Lofi is based on j Dilla but that doesn’t mean he is lofi. It’s a weird distinction. Like is Knxwledge lofi? Is Madlib lofi? I would say no but they all fall under a similar genre. It’s a debate that is still going on and it’s really complicated. I just call it beats
Dilla did not invent lofi culture. Lofi culture goes as far back as the 50s. If you mean lofi hip hop, his peers were doing the same thing. Now, no one did it as great or as influentially as Dilla but Dilla wasn't the only one of his time
I remember hearing some of his songs during the Adult Swim late night bumpers when I was really young back then and I don’t know what it is, but something about his beats perfectly fit the midnight vibe almost too damn perfectly. It’s crazy how much music he has created that we have yet to hear about.
in my top 5 albums ever. "your favorite producer's favorite producer" as they say. forever thankful he was able to finish this album while sick. fr a masterclass in production. rip legend
Since you announced that you're covering "Donuts", I've been eagerly waiting for the video to drop. It's one of my favourite albums of all time and I can see why the current generation of lo-fi hip hop producers are heavily influenced by him. It's hard not to be inspired by his work when his output was THIS consistently great. "Donuts" not only loops smoothly, I also love how seamless the transitions in between the tracks are. On top of all that, there are awesome renditions of some of the beats with great lyrical performances (DOOM's as well as Q-Tip's and Talib Kweli's versions of "Lightworks", The Roots' "Can't Stop This", originally "Time: The Donut Of The Heart", and Common's "So Far To Go", originally "Bye.", just to name a few). That's why the cover of my vinyl copy sits inside a frame, that decorates my room just splendidly. This record holds a very special in both my vinyl collection and my heart. Thank you, Pad. Appreciate your detours from the usually vaporwave-centered content a lot.
Oh yeah, this is one of the best. My favorite tracks are "Time: The Donut of the Heart" and "Two Can Win." If we're talking The Shining though, my favorite is "Won't Do." Great video, would love to hear more on underground hip hop from you.
this channel needs so many more viewers. seriously this channel is on par with some of the best video essay channels on youtube. keep up the awesome work man 🔥🔥🔥
J Dilla was a master and this album is absolutely iconic and oddly influential to me while making music in a totally different genres. It’s just a masterpiece.
Great job with video. I remember when Donuts dropped it wasn't highly acclaimed many rappers claimed that it too hard to rap over. Only Ghost face,Busta Rhymes MF Doom and Black Thought could flow over the beats back then. Now it is Hip Hop standard.
My city ( Grand Rapids, MI ) had a listening party for Donuts a day before the album came out 15-20 minutes away from where i lived, unfortunately i was barely a year old at the time so obviously i didn't go :(( . Also Airworks is the most soulful sampling I've ever hear
You should absolutely do a trilogy of videos discussing the 3 classic hip hop instrumental albums (Donuts, Since I Left You & Endtroducing). That would be sick.
Lemme tell you about how i got into Donuts: My fellow co-worker from a same kitchen place, whose name i've already forgotten, used to listen to a lot of different African American music and mostly hip-hop at work before he drank his homemade mead, got drunk, glimpsed his balls to a security guy and got fired. It's sad all the personal folks got their asses kicked from the job... One day he brought J Dilla's "Donuts" and put it on. My first impressions were very positive. After a couple of times the album started to show its fascination. "Donuts" contains 31, approximately 1min 30sec long instrumental hip-hop tracks. The length of the tracks might feel too short but fortunately the entirety of "Donuts" is massively adequate thanks to its changing variety and sample rich content. Some of the tracks are surprisingly down-to-earth and by that i mean they share lots of sentimentality. Lots of different midnight vibes meet wistful memories. Just like DJ Shadow's music does. Tracks such as "Anti-American Graffiti" and "Lightworks", which is sampled from Raymond Scott's original "Lightworks", share their own interstellar avantgarde ambience/modern culture while mixing modern urban rhythms. Makes the skin go gooseflesh. It also doesn't matter there aren't any rapping at all. It could make the tracks sound too filled. I like J Dilla's style. He makes every track from "Donuts" sound old and modern, energetic and restful. They have their own individual lifetime moments. Rest in peace.
Yeah, I love this album. One thing I keep saying is that if both artists were still alive, I picture Dilla opening for Frank Zappa more than any hip hop artist, then I remember, "Wait a minute! Dilla DID sample FRANK!" Both this one, ad the instrumental version of The Shining are real gems.
If I had a song from this album “Last Donut Of The Night” would be my song to send me off into the darkness of the night N I’m glad his brother Illa J is still keeping his memory alive by making songs himself (In my way it’s him telling his brother he still carries on everything including the love for him thru good times and the bad)
To me, I'll always think of "Time: The Donut of the Heart" is my favorite and it's by a decent margin. The whole album is great and I love it, but that song spoke to me in a way during a pretty brutal time in my life. Rest easy Dilla
Thats always been one of my favorite tracks too my man. I cant explain why but those moans in the track make it so much better haha. Who would have thought to throw some shit like that in a beat? You probably heard the roots song that used that beat as a tribute to Dilla, but just incase you haven't. Check it out my man
my favorite pad chennington quote is on _late nite delite_ where he says the sound is a summer swimming pool that looks like some damn soup. my second favorite quote is where he says how good is donuts actually?? (not clickbait) donuts is a snack platter. its my favorite."
Ay Pad, do you happen to have a discord server by any chance? I'd love to discuss some album's in the realm of Vaporwave, Future Funk, and Nu-Disco with you and other peeps.
MF DOOM did vaporwave before it was vaporwave. I know you did a video on the possible origins of the Vaporwave sound. You missed the song "Ryhmes like Dimes" and the title track to the album ""Operation Doomsday". The songs came out a least a year before Eccojams. DOOM embraced sounds and samples that most others avoided. His production doesnt get enough credit. RIP DOOM. This album should be covered, that or MM FOOD. Obviously Madvillian is a masterwork but it usually gets all the DOOM shine. That was a Madlib Production though. I think DOOM's beats speaks more to your channel. Also its easy to lost in the flood of content on him these days as well as the hundreds of Madvillian pieces and essays. "Just remember, ALL CAPS when you spell the man's name!"
Time: The Donut of The Heart is probably one of the most heart string plucking songs I've ever heard. This Korean rock band did a cover of it and it just feels so warm and comforting. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-BMHngttFXDc.html Also for the next review... FUCK IT MM..FOOD BY MF DOOM (or any Nujabes album, preferably Modal Soul please 🥺)
If you want dark, intelligent sample based albums to talk about, try "The Cold Vein" by CANNIBAL OX. Strangely sci fi like the album was made by Rick Deckard's paranoid neighbor, but at the same time being pure HIP HOP at all times. Prod is by the one and only ELP (from Run the Jewels and Company Flow). Oh why your at it, the first COMPANY FLOW album is a monster. Broken as fuck in all the right places. Anyway, thanks for your time.
I've tried listening to Donuts a couple separate times but I just can't get into it. Everything is so short or lacks development. I'll probably try it a couple more times but I dunno. Lofi Hiphop is really hard for me to get into.
