"Dilla Plugged In"- De La Soul (Prod. J Dilla)

"Simple" that's the only way to describe "Dilla Plugged In", the first taste of De La Soul's upcoming Smell the D.A.I.S.Y. mixtape, which will feature the hip-hop icons tackling J Dilla beats. That adjective could be appended to every single part of this offering. There's the bare-bones cover, recalling the trio's 3 Feet High and Rising which turned 25 last month. A reconfigured Dilla beat from the Old Donuts collection, epoxied by piano chords and impossibly on-point drumming. Even the group's rapping deserves the term; so laid-back that Pos' doesn't seem to mind repeating his lead-off verse in the mission-defining "Plug Tunin'".

But minimalism can be absolutely marvelous and "Dilla Plugged In" is a perfect example. Give the aforementioned drumbeat a round or two and you'll be nodding along in unison. Dilla's drums have long been praised and in an effort like this, you begin to understand what all the hubbub is about. Even Posdnuos can't keep from commenting, "Drums are heard sounding off each and every person" he giddily rattles off. Those piano chords are imbued with similar warmth, ringing out without clanging. And then there's the "Plugs" heralding the D.A.I.S.Y. Age like 1989 never left. "Musical notes will send a new motto," Trugoy promises without a hint of the disaffection that marked De La Soul is Dead. More than just "capturing the essence of Dilla" De La reclaims an entire era. Not bad for something so "simple." 

Smell the D.A.I.S.Y. is coming soon, along with a new album entitled You're Welcome and Premium Soul on the Rocks, which will be produced entirely by DJ Premier and Pete Rock.

Track Attack- "Much More" (De La Soul) (Prod. J Dilla)

Whenever I'm tagging rap songs in my library, I always arrive at the question of should I include production credits? It's the same question I often find myself asking about features. As I weigh one side versus the other, I'll wonder "is their performance such a vital component of the track that if it were subtracted the song would suffer?" If I nod in agreement to the question, they get their proper credit.

There's no questioning when it comes to producer J Dilla. One of rap's all-time best, the Detroit-native came up with Pharcyde before falling into place as a vital component of the Soulquarians movement. It was there, while producing for R&B revivalists D'Angelo and Erykah Badu he perfected his sacrosanct formula of: warm but heavy drums, calculated snaps, tender soul vocals, invitingly obscure samples, and hypnotic guitar riffs.

While De La Soul's 2004 track "Much More" lacks anything in the way of "riffage", everything else is firmly in place. Yummy Bingham's chirpy vocals give the eerie keyboard figure of "Strawberry 23" a much needed makeover as a sped-up "Love Ballad" dances in the background. Dilla's trademark drums (which Kanye once admitted to "stealing") knock louder than a SWAT Team at 6 in the morning, but refrain from roughing the listener up. And in that "tough passivity" hip-hop's hippies Posdnuos and Trugoy find their place. When Pos' promises "lacerations" it's only to an obstinate microphone. Trugoy (aka Dave) meanwhile is content to kick his feet up and button mash on the X-Box. "House rules, so house takes bank" he matter-of-factly rattles off with the sort of weary knowledge only a vet could possess. 

Still Dilla is the ultimate vet in the equation. When he shuffled off forever in 2006, just 3 days after releasing his masterwork Donuts, he was a relative unknown in commercial rap culture. Part of this had to do with his idiosyncratic approach (few if any sound like Dilla), but it can also be attributed to his shy attitude. Besides rocking hats to mask his face, he frequently crafted tracks as part of "The Ummah" so that his role was never clear. 8 years after his death he may be more widely recognized, but he's as enigmatic as ever. When Bingham's singing "much more is what we got in store" in the chorus she's telling the story of J Dilla.

If you have suggestions for songs you want to see featured in future editions of Track Attack, feel free to leave them in the comment section.