Since the passing of producer, J-Dilla, there have been several releases of his work. Mostly, the best of/anthology-esque records has come off as forced compilations of hits whose motivation seemed more for the cash than the true honor of a genius. But just when you thought the exploitation had the final word, we are presented with a gift of something Dilla himself prepared. Its an authentic, gritty meet soul LP, and unreleased until now.

Jay Stay Paid is an LP, birthed from Dilla’s old technological archive aka DATS and floppy disks. Its also made up of tracks he laid down during his time spent in the hospital. His mother, better known to the hip-hop community as Ma Dukes and producer Pete Rock took the above and created a cohesive album for the world to enjoy. The listening experience is reminiscent of the late Friday night hip-hop radio shows of hip-hop’s past. Its cohesive, fun, and raw. For the ride, Pete Rock is the acting DJ. In the beginning of ‘Pay Day’ he says you are ‘listening to the freshest hardcore J-Dilla shyt you ever gonna hear in your life’ and you should believe him.

There are some small interview footage of Dilla, but not too much to make the album static or even sad. Jay Stay Paid is mostly filled with instrumentals so that we can truly inhale Dilla’s beats and digest and admire his rare and effortless producing technique. There are a few tracks with vocals on it. No better one shines like ‘Reality Check’ featuring Black Thought. Its a brilliant record in which he uses reality shows’ wordplay to narrate a tale of his “baby’s momma”. Jay Stay Paid is a smooth hip hop ride. It is an effort that should be applauded and J-Dilla is a producer whose contributions will be appreciated from years to come. This album is another piece of evidence that testifies to that truth.

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