In 2004, James Yancy (aka J Dilla) moved from Detroit, the city of his birth, to Los Angeles, the place he would call home until his death in 2006. Already a famed producer of chart topping hip-hop acts such as Common, Busta Rhymes, A Tribe Called Quest, and The Pharcyde, Jay Dee reinvented himself and his sound in Los Angeles, striving for a rawer style that departed from his neo-soul roots.
Four years after his untimely passing, Dilla reputation has only grown. Last month, to commemorate what would have been his 36th birthday, legendary Los Angeles street wear company Stüssy held Dilla Day events across North America, celebrating the release of their limited edition tee shirt produced in collaboration with Stones Throw and the Dilla estate. The company also produced a mini-documentary focused on Dilla’s “second act” that took place in Los Angeles, and the connections he made with the city. Chinashop spoke with the creator of the three-part web series Adam Jay Weissman to learn more about this reverent project.
Where did the idea for doing the Dilla documentary come from?
Adam Jay Weissman: I always thought it was odd that Dilla moved out to Los Angeles and was interested in how the move affected his music. He went from doing these very high profile rap records to smaller, more personal projects. This wasn’t an attempt to document his entire musical career, this focused on the last chapter in it.
Why do you think a doc on Dilla is relevant four years after his death?
Adam Jay Weissman: He’s one of the more important hip-hop producers of all time. He had a very specific style that continued to mature the older he got. He influenced a lot of kids making music today. He inspired the whole wonky beat thing in LA and UK. I think he’ll always be relevant—years from now he’ll be studied by music historians.
What’s one item about Dilla you would have liked to have fit into the film but couldn’t?
Adam Jay Weissman: We shot 30 minutes with each person, so a lot was cut. Techno connection is interesting to me, how that influenced his music. He was into Kraftwerk, Silver Apples, Stereolab. Knowing that, I can totally hear it in his music. It would’ve been nice to go into that more. I really wanted these videos to be a bit on the nerdy/beat maker side of things. Something I’d want to watch.
Who do you really wish you could have interviewed but couldn’t?
Adam Jay Weissman: It would’ve been cool to go to Detroit. We didn’t have the time or budget, and that’s not really what the video was about. It was about LA and his time here. We had three weeks to shoot and edit. A lot of people were not in town—Common, Madlib, and his mother, Mrs. Yancey, would’ve added another layer to the story. They were around when he was here in LA.
Why does it make sense for a fashion brand like Stüssy to get into the game of creating videos like this?
Adam Jay Weissman: Stüssy has always been a cultural hub of sorts. The whole Stüssy Tribe was a group of DJs, artists, musicians, film-makers, etc., that shared common interests. After 30 years, we still carry on that tradition.
The first videos I made for Stüssy was the World Tour documentary, which was in 2006. Since then, I’ve shot about three or four a year. The Stüssy site is filled with a lot of good video content about the artists we’ve worked with and admire. Kaws, Kate Gibb, Josh Cheuse, Jon Narr, Mister Cartoon, Peter Bagge are some of them. We run the gamut from graffiti guys to photographers, graphic designers to comic book artists. For me it’s always fun to learn about the people I look up to.
Are there future projects planned similar to this?
Adam Jay Weissman: I’m going to London to shoot a few artist documentaries in April. Look for those to drop throughout the year starting in May.
