J.Rocc "Jaylib vs. J.Rocc" (Mixtape, 2003)

The year was 2003. J Dilla and Madlib had just wrapped up their album Champion Sound, recording as Jaylib, with Dilla then still in Detroit and Madlib doing all his work from his bomb shelter studio in Los Angeles. J Rocc - who would later become the third member of Jaylib, on the turntables for each of the shows the guys did together - put together this mixtape of Dilla, Madlib and Jaylib songs, as well as some of their sources, essentially telling the story of this group. We had some promo copies of this CD floating around for a while that year, then took the Jaylib section and pressed it on a 45, which was released as the bonus 45 with Champion Sound. Both the CD and 45 are long out of stock. The photos were taken by B+ of Madlib in his studio in L.A. and Dilla in his in Detroit, and also came up with the concept for this packaging: a cutout photo sleeve with a second sleeve inside, juxtaposing the photos of Madlib and Dilla. - Stones Throw. R.I.P., J Dilla... Listen below...

Donnie Propa "10 Year Tribute Tape" (RIP J Dilla)

Back again ... I posted about the Pete Rock mix that Donnie Propa did last November, but he also put this mix together to honor the memory of the late, great J Dilla on the 10th anniversary of his passing (February 10, 2016). The '10 Year Tribute Tape' features some classics, rarities, and instrumentals from the well respected and sorely missed producer. Once again, the mix is done with 100% vinyl and released in association with Village Live and Planet Rock Graphics. Props to Dregone for the solid artwork, I wish I would have caught the cassettes while they were still in stock. Dig...