Will I love Dilla Time?

I think music is magic. Sometimes, it feels like reading about music deflates its inherent mystery. When I finished Dilla Time, it was like I had taken mushrooms and could see beat patterns with my mind’s eye. Although a good portion of Dilla Time is biographical, the parts I love are the chapters explaining how rhythm works, and Charnas dives deep into this topic.

The biography portion strengthens those sections because Dilla fundamentally changed the rhythm of pop music. I read this book, and my understanding of rhythm completely changed—and I am a drummer! Plus, the mixed-media, multi-formatted content is… show more.

I never related to “hardcore” hip-hop when I was younger. NWA was too much for me. Even some Public Enemy hit my ears with a harshness that was hard to overcome.

It was the music of De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest that sparked my need to become a poet. J Dilla is the pulse of that music, and all 90s hip-hop, in my opinion.

This book is a music lover’s dream. It goes deep into Dilla’s process and talks about his beat machines (as an electronic musician, I can’t get enough of those pages). This book is… show more.