About This Book

WINNER OF THE PEN/JACQUELINE BOGRAD WELD AWARD FOR BIOGRAPHY NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “This book is a must for everyone interested in illuminating the idea of unexplainable genius.” —QUESTLOVE

Equal parts biography, musicology, and cultural history, *Dilla Time* chronicles the life and legacy of J Dilla, a musical genius who transformed the sound of popular music for the twenty-first century. He wasn’t known to mainstream audiences, even though he worked with renowned acts like D’Angelo and Erykah Badu and influenced the music of superstars like Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson. He died at the age of thirty-two, and in his lifetime he never had a pop hit. Yet since his death, J Dilla has become a demigod: revered by jazz musicians and rap icons from Robert Glasper to Kendrick Lamar; memorialized in symphonies and taught at universities. And at the core of this adulation is innovation: a new kind of musical time-feel created on a drum machine, changing the way “traditional” musicians play.

In *Dilla Time*, Dan Charnas chronicles James DeWitt Yancey’s life, from his gifted childhood in Detroit to his rise as a Grammy-nominated hip-hop producer. The book also explores American rhythms from the birth of soul in Motown to funk, techno, and disco, revealing music as a story of Black culture in America. This unique visual experience teaches fans and novices alike to “see” and feel rhythm in an enjoyable way. Culled from more than 150 interviews, *Dilla Time* is as delightfully detail-oriented and unique as J Dilla’s music itself.