Reacting to "Donuts" by J Dilla
Added 2022-11-18 23:05:04 +0000 UTCDirect Play Link: https://iframe.mediadelivery.net/play/27377/0ce49c42-3ff5-49ba-8706-2a362faf4b40
This is Part 2 of the "Mind Melter" Friday, but this video is ready and Ka has a lot more processing to do. Hearing my Ka reaction is not required for enjoying this. Just keep in mind that my mind has been blasted by 2+ hrs of lyrical analysis while going into Donuts :)
Enjoy!
Also, I didn't put timestamps in as this is more of a constant play through rather than track by track experience. Hopefully that isn't too annoying.
Comments
Hi Bob, please check out J Dilla's debut solo album Welcome 2 Detroit, it's definitely a lowkey hiphop classic with immaculate production, or any of his other projects tbh!
sleepy J
2022-11-27 10:55:10 +0000 UTCGreat job, Bob.
FuzzyDunlop
2022-11-23 03:23:08 +0000 UTCJ Dilla – Donuts (2006) Official Music Videos Don’t Cry https://youtu.be/NHn-G_YpQB0 Last Donut of the Night https://youtu.be/fC3Cthm0HFU Interview Fuse | Crate Diggers (Remembering Dilla) https://youtu.be/XL3ENrZwjmw Video Essay Vox | How J Dilla Humanized His MPC3000 https://youtu.be/SENzTt3ftiU Album Review Dead End Hip Hop | J Dilla & MF Doom https://youtu.be/V31k-b1lTKw
Dylan Woods
2022-11-22 06:34:18 +0000 UTCGlad you reacted to my favourite album ever! If you're interested in more instrumental hip-hop, i recommend checking out "endtroducing" by DJ Shadow
ak1gd
2022-11-20 23:13:18 +0000 UTCHopefully soon, he's very high on the list
Bob_the_Poppop
2022-11-20 15:57:02 +0000 UTCwow, that dream bit is very interesting
Bob_the_Poppop
2022-11-20 15:56:43 +0000 UTCI noticed it was called "Two Can Win" after the reaction... and I agree, I think there's a positive note there. I'm glad that you can get something new from my perspective AND that you disagree at times as well :) To me, that makes the music that much better when different people get different experiences from the same song. Thanks for the links, I'll check them out. Sorry for the recent loss as well
Bob_the_Poppop
2022-11-20 15:56:04 +0000 UTCyeah, I can see that, especially if you keep the album on repeat and let it naturally loop
Bob_the_Poppop
2022-11-20 15:51:36 +0000 UTCI love Endtroducing. Been listening to that for a few months now
Bob_the_Poppop
2022-11-20 15:51:02 +0000 UTCGreat write up. DOOM and Dilla working together would have been amazing. Champion Sound sounds like it would be amazing as well
Bob_the_Poppop
2022-11-20 15:50:36 +0000 UTCIt really is a ride. It's taking me time to get used to it, especially the early tracks, but everytime I put it on I settle into the album really well
Bob_the_Poppop
2022-11-20 15:47:48 +0000 UTCThis album does a lot of things I didn't expect, but that makes sense since I don't know anything about Dilla
Bob_the_Poppop
2022-11-20 15:00:55 +0000 UTCyeah... yeah.
Bob_the_Poppop
2022-11-20 14:59:12 +0000 UTCDilla will start to appear in your reactions more as you go through some classic albums, like Busta rhymes, tribe called quest, de la soul, etc.. He also used to rap as a member of Slum Village, and has a collab album with Madlib
snooza
2022-11-20 03:20:37 +0000 UTCPlease react to Born like this by MF DOOM. It has some songs produced by J Dilla on there. It’s not a perfect DOOM album but I do think it’s severely underrated in DOOM’s discography. It has a couple of low points but overall there’s a lot of high points
I once saw Sweeney do 50 slow handstand push-ups
2022-11-19 23:19:18 +0000 UTCI second this
Max Briggs
2022-11-19 22:57:16 +0000 UTCTop 1 of all time.
Jared
2022-11-19 22:23:19 +0000 UTCFor real though. When are we getting a Lupe reaction, Bob?
Jared
2022-11-19 22:22:14 +0000 UTCWhen are we getting a Lupe Fiasco reaction??? Literally one of the greatest lyricist to grab a mic!
Inglewood
2022-11-19 21:09:57 +0000 UTCLOVE you're dead. Cosmogramma first!
adiiiiiiiii
2022-11-19 18:54:58 +0000 UTCHere’s a fun fact: In the book Dilla Time about J Dilla’s life and impact on music (which is a great book, go check it out) author Dan Charnas recounts a story J Dilla’s mother, Ma Dukes told him. She said when Dilla was getting his treatments for his rare blood disease he would sometimes get very sick and delirious and one time had a dream that he saw Ol Dirty Bastard at a bus station and was telling him “not to take the white bus”. Ol Dirty had passed away not too long before this and Dilla made the beat “Hi” with this dream in mind. You would definitely enjoy madlib’s beat konducta instrumental series, especially #5+6 which are a tribute to J Dilla.
Victor Romano
2022-11-19 13:18:00 +0000 UTCAnother instrumental record to listen to is “You’re Dead!” By Flying Lotus 👌🏽 It’s wild.
Josh
2022-11-19 10:36:57 +0000 UTC+1. I cannot recommend the VOX video highly enough. Covers the technology and the technique.
Max Anderson
2022-11-19 08:23:29 +0000 UTCGot very excited when I saw this reaction drop! I got into Donuts when I was too young to grasp the concepts that Dilla was trying to get across. Watching you dissect the album is like hearing it again for the first time. Your perspective helps me see songs that I have deeply ingrained ideas about in a new light. I don’t always agree with your takes but it’s great hearing them nonetheless. I really liked your take on Two Can Win being Dilla’s reflection about the sacrifices he’s made in order to pursue his love of creating music. If we look at your take in the context of the song’s title ‘Two Can Win’ it comes off as a positive song. Maybe Dilla is saying that his pursuit music also enhanced his personal relationships as it led him to meeting so many amazing people. This video by Vox does a great job at explaining some of the production techniques Dilla used that made him so innovative and unique. I’ve linked it timestamped to the breakdown of ‘Don’t Cry’ as they go over some other Dilla tracks and I’m not sure if you want spoilers. https://youtu.be/SENzTt3ftiU?t=421 There’s also a great video of legendary producer 9th Wonder breaking down ‘Don’t Cry’ in a lecture hall. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeabWifppgI You might also enjoy this video of Flea talking about his appreciation for Dilla https://youtu.be/BVljTwZzonA?t=356 This reaction came at the perfect time as I’ve been dealing with an unexpected passing and this album and your musings about life and death were strangely comforting. Thanks Bob!
Famous Amos
2022-11-19 08:07:12 +0000 UTCAgreed. Though not exclusively hip hop. It reminds me a lot of Donuts in a bunch of ways
Gavin Camp
2022-11-19 03:51:30 +0000 UTCI love to listen donuts while im studying. Ive got a big playlist with Dilla, Niujabes and Pete Rock instrumentals because i love to listen to music when i study, but i can never focus as well when there are a bunch of lyrics like in normal hiphop.
Isaac Robichau
2022-11-19 02:45:48 +0000 UTCIn that regard I think you also love DJ Shadow - Endtroducing. A pinacle album and masterclass in beatmaking and storytelling by just sound. It just builds new worlds. Hits me in the feels everytime.
Jbrewers
2022-11-19 02:42:41 +0000 UTCGlad you enjoyed the ride and was emotionally invested. Sometimes you don't need words to translate a message and just let the music do the work. Wich he was a master at.
Jbrewers
2022-11-19 02:38:41 +0000 UTCGhostface rapped on the song this one for Ghost 💯🔥
Livin Legin
2022-11-19 01:07:26 +0000 UTCFew things you might like knowing, Bob: Dilla was a labelmate (and friend) of both Madlib and MF DOOM. On DOOM's Born Like This, there's even a couple songs produced by him--including the song "Lightworks," which uses that same beat from Donuts. He also produced "Gazzillion Ear" which is one of my favorite DOOM songs, and has one of the best beat switches of all time. Madlib and Dilla actually had a collaborative album together, called Champion Sound, under the name Jaylib. It's incredible, on one half, Dilla makes the beats and Madlib rhymes, and vice versa on the other. Some of the absolute best beats you'll ever hear. Dilla and DOOM also supposedly had a collab planned, but due to his death it was never officially released. There's tons of sick mashups online though. His unique hyper-chopped beat style fits PERFECTLY under DOOM's offbeat flow. I think you might have picked up on this at the end, but in case you didn't, there's a theory that "Last Donut of the Night" and "Welcome to the Show" respectively represent Dilla's death and his entrance into the afterlife. I'm really glad you picked up on the symbolism of it ending just as it started, and how that ties into the title. Also, that one line of "young man went out and made a name for himself" in Last Donut always brings me to tears, not sure why that one specifically. I think it might be that, you know, he DID it. He became the most talented producer of his time, he's influenced near every producer that came after him, but he doesn't get to see any of it. By the way, there's a video for that song. It's just beautiful. Lastly, "Don't Cry" has some of the most intricate chops in any song I've heard. There's a video of producer 9th Wonder (you might know him from DUCKWORTH. off of DAMN) breaking down how Dilla did that, it's honestly insane. I can recite that video, I've watched it so many times.
Callie D
2022-11-19 00:57:02 +0000 UTCthis tape embodies the human spirit like none other. i'm glad its finally in your rotation!!!
Psykopomp
2022-11-19 00:46:19 +0000 UTCRun On Sentences is a trip especially if you've read or watched the Great Gatsby.. mac sampled the movie multiple times. Awesome tape.
Psykopomp
2022-11-19 00:39:09 +0000 UTCUnpopular opinion: The Twister is one of the best beats of all time... u think the chops on Lightworks are crazy? Go look up the original samples to The Twister.
Gabriel Wilfong
2022-11-19 00:21:52 +0000 UTChappy you like the album Bob. Maybe you can sneak in Mac miller's "run on sentences"? It's a production tape he put together, I think his best skill was putting his emotion in the music. Not that Mac and Dilla compare at all, but I think you'd enjoy it. and it could be another one you do to unwind after a lyrically heavy album again
Henry
2022-11-18 23:58:44 +0000 UTCWould love to see a reaction to Since I Left You by The Avalanches. It was put together with 1000s of samples, and it's one of the most incredible feats of production ever IMO.
Colby Kultgen
2022-11-18 23:55:39 +0000 UTCHell yeas
RINGER 13
2022-11-18 23:45:36 +0000 UTC🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩
Tim P
2022-11-18 23:34:28 +0000 UTCi always have a hard time not tearing up when i hear don't cry
Asertic
2022-11-18 23:33:54 +0000 UTCthis is one of my favourite albums ever !!!!!!! hope you enjoyed it :)
owenfaz21
2022-11-18 23:21:14 +0000 UTCpog
Henry
2022-11-18 23:20:32 +0000 UTC
