The first dilla track I heard was probably Badu- Didn’t Cha Know since that was what my mom was bumping I was still a jit in Dillas prime so I don’t remember the first song. (Ghostface-Whip you with a strap is probably the first one I remember hearing even though I didn’t know it was produced by him at the time.
My favorite track is probably Ash Rockin or Ghettodwishing in the wind
Dilla changed my life by opening up a new chamber of different ways to go about sampling, chopping, and drumming. There’s just this aura that surrounds his beats... it’s crazy
I actually got into Dilla the year he passed, I was like 14 or 15 and my friend had donuts and jay love Japan on his iPod and we would be driving around our boring little town smokin weed and listening to music and I would play those albums (and a couple madlibs and Luke viberts) over and over again. Probably annoyed my friend haha he introduced me to those guys but I think I immediately liked them more than he did, especially Dilla, his music just hit something in me.
Before that 95% of what I listened to was death and black metal. I liked some decent hiphop when I was younger but became very disillusioned with it growing up in the peak of popularity of shit like soulja boy and lil wyte. Jay Dee was a huge part of my rediscovery of good hiphop and broadening my musical palate. His music made me dig deeper and listen closer to instrumental hiphop and served as a gateway to all the crazy electronic/sample based stuff that is my biggest love now, and to guys like dimlite and flying lotus. It's crazy how many people can say Dilla changed my life and actually really mean it.
first Dilla beat i heard was Runnin' by Pharcyde
His programming is arguably the most influential in hip hop. it effected my workflow as well as other prominent producers.
It's hard to say which beat of his is my favourite cause he has so much bangers but i'll list some of my favourites
-Dillatroit
-Track 02 from the King of the Beats 4 disk compilation (disc one)
-Track 04 from the 1997 batches
-Anti-American Graffiti off of Donuts
-E-MC2 off of Da Shining'
-Purple (the beat he made for Crustation)
Too be honest I didn't know who Dilla was at the time, but when Beats, Rhymes & Life came out, I think I was 16 (ya I'm kind of old), I immediately fell in love, love that whole album. Back then I was into rhymin & scratchin, beats came later......still have all my Tribe & Busta records from 20 years ago (Busta Rhymes is another favorite.........WOO HA... I loved that shit when it came out....it was another album I was obsessed with, a lot of good songs on that one).
Same. I had listened to 'Welcome to Detroit' and although I liked it I couldn't fully understand the hype...and then I listened to Donuts a few months later...