{"id":1054,"date":"2018-02-07T12:48:42","date_gmt":"2018-02-07T12:48:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/?p=1054"},"modified":"2021-11-01T15:23:30","modified_gmt":"2021-11-01T15:23:30","slug":"10-most-wanted-j-dilla-collectibles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/10-most-wanted-j-dilla-collectibles\/","title":{"rendered":"The 10 Most Wanted J Dilla Collectibles"},"content":{"rendered":"

Building like a crescendo, there was an industrious decade before his death, where J Dilla was developing into a major hip-hop prospect, producing work for names like A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Busta Rhymes and Erykah Badu, as well as continuing output for his rap group Slum Village and breaking out with debut album Welcome 2 Detroit<\/a> in 2001. Within the next five years, J Dilla would go on to release two more LPs and a collaboration album<\/a> with LA-based producer Madlib.<\/p>\n

\"The
Source: Stussy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A quite sudden diminuendo hit in 2005. His output slowed. Fans noticed he looked weak and emaciated. On what proved to be his last show, in D\u00fcsseldorf, December 2005, Dilla appeared in a wheelchair and explained that he was battling a rare and serious blood condition. That night, DJ Deckstarr<\/a>, the warm-up act, wore a T-shirt that read \u201cJ Dilla Changed My Life.\u201d Deckstarr had made the T-shirt himself; the first in a line of items that would be created in Dilla\u2019s honour following his death on 10 February 2006, just days after the release of his magnum opus, Donuts.<\/p>\n

Like many greats who die prematurely, J Dilla\u2019s mythology has found sources in his early pressings as well as the many posthumous releases that mine material from the archives, not to mention the proliferation of inspired T-shirts, prints, posters and merchandise.<\/p>\n\"The\n

St\u00fcssy x J Dilla T-Shirt (2010)<\/h3>\n

DJ Deckstarr might have set the blueprint but since his death it\u2019s St\u00fcssy that\u2019s been dropping the Dilla tees<\/a>. When Dilla lived in LA, he was just around the corner from the St\u00fcssy office and it was the now-famous photograph of Dilla at home in Los Angeles on his MPC wearing a St\u00fcssy T-shirt that kicked off this long running collab. The photo was taken from Raph Rashid\u2019s classic Dilla book, Behind The Beat, and the tee was released in 2010, in conjunction with Stones Throw and the Dilla Estate. St\u00fcssy also produced a three-part documentary<\/a> looking at Dilla\u2019s life in LA as part of the project.<\/p>\n\"The\n

Obey x J Dilla poster 2009<\/h3>\n

\u201cJ Dilla was a great music producer who died of lupus,\u201d said Obey\u2019s Shepard Fairey. \u201cNow his mom has lupus and needs help with her medical bills.\u201d With that in mind, Fairey teamed up with B+ in 2009 to create this print<\/a> of J. Dilla based on B+’s 2003 Jaylib photograph. Only 450 prints exist…<\/p>\n

J Dilla – Pay Day CD<\/h3>\n

Pay Day<\/a> was supposed to follow up Dilla\u2019s first solo album, Welcome 2 Detroit. Looking to build on his career as a behind-the-scenes beatmaker, Dilla spent eight months rapping overs beats by some of his favorite producers (Madlib, Pete Rock, Hi-Tek, Supa Dave West, Kanye West, Nottz, Waajeed and others) but the album was shelved by MCA who were expecting something different. Dilla was dropped from the label, and out of frustration, he recorded Ruff Draft and released it on his newly founded Mummy label. But before MCA canned the release in 2003, they got as far as circulating a promo CD which remains rarer than hen\u2019s teeth. Thankfully, a 2016 reissue project called The Diary brought the long lost material back into general circulation.<\/p>\n\"The\n

J Dilla – The Middle Finger<\/h3>\n

Two tracks that did not make it from Pay Day to The Diary were Dilla\u2019s mix of the Kanye West version of \u2018The Anthem\u2019 and his album version of \u2018Fuck The Police\u2019 featuring an alternate vocal performance. In 2016, these tracks were released<\/a> as \u201cThe Middle Finger\u201d (a fuck-you to MCA), limited to 1000 copies, hand numbered and presented as a \u2018white label\u2019, with the labels mimicking a test pressing.<\/p>\n\"The\n

J Dilla \u200e\u2013 Turn It Up! A Little Louder (Box Set)<\/h3>\n

Stones Throw began working with J Dilla in the early days of his solo career in the early 2000s, releasing his works with Madlib as well as his signature album Donuts. The label has paid tribute to Dilla with jumpers, tees, posters, cassette releases and 7\u201d box set versions of Donuts but the most sought-after collectible is this box set. Originally released in a limited run of 365 in 2007, the set<\/a> included a cassette release of Ruff Draft, two T-shirts with the slogan: “Turn It Up! A Little Louder”, and a photo taken by B+ in Detroit, 2003. Expect to drop close to three figures on this one.<\/p>\n\"The\n

Joey Bada$$ \u200ex Dilla \u2013 Two Lips<\/h3>\n

In 2013, Joey Bada$$ joined forces with streetwear brand Akomplice and the J Dilla Foundation to create a clothing and musical collection<\/a>. The line featured a crewneck and tee, plus a seven-inch vinyl of Bada$$\u2019s new single \u201cTwo Lips\u201d, which features an unreleased Dilla beat. The two never collaborated IRL but this imaginary meeting suggests that if Dilla was still alive, they\u2019d be working together today. Expect to pay \u00a350 for the vinyl alone.<\/p>\n\"The\n

The King of Beats (Ma Dukes Yancey Collector’s Edition Box Set)<\/h3>\n

This box set<\/a> was something of a godsend for Dilla fans, featuring four 10\u2033 vinyl records of music from Jay Dee\u2019s \u201cBatches\u201d collection, a cassette with six unreleased \u201cLost Scroll\u201d tracks and a booklet of interviews with his peers. Also included in the box is a 3.5 inch floppy disk (!) containing one unreleased beat that you can upload into an actual E-Mu SP-1200 drum machine. The box set\u2019s design is inspired by the SP-1200, which Dilla used to make much of his music. \u201cThis project came about by a lot of soul searching and meditation as to what can I do now that my son has so many bootleg projects out by unknown artists without my approval,\u201d said Ma Dukes Yancey back in 2014.<\/p>\n\"The\n

J Dilla figure by Rappcats and St\u00fcssy<\/h3>\n

Conceived by Detroit artist Sintex and designed by Seoul-based toy artist P2PL, this 7.5\u201d vinyl figurine<\/a> comes dipped head to toe in all things Dilla: an officially licensed St\u00fcssy tee, MPC tucked under the arm, a donut chain, kicks, and even his trademark beard. Released in 2014, the total edition size is 5000 units with 3000 units bearing the words \u201csecond edition\u201d on the box. Two years later, Rappcats and St\u00fcssy teamed up again to create a Donuts verison, which also sold out promptly.<\/p>\n\"The\n

J Dilla – Fuck the Police (Picture Disc 9\u201d Police Badge)<\/h3>\n

\u2018Fuck The Police\u2019 is one of his J Dilla\u2019s best-loved tunes. Out-of-print for over a decade, the single was reissued and remastered for Record Store Day 2015 on a 9\u201d picture disc shaped like a police badge<\/a>. Designed by Jeff Jank, the record comes in a thick, custom-made pocket fold-over, inserted into a Japanese-style, resealable clear plastic sleeve. Limited to 2500, this one isn\u2019t especially rare (or pricey for the matter) but no less a collector\u2019s item.<\/p>\n\"The\n

Various \u200e\u2013 Jay Dee Unreleased EP<\/h3>\n

Could any J Dilla record be more mythic sounding than something titled the \u201cJay Dee Unreleased EP<\/a>\u201d? Confusingly, the EP was never \u201cunreleased\u201d. It was released as planned in 1997; nonetheless, it remains a highly sought-after slab of wax that sees Jay Dee apply his remix touch to classics by De La Soul, Busta Rhymes, and D\u2019Angelo. The EP was released initially on blue and later repressed on green vinyl, both times in limited runs, and if you\u2019re after a real holy grail, look out for the test pressing, which attracts a healthy three-digit figure on Discogs.<\/p>\n

Read more: 15 of the Most Important Vinyl Toys That Are Not “Toys”<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

J Dilla\u2019s mythology has found sources in his early pressings as well as the many posthumous releases that mine material from the archives, not to mention the proliferation of inspired T-shirts, prints, posters and merchandise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":2038,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1054"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1054"}],"version-history":[{"count":48,"href":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1054\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10816,"href":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1054\/revisions\/10816"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2038"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}