Illa J + J Dilla = Yancey Boys

I listened to a couple of tracks from Illa J before I went and read his bio. Interesting. But first I'll talk about the music.

Got a heads up on this one from the folks at Audible Treats. I'm on that list and it is all good. I don't know what made me listen to this particular artist, but it was a good choice. The first track from Illa J's "Yancey Boys" disk that I listened to was "Strugglin". Seems we could all make a track w/this title, right? But I like the slow beats on this one. Reminded me of The Roots.

I also checked out "R U Listenin" f/Guilty Simpson. A little singin on this one. Just a nice jam. More uptempo. And the other track that I listened to was "We Here"; I'm diggin this one too. No corny rhymes and the beat reminds me of Kraftwerk's "TransEurope Express". There's some singing on this one too and it fits in nicely.

Now, let me address this Yancey Boys connection. For those of you who recall J Dilla, you already know ... and if you don't know, then you suspected that w/a name like Illa J and Yancey, that this guy might be a blood relative of J Dilla. Well, he's Dilla's little brother to be exact. A little brother who looked up to his older and extremely talented brother, a legendary producer whose life ended way too soon. Nice that the younger Yancey has a chance to continue the family legacy.

This is a nice project; the music and beats flow nicely. The one downfall is that it is somewhat annoying to keep hearing the "Yancey Boys" shout out on each track and in some case several times on a track - it's not necessary. But if you are so inclined to make a purchase, check out Illa J's "Yancey Boys" @ iTunes..

Oh and hip hoppers, this is a Delicious Vinyl project and you know how they roll. You can be down now ... or jump on the bandwagon in the weeks, months, years to come. kfox.