![]() And there are some rather moving passages, especially in scenes of Dilla’s mother, Maureen, tending to him in his decline. Charnas’s account is no hagiography: here, Dilla is a canny and sometimes generous, but prickly figure, not a Tupac-style prophet. Set against the atmospheric panorama of Detroit’s rap scene, Charnas’s probing narrative follows Dilla’s ascent through the hip-hop ranks: from getting a whirlwind of producing gigs to presiding at strip clubs, occasionally brandishing a firearm, and dying young (of a rare blood disease) at the age of 32. Music journalist Charnas ( The Big Payback) profiles James Dewitt Yancey (1974–2006), aka J Dilla, a rap producer-really a composer-and drum machine virtuoso who created innovative beat tracks with off-kilter rhythms and samplings that, Charnas argues, revolutionized pop music. ![]() A little known but influential rap genius gets his due in this spirited biography. ![]()
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