About J Dilla
James Dewitt Yancey (February 7, 1974 – February 10, 2006), better known by the stage names J Dilla, Jay Dee, or simply Dilla, was an American record producer, rapper, and composer. He emerged from the mid-1990s underground hip-hop scene in Detroit, Michigan, as a member of the group Slum Village. He was a founding member of the Soulquarians, a musical collective active during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Yancey and Madlib collaborated as the duo Jaylib, releasing the album Champion Sound. Yancey's final album, Donuts, was released three days before his death. He was also known for producing the Pharcyde album Labcabincalifornia. Yancey died at the age of 32 from a combination of TTP and lupus. Despite a short mainstream career, he is widely considered to be one of the most influential producers in hip-hop and popular music. J Dilla's music raised the artistic level of hip-hop production in Detroit. According to The Guardian, "His affinity for crafting lengthy, melodic loops peppered with breakbeats and vocal samples took instrumental hip-hop into new, more musically complex realms." Yancey's approach to drum programming, often cited as a loose, or "drunk", style that eschews the use of quantization, has been influential on producers and drummers. In his teenage years, he "stayed in the basement alone" to train himself to produce beats with his growing record collection. In 1995, Yancey and MC Phat Kat formed 1st Down and became the first Detroit hip hop group to sign with a major label (Payday Records). In 1996, he formed Slum Village and recorded what would become their debut album Fantastic, Vol. 1 at RJ Rice Studios.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.