This put a smile on my face right here. Having studied musicology at the university there is a need for books and dissertations on the culture - in other words there's a need for hip hop to be as socially accepted as any other form of music. We're getting there, but we're getting there slowly - at least we listened to early hip-hop like the Sugarhill Gang and the tutor acknowledged that hip-hop was the #1 genre which where the voice of the voiceless annd the main musical arena arena where the political battle was fought today. But enough about that....
"33 1/3" is a serie of books released by Bloomsbury with each installment focusing on a classic album. My main man Linkan borrrowed me the "Illmatic" one and it was a real page turner, and even as big a fan of the album that I am and all the info I've learned over the years (it is my all time favorite LP), I actually did leearn a thing or two that were news to me. If I remember rightly the book was broken down into an intro describing the way to the creation of the project, and a closing section on the albums impact, while the main part was a chapter for eachapter dissection of each track on the album This included thorough analysis by the author as well as choice quotes from the artist, producers, label execs., and everyone in between. A very good read indeed, and now they are doing one on another one of my favorite hip-hop LP:s of the last 15 years - J Dilla's 2006 swan song "Donuts". Since Dilla is not here to give his word on the makng of the project anymore, it's gonna be interesting to see how Fergusson work around that. According to Stones Throw, intervieewes include many of the people close to Jay Dee during his last time - including Peanut Butter Wolf, Egon, illustrator Jeff Jank, and most likely Ma Dukes, to mention a few. This should work as a great companion piece to "Donuts" and will definitely see my support when it's released on April 24. To visit the official website, check out 333Sound.com (other hip-hop classics treated in the series include DJ Shadow's "Entroducing", Public Enemy's "It Takes A Nation..." , Beastie Boys¨"Paul's Boutique", Nas' "Illmatic" and Sly & The Family Sone's trendsetting "There's A Riot Going On").
Looking through the list of forthcoming releases I see that not only "Donuts" is on the way, but also KanYe West's "Dark Twisted Fantasy" and the excellent "The Grey Akbum" by DJ Danger Mouse. As a lil' bonus I have uploaded "Signs" by J Dilla for your listening pleasure; a track made for "Donuts" but ultimately left on the cutting room floor until DJ J Rocc picked it up for a special EP Get amped!
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