Actually, the radio would play a “Y?” remix as opposed to the original version so I went throughout O’Connell Hall asking if anyone had the “Y?” single so I could see the credits. He handed me the CD & I noticed that the songs the radio always played “Runnin’”, “Drop” & “Y?” were either produced or co-produced by a dude named Jay Dee. If the tape popped? That would blow me, Yung!” was his response.

“You lunchin’, Jo! I got that jon’ on CD. After a couple of days I decided to get to the bottom of it so I asked my roomate if he had The Pharcyde’s “Labcabincalifornia” on tape. That same February, I began to notice that on most of the stations they’d play multiple songs by The Pharcyde in a block then transition right into edited album tracks from Mad Skillz album “From Where?”. It’s the best regional radio I’d ever experienced firsthand in my life. They’d compete with each other to play the hottest music first which made listening to the radio an adventure. I’d listen to Morgan State’s radio station WEAA (88.9 FM), WERQ AKA 92Q (92.3 FM), WKYS (93.9 FM) & WPGC (95.3 FM) which all played Rap & R&B. It was a big deal on campus since so many Virginians went to Morgan State. Nonchalant had a song called “5 O’Clock” which eventually became a #1 Rap hit (her DJ was Young Guru) and an infamous battle rapper from Richmond, VA signed with a major and released his debut album that February. Questionmark Asylum had a major label deal. At that time, the DMV was going through a kind of mini Rap renaissance. I’ll deconstruct the past 20 years of my Dilla fandom.īack in January 1996, I left my home in Boston to attend Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD. In the decade that followed he became an icon, a cult figure and a target.

A decade later, he passed away at the age of 32. 10 Years Of Being A Dilla Scholar (1996–2016)īack in February 1996, I first became aware of how great a producer Jay Dee was. A Tale Of Two Jay Dee’s: 10 Years Of Fandom vs.

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