Breaking Down J Dilla’s Most Underrated Album
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.พ. 2025
- Get 15 tracks to sample on Tracklib for free: www.tracklib.co...
Songs Played are included on my Tracklib playlist, check it out here: www.tracklib.c...
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There’s one album that doesn’t come up in the Dilla conversation enough. It’s some of his best work, was a turning point for him as a producer, and helped birth the neo soul movement.
Today we're talking about Slum Village. If you’re a Dilla fan and you don’t know Slum Village, get ready, cuz it’s some of Dilla’s finest work, and that’s saying a LOT. If you’re already a Slum Village fan, you’re in the right place.
We’re diving into the story of Fantastic Vol 1 AND 2, of Slum Village, and of this pivotal transition time for J Dilla. We’ll dive into a few songs to see how his production evolved, why these albums aren't as well known, and how it birthed the neo soul movement.
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SOURCES
"Dilla Time" by Dan Charnas: www.amazon.com...
Questlove quote: books.google.c...
Questlove Supreme Podcast with T3: • Slum Village Recalls T...
/ the-fantastic-origin-s...
Amp Fiddler Interview - • Amp Fiddler on teachin...
Full Amp Fiddler interview with the original channel its from @PopkillerTV • Amp Fiddler - intervie...
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TOPICS COVERED
J Dilla
Jay Dee
Slum Village
T3
Baatin
Fantastic Vol 1
Fantastic Vol 2
Fan-Tas-Tic
Detroit
Hip Hop
Neo Soul
#jdilla #hiphop #musichistory
Get 15 tracks to sample on Tracklib for free: www.tracklib.com/diggingthegreats
Songs Played are included on my Tracklib playlist, check it out here: www.tracklib.com/music/collections/783538
Claaaaire. Genius
Me too
From your channel, I went to Spotty, searched for SlumVillage, found them, including a remark that they were performing in my hometown soon. Got a ticket to see them live in 4 weeks.
This album was so smooth. " Get this money" "PLAYERS" "Climax" & " Hold Tight"
Facts!!!
Jealousy was fire too
Go Ladies is my favourite instrumental. Just reminds me of fine Women in the summer.
Add “Fall N Love” and “2U4U” to that list! All these were on repeat in my late teens to early 20’s! Along with Little Brother’s The Listening. These two albums certainly make my classics list.
Untitled will always be my favorite
Slum Village was actually my introduction to Dilla. Still some of my favorites of his albums.
Same here. Which is kind of a lie, because I bought a copy of Labcabincalifornia when it was released. But I was not aware of who this JD guy was till I heard SV.
Same.
Went from there to Welcome 2 Detroit and only learned about all the Soulquarian/Native Tongues and Pharcyde stuff way later.
Suffice to say, it was a pleasant experience of catching up.
Same my momma raised me on this
Finally! Slum Village. Those who know...know. RIP Baatin, RIP Dilla.
RIP Amp Fiddler as well 🙏
@@diggingthegreats word, it broke my heart when I heard he passed as well. At least they in a better places ❤️🙏🏾
i see slum village, i click
I saw Slum Village in Chicago, upstair at Subterranean circa 2001. I probably saw Dilla but I didn't know it at the time.
Same
Monkey see, monkey do
Facts
I'm going to see them in a few day's time in my hometown.
R.I.P. Dilla Dawg.
Shout out to the Roots on Game Theory for showing him the love he always deserved but many times never received. A genius of the hip-hop game. A legend of music in general.
This album was actually my introduction to J Dilla and I didn't even know it at the time. It just felt like a hidden gem of a record. Years later I found out he was a part of the trio, and it made sense why I vibed with the production so much. Rest In Power, Dilla my man
brooooooo it’s exactly the same for me😂
My introduction to dilla was actually Pharcyde LabcabinCalifornia. I was pretty smug when I picked this up, Dillas was an established genius for "Running" to me.
Come to think of it I bought beats rhymes and life the same day at Tower records in silver spring, MD
It's mad I had this, loved it, I had stakes is high, labcab, beats rhymes and life and countless other stuff I loved, but never realised it was all one dude. Lightbulb moment when it clicked.😂😂 I think it was that a lot of the track said produced by the ummah that threw me off the scent😂😂
Man, I grew up in Conant Gardens and was privileged to know some of the old Motown/Funkadelic musicians who kept their equipment in the basement near their pool table. Never ran into Slum but man those were good times! And you have to understand that at that time it was nearly impossible for Detroit hip hop artists to get played outside of Detroit, so leaving the group was the only choice he could make if he wanted to be heard. Shout-out to Nunn's BBQ!
Untitled/Fantastic from Vol. 2 is just so pretty. Just incredible. Great vid as usual by the way ♥
My favorite track on this classic album
RIP DILLA AND AMP Thank you for y’all contributions to the world.
Part starting from 2:16 comes from our exclusive interview with Amp Fiddler, which you can find on our channel (it's a 20-min. video called "Amp Fiddler - interview: on teaching J Dilla how to use MPC; touring with George Clinton; Prince") :) Great short doc guys, much love from Poland & Long Live Dilla!
Can you send a link? For one I want to include it in the description since I didn’t realize the larger video the clip was pulled from. For two, I want to watch it myself! Thank you for doing this interview, much love from the US 🙏
Found it and updated! th-cam.com/video/GP41bk4wRWQ/w-d-xo.htmlsi=N0u8El6-428Rk6iV
@@diggingthegreats yes, that's it!! Perfect, thank you so much! All the best, keep up the great work! 😊🙏🙌 We also have done more Dilla-related interviews (with Common, Illa J, Pharcyde, Black Milk etc.) if you'd be interested! / Marcin
Polska Gurom
The climax drums changed how I view drums forever, convincing me to learn them inside out and learn drums
This album was my introduction to J Dilla. Once I heard “Fall In Love”, I was hooked.
I’m so glad you covered this masterpiece. I saw Slum Village in 2000 at the Okayplayer tour in Minneapolis at First Avenue. I was originally there for the Roots but left blown away by Slum.
This episode was so amazing to watch. As soon as I saw Slum as the thumbnail, I couldn’t have clicked on it faster. Lol. As a native Detroiter and artist/producer myself, this album has such a huge influence on my life till this day. I sampled “Climax” from Fantastic Vol. 2 for my song “Date Knight” on my new album LAUDER…when Vol. 2 was released, I was 13, so I remember hearing “Climax”, “Players”, & “Get This Money” frequently on Detroit radio stations like WJLB, and it holds a special time & place in my heart. It’s such an incredible album that I continue to play till this day. Even my kids love it.
Another dope story about this album is Young Guru of Roc-A-Fella explaining the time that he first heard Vol. 2. He said he had a rare break in the day from recording at Baseline, so he went to go shower and change at his friend’s apartment. While he was getting ready, his friend was blasting the album the whole time and he said that he was mind blown. He had to find out who it was and made the beats. That was in 2001.
Thank you for these amazing videos and history lessons Brandon.✊🏾🔥
Slum Village was so mad underrated! Great video! I can’t believe someone finally covered this album. “Fall in love” is in my rotation forever.
4EVER.
"Rock to the rhythm, forth & back, forth & back, forth and back back back back..."
Kurupt and SV
One of my favorite albums of all time. Remember hearing "Get dis Money" and "Players" at UNLV on an underground radio show back in 98. No skips on the album. Untitled/fantastic is my favorite joint. All the beats are crazy.
KUNV in Vegas with my friend DJ 5'8 was appointment radio back then!!
Bro your channel is DOPE AS FCK!!! All these brkdwns are dope n this SV/Dilla brkdwn is unreal.. u must be a producer yourself bcuz this is amazing wrk, keep it going👌🏾💪🏾🔥
Slum village Fantastic 1&2 classics. Fantastic v.2 is mind blowing still to this day....
I’ve listened through the instrumental version of this album like 9000000 times and it continues to be amazing
This is one of those moments where I realize that myself, my circle of friends, and people I vibe on music with hold this project in such high regard that I never noticed that it's underrated.
This is one of those albums that had people call me after they listened to find out if I heard it yet. Classic
It’s great to see you break down Players! I did a project for a communications class where I had to convince the class that sampling is an art form in and of itself and used Players as an example. I chopped it, pitched it, and added drums in front of the class. Such a fun time. Great video boss!
Dude, I've been a huge SV fan for more than a decade and I've been spending countless hours reading and learning about music. It never even crossed my mind to dig into the story of SV and I love how you break down the beats, too. Love your videos! Cheers!
Man you gotta read dilla time if you haven't already. That book has so much cool shi in it
@@cheef825 got that on my readlist for a while, just need to finish my other books first
Slum Village is one of the most slept on rap groups of all time, IMO. Raise It Up was the first joint I remember from them. I saw the music video on Blue Torch TV and it's a moment I'll never forget. Dilla changed my entire life and the Fan Tas Tic joints have been in rotation several times a year since 2007, for me. You know what love is.
IT'S *DILLA TIME*
Had the honor of seeing Dilla twice. Once in 2000 with Slum Village and Bahamadia then again as JayLib in 2004 on the same bill with MF DOOM. Didn't know how lucky I was back then.
That intro is 🔥🔥🔥 I first heard of Slum Village on Power 106 back in the day. I went out the very next day and bought their CD VOL2 at Tower Records. Thank you for digging deep into this album 🙏🙏🙏
That's (amazingly) wild. I used to listen to Power 106 back in the day and never really heard Slum Village on there like that. However, I often heard them on 92.3/100.3 The Beat since they'd play Get Dis Money on there frequently
Yo bro, your timing on this video drop is mad crazy… 🤙🏾 I literally just got done listening to Fantastic vol.2 on this 12 hour drive back out the oil patch and was thinking this album doesn’t get the shine it deserves…jumps on TH-cam and sees this video. Thanks for all your hard work breaking down these favorites and keeping these joints relevant. It’s appreciated. 🍻 Also peeped that Stockholm instrumental playing in the video too.😎
One of the greatest albums of my lifetime. Fall in love is so amazing. Love classic slum vill.
there are only a few albums where I can listen to it without skipping a single song.. this is one of them
so dirty yet so clean at the same time! in love with those drums since the day I discovered this album
The outro was nuts too.
Maan that outro was like sex in the form of sonics
The drums for Fall In Love are so good 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Omg this is my personal fave hip hop album of all time. so glad you made a video on it!!!!!!!!
Fantastic Vol. 2 is literally my favorite album of all time. Hands Down. The phrase “Dilla changed my life”, I finally understood what that meant listening to that album.
I'm so happy you're doing this. This to me is Dilla's Magnum Opus.
God bless you for breaking this down. Fantastic 1 and 2 are still my favorite Dilla pieces to this day. I started listening to Players because my pops recognized the sample from the Singers Unlimited and that was the moment my obsession with Dilla's work started. Great video again
Fantastic vol 1 & 2 albums were such fire ass masterpieces
“I don’t know” will always be my favorite Dilla beat love how simple and blissful the sample is 😌
I was today years old when I learned that rapping into a pair of headphones plugged into the mic jack was even possible.
a transducer is a transducer
Think I’ve got an old DAT machine I can post you
I'm just glad you're here.😂
It was done often back in the early days of hip hop.
My favorite Slum / JD record. Knew this was coming eventually, great video as always man!
this is the best yt channel for music lovers. just thank u mate!
and dis is my favorite dilla era . I hear I don't know in a beatunkies tape, was a blow!
TOP 5 ALL TIME FAV ALBUM
Thanks for making a video on one of my favorite hip-hop albums!
Slum Village is who I first think of when I think of Dilla
Its crazy that when it dropped...NO ONE was talking about it. But DAMN!!!!...that shit was a game changer. I played that CD all day, every day.
Slum village was my introduction to Detroit based rappers when I moved back to Michigan in my teens after years overseas. Their music felt like it had a deep duality with the city and the state of Michigan to some degree and I've found that similar feeling from every rapper I've heard come out of the state. It made me feel more connected to where I'm from and I feel proud of my city with this kind of representation, I wish more people knew of slum village. Thank you for this video.
RIP Amp and Dilla!🙏🏽❤️🕊️
0:02 dope, thanks for blending that in
Yo! When I say I’m SO glad you covered those classic albums THANK YOU! I was a freshmen in college when I first heard these albums and it changed the way I listen to music. Climax is the smoothest and my top favorite track on the vol2 album
Vol 1 and vol 2... man. That beat for "Ela5", such a dope flip. Vol.2, one of my favorite Sam Goody purchases next to Del Both sides of the Brain and Redman Doc's Da Name.
Great art to note.
R.I.P. Baatin and Jay Dilla.
Peace T3 and Elzhi.
One of my favorite albums 🔥
Another great video. I used to play this album so much. Git this money is still on my hype list when I need to get work done.
Another J-Dilla video, I'm not complaining. Great Video
dude this album is a classic!!! and Baatin is an UNDERRATED emcee!!! his style was otherworldly AF!
It's about time - this album never gets enough props! Thanks for doing this video 🙂
2u 4u is one of my favorite dilla beats and I only recently learned the intro is the demo version of the track slowed down
Fantastic felt like Detroit’s love letter to hip-hop. Grateful for this masterpiece. RIP to Dilla, Baatin and Amp Fiddler.
I heard Fall in Love on our local hip hop show called the Head Warmez and immediately headed to Compact Disc Warehouse which was place that was able to import that album to SA at the time. I freaked out the day they called me to say it was received and I could collect it. Still one of my favorite hip hop albums of all time. Thank you for the review absolutely love your content.
This album has been in the top 5 personal albums since highschool
Man i have been waiting for this video for months, thank you for another masterpiece!
I listened to your advice and read Dilla time, and the part where the book explained about the 'clair' to 'players' transformation is really one of the most creative production i have seen.
@diggingthegreats this was a great breakdown!!! Can’t get enough of Dilla breakdowns. Dude was an alien for sure
I’ve been listening to this album a lot after hearing Tell Me on a playlist. Thank you for covering such a great album!
I had this album in 8th Grade Get Dis Money, Climax, CB4 and Players are my favs
This is a fire video. Love your work.
🙏
I bought this album in high school and it made me look at sampling and beat making differently. Still one of my favorites. Rest In Beats J-Dilla.
This video and so many of your videos are bomb because you actually take the time and care to do the research. Happy to watch everything you drop. Glad to see it be said that the Neo Soul sound is the Dilla sound, which I’ve always believed it to be. Beats, Rhymes & Life is actually my favorite ATCQ album after The Low End Theory. The Pharcyde Labcabincalifornia is my favorite from them (5Ela had a few beats before though), all Jay Dee. Also glad to see Amp get the recognition he deserved too, cats always talking about Q-Tip but forget to mention cats from The D that played a role. Thank You!
That album is an AMAZING classic!😎🔥❤️
These Dilla related videos feel like chapters of dillatime but in video format, love it
Yo Brandon you are reading my mind with this video because this week i started reading Dilla Time and i've been listening to Dilla too. So you read my mind.
Fantastic vol 2 is what helped me fall into the dilla rabbit hole.
Love it when we get Dilla love.
Ive been preaching about IDK for YEARS! thank you for breaking this down!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS IVE BEEN WAITING FOR ANY CONTENT ON FALL IN LOVE AHHHHHHHHHHHH THANK YOU
Love this album so much, changed my life
Congrats bro I think you're the only one on TH-cam that found the tiny sample segments right before "Claiiirre" on 'Players'
Once upon a time is one of my favorite songs of all time. Dilla just really understood groove and how to correctly implement bass melodically and functionally. He just got “it.”
fantastic vol 1 is probably my absolute favorite collection of tracks. all the early slum village stuff was phenomenal as well as early 5 elements stuff. crazy
fall in love can NEVER get old
That(those) album will always be a staple for me. My cousin was in Japan in the Air Force and got it there. Brought that tape back and I was hooked. That was 2000 lol
Never clicked on a video so fast. Favourite album (vol.2) of all time!
One of the best of all time.
I listen to this album at least twice a week…
Players, I Don’t Know, & Go Ladies are my top favorites. I find this to be one of those albums that completely changed my life!
R.I.P Dilla
I'm glad that you included Volume One here as that was my personal introduction to Dilla. Somehow I lucked out scoring a cassette on the internet of that album in 1997. Personally that's my favorite work of his along with Donuts.
Quite simply: find stuff, make it fit, new flow. Thx for sharing the genuis of Dilla with your analysis!!
Man slum village was just killing it back then. Great video
great video dude your vids are always top quality
Love this album, so smooth!
Great album, happy to own it and happy you put it in the spotlight!
Volume 2 I mean...
Channel could solely be a course study on Dilla. Would be dope, love the backstories to these timeless hits.
Fantastic Vol 2 is one of the recipes to my soul. Been cherishinf that album for a very long time now ❤
Really great work here, as usual!
If you are a Dilla fan and don’t know Slum then you aren’t a Dilla fan
That part!
Facts
Agreed!
HELLO!!! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Absolutely factory!!!!
What up doe,.. nice video info
The way you said "É isso aí" was unique. "I S O I" is the new song name!
This album was da JOINT! When I first heard it back in “98” and I still rock it to this day…my fav track is “players “ this joint reminds me of a fine glass of cognac with a good Cuban on a sultry evening 😎
thanks for sharing your source too. dilla time is so good
that was epic! I believe it is hard because equipment from the 90s has a organic sound and functions like the MPC 2500, but you did a very good job. I just thought I would mention the track "fantastic" save direct from Brazil 🇧🇷
TH-cam keeps dropping my damn comments from the mobile app but I just came here to like and comment and show love before going to watch the full version on Patreon! ❤️ They better not be censoring me for mentioning Patreon. 🤔
Still here ... Partyon.