robinson and the Miracles’ “Much Better Off”; Brenton Wood’s “Gimme Little Sign”; Mary Wells’s “Two Lovers History”; the Impressions’ “We Must Be in Love”; the Supremes’ and the Temptations’ version of “Sweet Inspiration”; “My Baby Must Be a Magician” and “You’re the One” by the Marvelettes.
- 40DollarSteve SpacekSpacek did, and the song “Dollar” ended up on his album the following year.in the selected discography
- 41The Minstrel ShowLittle BrotherFor their upcoming album, The Minstrel Show, they attempted to record a song with Jay Dee and Elzhi, a way to acknowledge James’s and Slum Village’s influence and pay it back.
- 42Hiding PlaceLittle Brother, eLZhiIn the end, only Elzhi blessed the track, “Hiding Place.”
- 43ConnectedThe Foreign ExchangeThey delivered an album, Connected, that contained multiple strands of Dilla’s musical DNA, and were about to shoot their first video while in town.
- 44All I Do Is Think of YouThe Jackson 5In one track, looping part of an old Jackson 5 ballad, “All I Do Is Think of You,” James suddenly halved the tempo and stretched the loop out to cover the doubled space, while keeping the pitch constant.
- 45DonutsJ DillaCreated in a burst of energy after James’s discharge from Cedars-Sinai in early 2005, Donuts emerged as a complete thought.in the selected discography
- 46The Worst Band in the World10ccBut Jank decided to take a chance on the second and third tracks, which both sampled the same song, 10cc’s “The Worst Band in the World,” and seemed to Jank like they could be united into one lengthened track.
- 47The ShiningJ DillaJames had already asked Jank to do one of his signature illustrations for the cover of Donuts, and now he told Jank he wanted him to design the sleeve of his still-in-progress album for BBE, which he had renamed The Shining.in the selected discography
- 48McNasty FilthJaylibHis voice was strong, and he ripped through two Jaylib songs, “McNasty Filth” and “The Official.”
- 49The OfficialJaylibHis voice was strong, and he ripped through two Jaylib songs, “McNasty Filth” and “The Official.”
- 50Motown TapeJ DillaIn late 2005, Questlove drove through Los Angeles listening to J Dilla’s Motown Tape.
- 51Where I’m Coming FromStevie WonderQuestlove bent down and retrieved it: an odd Brazilian release, labeled in Portuguese, an extended play of Stevie Wonder tracks from the 1971 Motown album Where I’m Coming From.
- 52America Eats Its YoungFunkadelicIn Funkadelic’s 1972 song “America Eats Its Young,” George Clinton likens the country to a whore “sucking the brains” of her grandchildren in a “neurotic attempt to be Queen of the Universe,” over a woman’s cries of sexual ecstasy.