Book cover of Dilla Time: The Life and Afterlife of J Dilla, the Hip-Hop Producer Who Reinvented Rhythm

Book description

It's Dilla Time. Finally. Dilla Time is the story of the invention of a new kind of time, a new kind of sound, by the most influential music producer of the last twenty-five years, someone you may never have heard of: J. Dilla. He's revered by rappers and producers from…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked Dilla Time as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

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…

From Aaron's list on music books with a unique twist.

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…

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These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

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