James Yancey, also known as J Dilla and JD, died on February 10, 2006 at the age of 32. While for some, how J Dilla died will be part of how he is remembered, for others, it will indelibly mark that the legendary hip-hop producer and rapper went on in the world of music.
Dilla was born in Detroit, MI on February 7, 1974 to parents Maureen “Ma Deux” Yancey and Beverly DeWitt Yancy, who also had musical inclinations. His mother was an opera singer, and his father was a bassist.
in an oral history Interviews from 2016 With the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Mrs. Yancey said her son was always serious about music, played several different instruments, and took piano lessons before the age of five , “Even at a very young age he knew that this was his niche in life, he knew what he was here for.
The prolific producer has worked with hip-hop and R&B artists such as The Roots, A Tribe Called Quest, Common, Erykah Badu and Eminem. Mrs. Yancey told the museum, “Eminem was at my gate every day at 5:45 and waited for me to come at six because he knew what time my daycare kids would leave and what time he could come.”
How did J Dilla die?
Dilla, who died at home, was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles in late summer 2005. During his time there, he produced two songs for his final solo album donutswhich fell three days before his death, according to detroit free press In an article covering how J Dilla died. The outlet also said that he was barely able to talk, was unable to walk and had problems with his hands. Board reported that J Dilla later died of complications from lupus, “The day before he passed away, he was working on that machine at the table in his wheelchair … He had no other way,” his mother told the museum, adding that he spent the last two years of his life Cared for her day and night over the years.
Hip hop artist J Dilla from Slum Village. Photo by Gregory Bjorquez / Getty Images
A year after his death, Dilla, who produced “Wordplay” for A Tribe Called Quest, posthumously received a PLUG Award for Artist of the Year. Rapper Phife Dogg, who died in 2015 talked to vulture about cooperation. “It’s a dope record because J Dilla is known for his drums, kicks, snares. Bass line is insane.
During a video montage at the PLUG Awards, the musician and producer was honored by his mother and artists such as Pharrell and Common, for whom Dilla produced the Grammy-nominated song “The Light”. mtv is calling “The Light” is “one of the few classic modern rap love songs.”
Since his passing, artists such as Questlove have spoken out about how his death affected them. At the ASCAP (The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) “I Create Music” Expo in Hollywood in May 2019, according to Board“When he passed away, it really hurt me,” the frontman of The Roots said, the Oscar-winner and “The Tonight Show” bandleader continued. “I stopped making music. I almost stopped working and collaborating with other people until this Roots album.
What was the cause of J Dilla’s death?
J Dilla had the first signs of health problems after returning from Europe in January 2002. The producer went to his parents’ house and complained that he had a cold or the flu. detroit free press, His mother took him to the emergency room, where it was discovered that the number of platelets in his blood was much lower than they should be.
He was eventually diagnosed with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, or TTP, a rare, incurable and life-threatening blood disorder. According to National Lung and Blood Institute, TTP causes blood clots to form throughout the body, which limits blood flow to your organs. Clotting from TTP also “uses up your platelets,” which causes the platelet count to drop.
Dilla was in and out of hospital for several years due to his condition, and he also had kidney failure and had to undergo dialysis. Then in 2005, a few weeks before his 31st birthday, he found out what he Lupus appearedAccording to detroit free press, This chronic autoimmune disease can affect the skin, joints, heart, lungs, kidneys, circulating blood cells, and brain National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases,
The producer passed away on February 10, 2006, and how J Dilla died was, according to his mother, of cardiac arrest—the new York Times reported that Mrs. Yancey said she had lupus and had recently been hospitalized for pneumonia.
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