March ‘25
Luke's Phind
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Luke's Phind -
Super7 J Dilla ReAction Figure
It’s hard to find an instrumental album with more personality than Donuts by J Dilla. His expert use of samples blends together different genres and sounds seamlessly, creating some of the most memorable beats ever created. At times, it feels like you’re flipping through the radio stations, but every station has bangin’ masterpieces. For example, one moment you’ll be listening to a track like Don’t Cry, which chops a sample of an old 70s soul track, to a loud twangy guitar sample with punchy drums heard in the track Anti-American Graffiti. Everything just works, it’s truly an album without any skips!
The first time I listened to this back on my iPod Nano, I was blown away by the creative blend of different genres being sampled. At the time, I was mainly listening to bands like Metallica and The Smashing Pumpkins, so this was truly a new sound for me. It quickly got me invested in diving into more instrumental albums like this and even inspired me to dabble into beat making myself. It turns out it’s way harder than it looks, and I quickly learned that it’s no easy feat. J Dilla truly was a master of his craft!
Check out this video below shows a really cool visual on how he chopped up the sample on the track Don’t Cry, definitely one of my favorite tracks from the album.
Also, this next video is a quick video from Questlove speaking about J Dilla’s drum techniques. He had a unique approach to the way he patterned his drums, which made him stand out from a lot of other beat makers out there.
When I found out that Super7 was going to create a J Dilla figure I was pumped. They’ve made some really cool music-related figures in the past, from MF Doom, to OutKast, to even Devo. I unfortunately missed the window on getting the MF Doom figure, so I knew I was gonna make sure to snag this one.
I think my favorite thing about this figure is the mini MPC it comes with. I mean, that’s gotta be the first ever toy MPC ever created, right? Hopefully, Super7 continues to make awesome collectibles for us rap fans out there. If they’re anywhere near as cool as this Dilla one, I’ll be sure to pick it up!
