#365 J Dilla - Donuts

Where does the time go, writing these next 7 or so up way late on the 29th/30th.

I don't know how I even came around to this one, might have been in search of new instrumental hip hop. Weird I've never heard this for what a legend it is.

You might know his stuff if you watch a lot of adult swim, or even listen to much rap, since this album has been used post-hoc as production for a lot of albums, including Fishscale and Born Like This. I can see why. The loops are funky, complex, with an emotional undertone. Plus, they're abundant; this is like a hip hop Bee Thousand, with 30 tracks, only one of them longer than 2 minutes. My only real complaint is the signature siren that blares over song after song - why the hell would you make the album's backbone an annoying noise? I know the sound has a long legacy in hip hop - still hate it, its a scrawl on landscape, rebellious and ugly, but not in a way that I like.

That aside, the ADD shifts and pulse of feeling keeps it fresh, full of energy and texture. It fills a nice niche, more sprightly and fun than your average instrumental hip hop album, more soulful and structured than your average beat and loop mixtape 4/5

You might like this if: You like energetic, well-produced, slightly off-kilter, soulful hip hop loops, and don't mind that the beat's going to change every minute or so.