Rapster Records comes behind a litany of labels who have memorialized, and some who have even capitalized, off of the work of J Dilla. The ingenious producer, known for his laidback soulful beats, provided a slew of music production to hip-hop and soul artists during his 10-plus year tenure before passing away in 2006.

Dillanthology Volume 1 is the first of Rapsters’ Dilla initiatives that will later highlight his remixes and solo work production. For now, Volume 1 wants to capture the ‘Classic J Dilla’ circa mid to late ’90s.

To do this they have compiled his work with various artists and placed it under one vinyl roof. While an anthology, absent of these instrumentals, seems irrelevant in a world of easy download hacks and personal catalogs, Dillanthology holds a mere 11 tracks of them.

Erykah Badu’s ‘Didn’t Cha Know’ is present. Pharcyde’s ‘Runnin’ is here. But one must ask, where is A Tribe Called Quest, Q-Tip, and Janet Jackson’s ‘Got Till It’s Gone?’ If anthologies are judged by their ability to showcase the artist’s best work and not just a trip down memory lane, this effort falls short.

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