Celebrating the Life and Career of J Dilla (Guest: Mr. Al Pete)

Episode Transcript

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[00:00:00] Opening Theme (Music by Danya Vodovoz)
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[00:00:30] Introduction and Welcome
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DJ Sir Daniel: Peace, and welcome back to another episode of Queue Points podcast. I am DJ sir Daniel.

Jay Ray: And my name is Jay Ray, sometimes known by my government. As Johnny Ray Corner gave a third good evening folks.

[00:00:44] The Essence of Queue Points Podcast
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DJ Sir Daniel: Queue Points podcast, the podcast dropping the needle on black music history. Jay Ray, what it is, what to do?

I feel like I just saw you a couple hours

Jay Ray: It was a cup it was it was last night. You know what I'm saying? We did something special Last night, so we are gonna be doing this for our members.

So we're getting that back up and running, but we did a dry run last night Over on mix cloud. So me and you, we had a we had a good chat about, um, Big Mama. You know what I'm saying? By Roxanne Shante.

DJ Sir Daniel: We absolutely did. So why don't we and, yes, thank you to, uh, 1 of our day ones is in the in the chat already. Mark, shout out to you. And, yes, it is the beginning of black music.

It's not black music history, but black history month. And, you know, we and we fit right in everywhere. Matter of fact, whenever you you need somebody to come in for your black history, school specials, um, church talks or whatever. I don't know how well we'll do in the church, but, You know, call Queue Points. We are definitely part of black history because black music is part of black history.

[00:01:55] Trying New Things on Mixcloud
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DJ Sir Daniel: So with that said, as J Ray alluded to earlier, he was talking about the new things we're doing on mix cloud and All the different types of treats that we have for our, um, subscribe listeners and viewers. So, Jerry, please tell them how they can become part of that flock of this congregation of Queue Points podcast.

Jay Ray: You know what I mean? Y'all need to become part of the Queue Points crew, congregation. We, uh, so the first things first. If you heard us say this, if you are watching us say it, you are already doing the most amazing thing that you can do. And the only thing that you need to do is hit the subscribe button.

And if it has a notification button, hit that too so that you can get notified whenever we have a show. That is absolutely free. The other thing that you can do that is absolutely free is you can join our newsletter. If you visit Queue Points dot com, that gives you an opportunity to join the newsletter. Also, you can visit our magazine.

You get so much dope stuff, 

[00:02:57] Transition
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[00:03:04] Introducing the Special Guest: Mr. Al Pete 
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DJ Sir Daniel: let's Get into it.

Jay Ray, we have a special guest tonight. He's not really a anymore because he's family. He is part of the the Queue Points, Podcast family. He's our podcast brother, and we are very excited to welcome Duval's very own Jacksonville, Florida. The man, the legend himself, mister Al Pete, the mayor of Al Pete's neighborhood.

I mean, what else can you say? Matter of fact, I'm a just let him Tell you all the great things he's doing. But first and foremost, brother, mister Alp, how are you feeling today?

Mr. Al Pete: Listen. All all is well. Check 1, Check 2, man. My brothers. My brothers.

How y'all feeling?

DJ Sir Daniel: Excellent.

I'm doing super duper fly, especially now that you're here with us 

Mr. Al Pete: Yeah. Thank you all for having me, man.

Love it. Love it. Love it.

Jay Ray: of course, man. So listen.

Everybody who's watching, We are gonna give you an opportunity. Definitely go and check out. We have an interview with mister Al Pete as well as a great, Conversation with him, so definitely check that out.

[00:04:07] Checking in With Mr. Al Pete
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Jay Ray: But, Al, tell us what's going on in mister Peterson's neighborhood, Uh, with all the stuff that you're doing, let us fill us in on what's going on with mister Al Pete right now.

Mr. Al Pete: Cool. Cool.

Cool. So, uh, all is well. All is cool. Just still moving and shaking around the neighborhood. But, um, first thing I wanna mention, because we're gonna keep this brief, but, uh, the MPN network app, You can go and download the app, or you can go to Linktree forward slash, uh, MPM management.

And, um, They have the 2 options on there. So if you have iPhone, you can download it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

There you go. Or if you, uh, Android, you could download as well, but You can always go to your, uh, the App Store and download it. We play podcasts on there. We have a a music show on there. We have, uh, QPoint commercials on that.

So by you listening, you're gonna hear that QPoint commercial going through that thing. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. So that's that's number 1. And then number 2, uh, I just started a a radio show called The Neighborhood on, uh, WJCT.

It's here in Jacksonville, Florida. It's a NPR affiliate station. Part of JME Saturday nights, but it's it comes on on Saturdays at 9 PM. And it's just 1 hour of me playing some some dope music, man. They Kinda, um, taking people through the neighborhood.

Like, you know, figuratively, the neighborhood. So, uh, I give people a good walk of, Uh, a good walk, good music type of vibes, definitely stick with the hip hop, uh, soul, funk. You might hear a little jazz in there as well, but depending on the week, that's how I feel. So, um, running in the second month right now. So, yeah, that's where we at with it.

DJ Sir Daniel: That's excellent. You know, uh, I come from radio, and the The importance of terrestrial radio cannot be denied. Going into the studio and just, You know, seeing the the equipment, the the boards, the mics, it's it's really an experience for somebody who is a true Radiohead.

So I'm I'm super duper happy to hear that, um, hear big things going on for you, miss Alpi. Tonight, though, 

[00:06:12] The Impact of J Dilla on Music
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DJ Sir Daniel: . On this particular episode, we're going to get to talk about the 1 and only Jay Dilla and how his impact on music Because yeah. You guys can't see it, but Jay Ray, if you're watching, you can see it. Jay Ray is, like, super psyched right now.

And, of course, we're waiting we waited till this moment because, Uh, Dilla's birthday is upon us, and what better way to celebrate the man and his legend and hard work in this thing we call black music 

Jay Ray: dilla holds a special place in my heart. So, there are different points in my life Where I heard something that changed me. And Dilla is responsible For 1 of those moments, but really 2 of those moments that happened, like, in a because he's related to 1. There's an artist that Worked with him who created 1 of those moments. Actually, back there, it's a Wajid moment.

We'll talk about that down the line. But Having this conversation about this brother who was we're celebrating his birthday. Dilla was born on February seventh. He would have been 50 this year, Which is crazy. Dilla would have been 50 this year.

Um, and he passed away, uh, 3 days after his birthday on February tenth, 2006, um, out in Los Angeles where he was, at the time, the roommate of 1 common. You know what I'm saying? So, Dilla, real quick. Let's do a quick history rundown for folks that don't know. Um, so Dilla was born James DeWitt Yancey.

He was born in Detroit, um, and From like a young age, so it's interesting. Dilla was 1 of those kids who grew up around music, um, and music all through the house and in the family and was really just kinda smart. Right? And really began to get involved in music production stuff in kind of this really interesting way. So there's a book, um, about Dilla.

It is the encyclopedia of Dilla. Essentially, it's called Dilla Time, the life and afterlife of J Dilla, The pro the hip hop producer who reinvented rhythm. And it wasn't until I read this book that I understand why Dilla was so impactful to me because I couldn't put into words why. But 1 of the things that gets talked about with Dilla is that he would produce, Y'all remember these 2? Do y'all remember them little, um, cassette?

There was like a cassette recorder but it was like It was, uh, it was essentially a reel that you could, like, record multi tracks on, but it was a cassette. It's like 4 tracks. So, Dill, of course, had 1 of those, but here's what the brother would do in order to create his beats at the time. He disassembled the machine so that he was able to manipulate how quickly Or slow the the record the the thing moved to speed up or slow down a piece of the beat that he wanted to create. This is the mind of how he was working.

Right? And Dilla in 19 92 according to legend, Amp Fiddler who just passed away.

Mr. Al Pete: Mhmm.

Rest in peace.

Jay Ray: in peace to Amp Fiddler. Uh, Della was working in the studio, uh, doing the thing that he did and amp was like, you know, there's a machine. There's a machine that you can, like, make your beats on.

You know what I'm saying? You don't have to, you know, put all of the, you know, the samples onto these tapes and all of that stuff. Like, there's a machine. It taught Dilla how to use the MPC. And the brother like Mastered it.

But according to DJ Jazzy Jeff, and I agree because I couldn't put this into words, What made Dilla special is he used the MPC like a drummer would drum. You know, like a bass player would bass. So he's using this machine which would make perfect perfect beats. Like, uh, it like a like somebody, you would just play it. And everything that you heard from a Dilla production is how he wanted us to hear it.

So that's who Dilla is. Like like, as a as a foundation, And, um, I first became aware of him in 95. Uh, the far side running came out. What

DJ Sir Daniel: running away.

Jay Ray: great. That song,

DJ Sir Daniel: It's super soulful and you know what? That song made me take Far Side, seriously. Not in the sense that I didn't look at them as dope MCs or, like, they but they came from a comedic standpoint. If you remember the Yo mama record and stuff like that, and, um, but that song took them showed another side of them, and I think that's what Dilla did to any artist that he worked with. He brought out something soup so soulful within them that it allowed them to show a different side of themselves.

And going back to what you were saying about his ingenuity, Um, thank you, Crate Digger. Um, it sounds like he was using a task 

cam 

for track. Okay. So there's something to be said about the ideology of hip hop is creating something out of nothing or using what you have.

Jay Ray: Mhmm.

DJ Sir Daniel: is part of the foundation ideology of hip hop.

And for him to You know, he's like a direct he's part of the, you know, the the tribe and the native tongues descendant. So I get it. I get it completely. He, you know, you can hear that that that is part of his lineage.

Jay Ray: Yeah. Al, when did you become aware Of, yeah, of JD because he was JD. And that was the thing because we had known Jermaine Duprias, so we had a JD. And then all of a sudden, it was like, Who's this JD?

I don't 

Mr. Al Pete: this JD in 

Jay Ray: Right.

Mr. Al Pete: So I didn't discover, uh, well, I was listening to to Dilla and didn't even know it was Dilla. That was the crazy part.

It was like so I was, like, 3 years in when I'd when I'd first heard a J Dilla beat, which was probably, uh, running.

Jay Ray: Mhmm.

Mr. Al Pete: but when I got to, uh, school, uh, Savannah State, I had a homie that I still talk to till this day, man, from Detroit, And he had a Slum Village tape. And, um, I was like, who is this Slum Village? Who are these Slum Village people? And it was so he broke it down on that tip, and then That's when he was telling me, like, JD produced this, this, this, this, and this.

And then I I I remember going back to all of the songs that he mentioned. It was like, oh my goodness. And And Labcapcap in California, oh, man. That Farside album is like so when when y'all mentioned the Farside, I was thinking that, yeah, Jay Dillard calmed calm, uh, calmed him down. Like, calm down.

Because you have songs like fish in the sea On the on the first album, whatever, it was kinda melodic, soulful, whatever, but, like, that running was like it was just like a really easy balance, man. And that sample was just crazy, and it was good for them to to wrap over. So I I agree, uh, Daniel with the with taking them seriously or whatever. It was like, oh, okay. You know, they And they could really put put some songs together.

Not saying that it wasn't doing that back on their first album, but on this album here, it was just a little bit more soulful, man. And It I was it was easy for me to to to to take into words as well as the beats. So 

mhmm. 

Jay Ray: You know, it's funny that you both have mentioned that because I was gonna say this, but I won't. So I, of course, had talked about the fact that Dilla, um, is part of that was 1 of those producers that I heard and suddenly stuff differently. I remember when I got the fantastic volume 2. Right? And I suddenly was like, oh, this is what grown up hip hop sounds like. This is like grown up. You know, like, I felt like because the it was so sophisticated in my mind. Like, I remember Listening to I don't know, which I talked to sir Daniel about, and the way the his his beat and then Jazzy Jeff Cutting into it was the craziest thing I had ever heard.

I'm like, wait. What is it doing? And I felt like This is the future. Like, this is what happens when rappers grow up. They do this and I like it.

DJ Sir Daniel: But isn't that the, um, I think what you described is the the mark of a true musician and what we call producers specifically in rap music Because sometimes producers can get locked into just being, you know, called beat makers.

But there are people who changed the way you listen to things and the way you experience, um, records, the way you experience an artist And, you know, point blank period, that's what Dilla did. And I think another mark of of of his brilliance is how many people You know, all of his sons. Because when you when you carve when you carve a man, you start you know, people start to emulate what you do or they're they're so inspired that they can't help but to put a spin on what you've done.

Jay Ray: Mhmm. Listen.

So I think to that point, Al, that you just that you mentioned as well,

Mr. Al Pete: Hold on.

Real quick. You don't mind me interrupting.

Could you could you could you imagine I mean, well, not could you imagine. Could you mention the suns, if you don't mind?

Jay Ray: There's so many subs.

Mr. Al Pete: That's why at least for history.

DJ Sir Daniel: Like, I mean, I don't think I would be out of line if I said, like, Kanye wasn't 1 of his sons.

Mr. Al Pete: Absolutely.

Jay Ray: Absolutely. Absolutely.

Mr. Al Pete: Absolutely.

Jay Ray: And Kanye knows it.

DJ Sir Daniel: I kinda you know, you definitely hear in the beginning. And I think that I think when people talk about they missed the old Kanye, What they're missing is that synthesis that he had with the spirit of Adela

Jay Ray: Mhmm.

DJ Sir Daniel: And because that spirit is no longer there. Not in the sense that that yay is not connected to that kind of spirit anymore, in my opinion. that that's 1 of his sons and, you know,

Jay Ray: Yeah. No. I agree with that.

And,

Mr. Al Pete: Yeah. I will hardly agree with that.

Jay Ray: And I I think, you know, when we think about that Ooma, the Ooma period because to your point, Al, of, like, We were listening to Dilla and not knowing that we were listening to Dilla. Right? Because I think we all remember Following, um, Midnight Marauders, where all of a sudden, A Tribe Called Quest had, like, a new production. It was like, though everything produced by the Ooma. And it's like, I don't know what that is.

I do wanna say the names because I think it's really important that people understand The power of the Uma. So the Uma consisted of, and songs could have been do been produced by 1 of or A combination. 

Q-Tip, Rafael Saddique, Ali Shahid Mohammed. That's crazy.

Mr. Al Pete: Nothing that as as as young folks will say, that's wild. That's wild.

And the sound I mean, even from the sound from I don't know what I mean, you know, I'm I'm a say that I was young, So I didn't I mean, I was still kinda learning music, still learning hip hop, but I was kind of I felt like I was in it a little bit, but I was still, like, learn especially around, like, that 93 to 97 period. It was just the sound but it's like the sound kind of the sound bent. But it makes sense now because you have Ali Shahid, and you have a Rafael Siddique. You know what I'm saying? Like, we, At the time, I knew Rafael Sadique as, you know, Tony, Tony, Tony, but I didn't get the the soulful aspect of it or whatever.

Then you gotta think about it. That's the the period of time when, you know, the Badu came in, and that music starts shifting and bending and it and I I wasn't thinking like, Oh, who was these people producing this? I ain't even I I didn't pay attention that much that Q-Tip was even producing like that. Because when I because when I started learning the story about Kanye, I was like, oh, this sounds like what Q-Tip does. Okay.

So Q-Tip is this? Oh, okay. Cool. And then when Jay you know, does that make sense? It's like when Jay Diller When J Dilla came about after I found out about him, I'm like, oh, this makes, like, total sense.

Like Like, totally makes sense. So yeah. 

And we could get into that that part later. I don't know if we're gonna get into that whole, like, Neosol

Jay Ray: Oh, we no.

That's right now. Because 1 of the people that I didn't mention as part of the Ooma, which is so crazy because he's just like an entity unto himself. But D'Angelo was also part of the Ooma. That's nuts. So you had dumb 5 dudes.

Right?

[00:20:30] Q-Tip's Influence and Dilla's Desire for Recognition
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Jay Ray: But then As the story goes, Dilla was like so Q-Tip was used to this model because they did this in a tribe. Right? None of us knew that Q-Tip was like the the the master of the production because everything was produced by A Tribe Called Quest. And Q-Tip was behind a lot of it.

Right? So we didn't know. Dilla didn't take to the group thing very well. Right? Be because, I mean, listen.

He wanted credit. Like, he wanted people to know, No. I produced 1nce again. Like, I produced find my way. Like, I did that.

You know what I'm saying? Not the Ooma. Like, that was me.

[00:21:19] Dilla's Impact on Janet Jackson's Music
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Jay Ray: And when you when You get that and then all of a sudden your sound when your sound ends up on a Janet Jackson album, Dilla did not produce by the way, Got Till It's Gone. It's it was rumored for years.

Dan Charnas talks about it like, no. No. No. He didn't produce it. He got the remix.

He didn't produce got till it's gone, but that song is Dilla inspired. Period.

DJ Sir Daniel: For sure. And I don't

Mr. Al Pete: crazy. Jesus,

[00:21:50] The Evolution of The Ummah into The Soulquarians
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DJ Sir Daniel: I don't think we can talk about can we talk about this whole era so because we had the Uma,

Jay Ray: Mhmm.

DJ Sir Daniel: Um, Crate Digger. Crate Digger says in the chat says that Uma is Arabic for the group or community.

Total makes total sense

as a And just looking at the power of these different collectors because you had the Ooma on 1 end. And then you have people like the Soulquarians who were talking about around the same time, and they actually kinda intertwine because D'Angelo was part of the.

Jay Ray: They were all they were all they evolved. Like, the Uma evolved into the Soulquarians. So listen. That picture of the Soulquarians I'm just gonna read this list because it's crazy. By the way, Lauryn Hill was apparently supposed to be a Soulquarian.

So another story. But common, uh, reflection eternal, but Talib Kweli and Mos Yacine Bey, uh, James Poyser, Erykah Badu, Questlove, D'AngeQ-TipTip Bilal Dilla. Jesus.

[00:23:06] The Power of Collective Creativity
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DJ Sir Daniel: It's quite the and again, you know, um, imagine all of these people coming out and they're about to impact the world all at the same time, um, separately, you know? And then but they also have this collective that they work to that they can incubate their ideas together, 

Workshops together. Uh, they tour, you know, if you or somebody the backup band. Oh, I know that. That person plays also plays for such and such. So what you get is it's a it's a homogenized sound, but it's still everybody still had their own uniqueness and their own flavor.

[00:23:52] MPN Network Mid-Roll Ad
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Jay Ray: Al, can you bring us in? Because you mentioned something really important.

[00:25:18] Dilla's Influence on Neosoul
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Jay Ray: Robert Glasper describes Neosoul as Dilla Inspire R and B.

Can you talk about that period of time? Because that was unique when that sound emerged.

Mr. Al Pete: So you talked about, uh, those moments. Right?

The the the moments that grabbed you or whatever. So out of my musical moment, uh, Neo Soul definitely, like, grabbed me and just Put me in the hair lot. To this day, I still name it Neo Soul. And I know a lot I know a lot of artists be like, I don't like the the word Neo Soul and all that stuff, but Listen. Is Neil you know, mama calling Neil so well, Dylan calling Neil so, I would call it Neil so.

But, no, that was a great moment, man. I mean, it is the sound of it. I mean, I think the soul matter of fact, I know the soul was very present. Know what I'm saying? Not and not to not to take away from anything, you know, before that, contemporary rhythm and blues and all that stuff, because there was a lot of soul in that as well, but It was just a soul that I identified with.

It was just those and I was in a band, so, you know, I was tied into that that sound and understanding. It was already fascinating for me that hip hop, um, people were using jazz samples in hip hop. So I was like, okay. This is great. That's how I got into tribes and stuff like that.

But to get into it from, like, a Badu coming in and introducing this type of sound, Like, the the sound bending aspect of it. It just it just it was just different. It was just so different. And sometimes it's difficult for me to even explain because It it was just different, especially when you have a a a Dilla. Like, when let's let's talk about the Janet Jackson remix.

Right? That beat don't sound like something that, uh, uh, the typical R and B or even solo artists would, like, Sing over. So you hearing this, you hearing, like, a r and b pop star Janet Jackson singing over it. And then you got a Q-Tip, which that was already a good interesting combination outside of the movie. Uh, what was the movie was?

Poet at 

Jay Ray: Put it Justice.

Yep.

Mr. Al Pete: So you got all these factors, and then you're like, oh, okay. This is this is what I come to. This is the denominator that I come to. And, like, Dillard's a part of it?

Oh, okay. We're gonna dub him as that person that creates all that created all that. And then having his hand on everything on D'Angelo, uh, just endless people. You know what I'm saying? So that was that Neil sold the creation of it was just a fascinating time for me in life, and I I will forever play it, like, forever.

Jay Ray: Yo. And just to think that So many of those records were created at Electric Lady Studios, which was of course Jimi Hendrix studio.

And that so you got that energy. You have all of these people just kind of working together, starring in the MCA pot, You know, um, they were all for the most part except for no. Because even Erica was on, like, a MCA subsidiary. Right? All of these people, you know, working together, you know, um,

Mr. Al Pete: Do you have Questlove? Like, that's the whole thing. You know, that's that's a whole That's a whole another, uh, what we wanna call that, uh, mastermind or or or Architect. You know what I'm saying?

Like, him and his brilliance. See, him added into that? Shoot.

Jay Ray: Yeah. And to think as the stories are told, all of them Would Dilla would floor them. So Ali tells this great story.

Um, it was like a Red Bull 1 of those Red Bull sound interviews or whatever. And he was like, we would be in the studio working, and Dilla would come down from 1 part of the studio in there, Do the thing. He was like, we've been try we had we would be trying to do a thing. He was like, he would literally come into the room, Do the thing that we were trying to do in way less time and leave. Like, he do it, program it, play it, And it was done.

It was like, we've been trying to do that for, like, hours. He just did it that

DJ Sir Daniel: you calling on his life.

Jay Ray: Mhmm.

DJ Sir Daniel: That's how you know when somebody is anointed to do what they're doing. And that's exactly what you get when because, again, when you hear these certain songs, songs make you evoke emotions within you, and they evoke a a a a a feeling And and and a spirit. And so that's why we don't get as much as we used to with that. And take somebody like a Erica.

We brought up Erica. Erica Badu is, you know, hands down, you know, what probably 1 of the most tapped into whatever source she's tapped into person. Right? And her to connect with Adela, the way she tells the story about how she just called them up and was like, I need this.

Jay Ray: And not and not nothing you created for nobody else. Very specific.

Mr. Al Pete: Right.

DJ Sir Daniel: to me.

That takes I don't know. You can't discount the way or the influence the universe has in these moments of black music history. And press these people together and to create a movement, um, like that. And As much and I don't even think anybody's trying to replicate Because in that moment of time, seems like that that kind of stuff stayed there, but the music, for whatever reason, because it because of that anointing is still still Long lasting and is timeless.

Uh, those are timeless things that and, Alpi, you can attest to this as a fellow DJ.

Mr. Al Pete: Mhmm.

DJ Sir Daniel: matter. You can put those joints on in any set. Whether you were trying to, You know, you're doing a a hip hop rappity rap set or you're even doing a a kind of, uh, R and B mellow set. You can throw digging in there.

I mean, you can throw a dill in there. And so, you know, there there there's so much to be said for that and to live and to do all of that in a very short span of time.

Jay Ray: Yeah.

Mr. Al Pete: Very, uh, very short span of time. Like, I mean, when we talk about donuts, See what I'm saying? That album and how that album was created, um, like, reading the articles as well as, uh, the documentary that I saw, uh, what was it? The the legacy joint?

I

Jay Ray: Yeah. The New York Times documentary.

Mr. Al Pete: yeah. Yeah. That I mean, just them to go into detail like that and just to know that this guy was making, like, a soundtrack. You know what I'm saying? Like like, donuts is I mean, you know, we go to, uh, what we think about, uh, the draft,

Jay Ray: Mhmm.

Welcome to Detroit.

Mr. Al Pete: sound. Yeah. Yeah. Welcome to Detroit, Champion Sound, uh, all those type of joints. But, I mean, even with the donut joint, it was just a very significant, uh, project that he did.

And and I think the stories behind that and and the ability that he had to do it is is remarkable, man. Like, that doughnut is just crazy. I rap over that thing to this day.

Jay Ray: You know, because it was so significant. So let's talk about this period because I do think this is important. Sir Daniel, you mentioned something that I think is also this is scary to people and not a lot of people are able to do it.

[00:33:25] Dilla's Unique Approach to Music Production
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Jay Ray: The thing that happened with Dilla, and they kind of talk about it in that New York Times documentary that Al was just referencing, is Dilla Just kinda switched his style. In the middle of the height of what he was doing, he literally stopped doing it. Like, it's like, I'm just not doing that anymore. I'm doing, like, this electro thing. I remember that period.

I was like, This is a teleproduction. This is interesting.

Mr. Al Pete: Yeah.

Jay Ray: And you have to have You you're an artist when you are like, I am willing to blow it all up And do something that people don't expect and don't want. Right? Because, you know, the dude was like, yo, when he turned that album into the label, like, that was it.

Like, they just did not like it and they didn't know what to do with it because he switched to style midway through. That LA period that created donuts, like, that literally uprooting, that listening to Common, to having to you know, he's having all the medical stuff that began to show up. And common is like, well, why don't you come to LA? I live in LA now. Move in.

And he leaves his home of Detroit, And he moves out to LA and all of these other doors open. So that's when we get the champion sound. We get J. Lib and it's like Dumb beats was crazy because you got Madlib beats. So you got Madlib spitting over Dilla beats.

You got Dilla spitting over Madlib beats. I didn't that record was like, What

Mr. Al Pete: sound crazy.

Jay Ray: insane. Because I'm like, what the heck is going on? But And then we get to donuts, which of course becomes like the the the final official record, even though we got records after that, Just to know Al. Like, because I didn't understand the concept.

I'm not a rapper. I didn't understand the concept of a beat tape. I knew that they had to exist To know that I was listening to probably the best beat tape that I had ever heard. They're like 1 1 2 minute Beats that are sick.

Mr. Al Pete: I mean, First off, he birthed more sons after he dropped donuts.

Jay Ray: Right.

Mr. Al Pete: like a whole dozen of, No pun intended. But pun intended, it doesn't I'm I'm just being, uh, being bored after that because, I mean, you think about all the beat tapes that are out now. Like, it had to be inspired by that. Like, he he Yeah.

That was I I I get chills thinking about, like, donuts, man, because I just know for me as a emcee, and I'm like, Like, you don't do this. Like, it it it not not you don't do this, but it was like, this is odd to do. Like, we didn't you didn't get a beat tape out of the blue. Now you get them everywhere. Like, I listen to beat tapes more.

I listen to a actual album, but for Dillard to inspire something like that and and and His legacy go forward with that. It's crazy, man. It's sheesh. Sheesh. Sheesh.

Sheesh.

DJ Sir Daniel: Real quick. I I do want to when we talk about, um, beat tapes, I do wanna say and acknowledge Mark the 45 king.

Jay Ray: Oh.

DJ Sir Daniel: Be he's got quite a catalog of If you wanna talk about, like, originators of the beat tape as it were, you know, putting the samples together, we gotta give homage to, um, mark the 45 king.

Because, I mean, think about it. You get the 900 number

Jay Ray: Mhmm.

DJ Sir Daniel: that lives completely on its own to this day. Is the 900 or the 800 number?

Did I get it 

Jay Ray: think it's the 900 number.

I think that's correct.

DJ Sir Daniel: Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So so just, you know, I just wanted to connect that dot that you have people like Mark 45 king. You have a villa who and if you think about it, it's it's it's really super smart, fiscally smart.

Like, if you You know, in this age of MCs looking for beats, if you get something off of that album and you find yourself wanting to rap over it, that you gotta pay, you know, you gotta give that man credit and that gives continues to him a lineage of of monies The royalties coming in, so it's also very smart. 

Again, creating a trend Uh, creating another lane for everybody else to eat is, again, the mark of a true genius.

[00:38:11] Transition
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Mr. Al Pete: On doughnuts, I know we talked about Drake. Drake wrapped over, uh, 1 of my favorite beats. I know we're gonna talk about that later, but, he rapped over time, the donut of the heart. That was number 10 on there, but he rapped over it.

I rapped over it. So many people rapped over that 1 particular beat. I mean, I wanna say Usher now I don't 

know. 

Jay Ray: 0, they oh, do you're gonna need me, Joy? Oh, do you're gonna need 

Mr. Al Pete: is that okay. Is that I I I'd I'd never knew that, but, I mean, of course, it sounds absolutely like that.

But I was like, I wonder if they got that from from,

Jay Ray: I think it came before. I think I think because that was on confessions. I think confessions hit in 2005.

So donuts hit in, uh, 2006, but just the fact but Dilla's flip of that even just like you got that Dionne Warwick and Dilla is flipping it. Uh, light work. She like light workers.

Mr. Al Pete: I'm kinda stuck. Yeah.

Jay Ray: Um, right. So And to know that this brother, right, is in and out of the hospital, in the hospital making some of these beats, like, The extension of his hand was that MPC.

You know what I mean? And That was his light. Like, he breathed that part. Right? You know, the only reason we didn't get A common b record that was a Dilla record is because Dilla couldn't do the whole record.

Now that was amazing. Like, That was a look for Kanye and Common. Right? That turned into a great collaboration, but, You know, Dilla's on I think he's on 2 tracks on that record, but we probably would've got another you know, because like Water for Chocolate, I think Is the perfect encapsulation of Dilla's pop, uh, like, experience. You know, like, it explains Why the pop charts were in Tudela at the time?

Because that Like Water for Chocolate album was kinda perfect.

Mr. Al Pete: Yeah. Yeah.

[00:40:28] What are your two favorite Dilla production s?
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Jay Ray: Last point of the night. This is fun. Um, what are 2 of your favorite Dilla productions.

I'm a extend it. Dilla productions or Dilla Dilla songs songs featuring Dilla. Um, you know, uh, I'll go last. Al, you got your you know what yours are? Al, we're gonna get you we're gonna get you to go first.

Mr. Al Pete: Yeah. I've already I got it. So, uh, the first 1 I already mentioned is, uh, thyme, the donut of the heart. Um, that's from the donuts album.

It's number 10. That's My joint, man. Uh, I can have that looping like crazy. I I rapped over it as well, uh, And it was good to do. It was it was great to do, but I just love that, uh, what is it?

Uh, I can give you a I didn't know that was a sample. Because who's saying that's on the the day and night joint? The day and night. I know what I'm saying, and I can't sing. But never let I'll find I'll let y'all know.

But that that sample, that was crazy the way He flipped that joint. And then, uh, my my next 1 is issue world on, uh, Common B. The last song on that, man. It was that issue world is I'm talking about Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's so great, man. But those are those are, like, my 2 for sure.

Like, without a doubt, if I'm if I'm thinking Jay Dillard, I'm going on too quick.

Jay Ray: Yeah. Those are those are dope.

Sir Daniel, what do you pick it?

DJ Sir Daniel: So My picks, we've talked about it.

What the first 1 we talked about before is the, um, Janet Jackson got to this gore remix.

Jay Ray: Mhmm.

DJ Sir Daniel: It's, you know, it slaps her having her gentle voice on top of that very hard kick is something that I don't know. It's it's romantic. It's funky at the same time. Again, from a DJ standpoint, like, when I'm I'm playing Sunday nights, That's something I can easily throw in the set there.

It's, um, it's relaxing, but it's, you know, your head will be nodding at the same time. And again, I love the fact that r and b artists, singers can get on top of a dilla beat or, uh, a dealer production and sound still sound at their top of their game and even bring something more out. And that's why my second pick is a very elusive I mean, I check on discogs very often to see if I could find this on on vinyl. But, um, it's it's a Ummah joint, But it's produced by Dilla, but it's the Faith Evans remix of You Used to Love Me. It is when I tell you it is beyond beyond dope.

There's a it's quiet, but, Um, Yeah. I think I'm pretty certain they got faith to do some other vocals for it because she stacks, uh, another layer to the chorus And it gives an extra body to the record. And, you know, he he I'm pretty he worked with her because she's saying, um, background on for the tribe

joint. Stressed

Mr. Al Pete: out. Right? 

Jay Ray: Yep.

DJ Sir Daniel: so you know they were in the studio cooking, and I wouldn't be surprised if there was, like, um, maybe a whole album of, like, Faith Evans Dilla produced joints. So,

you know, I maybe in the vault somewhere,

Jay Ray: Probably in the Diddy vault somewhere, in the bad boy vault somewhere.

DJ Sir Daniel: Hey, listen.

If things go the way they go, I don't know. Somebody else might own their vaults pretty soon.

Jay Ray: That's the way it's looking.

Mr. Al Pete: Right.

DJ Sir Daniel: selections.

Jay Ray: So here's my see, I I I feel like I need I'm I'm go I am gonna break I'm gonna break the rule real quick because I I have different I have, uh, so I have 3.

So from era, early era, it's going to be fourth and back, which is a slum village joint. Uh, corrupt is on that joint. That that that joint goes And it slides like it's they just slide in on this joint, fourth and back. to Dollar from Steve SpaceX space shift album. So Steve Spacek did a solo album.

Yes. Adela there's the intro, which is like, there's like just like some some some keyboards or whatever. Then then dollar comes in. Let the dollar suck and that beat is So hard.

DJ Sir Daniel: And the way 

that that note is a stretch out there.

Jay Ray: yo. That was during that we that was during that weird phase. Right? That LA phase when he was just, like, doing something different. Right? And very last, this is, like, 1 of my favorite posthumous Dilla productions and it's House of Flying Daggers by Raekwon From the only built for Cuban links to it's like Raekwon, Method Man.

In fact, I have to look it up. Method my Method Man, Ghostface, Inspector Deck. The the joint is crazy and it's oh, they're spitting over this dilapid. It's nuts. So yeah.

Mr. Al Pete: Can I, um, since you since you brought Rue, I'm a I'm a break Rue a little bit? Might as well. I'm just so, uh, so shouts out to, uh, Thelonious On common's, uh, like, water for chocolate. Like, the way that Dylan rhymed on that joint was absolutely insane. Like, let's We talk about his production, but his rhyming skills

Jay Ray: Yep.

Mr. Al Pete: crazy as well.

But yeah. So Southside Thelonious. I just wanna throw that in there for sure.

Jay Ray: No. You know what?

I'm glad you mentioned that. It's really important because I think I know I talked about, uh, you know, Fantastic volume 2 being grown up rap. But I think the thing about it was the jazz like quality of the way Dilla, like, hopped On songs like it literally he rapped like his beats sounded. You know what I'm saying? And that's like, That's that's the thing.

That's the thing. And I remember Busta Rhymes talking about, um, I think it was the still shining joint when he was like, No. Like, the beat was like that. I had to write my rhyme to match his beat, And that was crazy and it was like and if we know that song, like, the drum pattern on that song is nuts.

Mr. Al Pete: Just the sound the sound of it was was created. It had that had that orbit

s type, you know what I'm saying, space type sound to it.

And and and, yeah, we'll be on on this thing all day, but the Busta Rhymes the Busta Rhymes effect on a Jay Dillard beat. Like, That's a whole another conversation too because I felt like Jay Dub I felt like, like, handled him and Q-Tip were, like, Good a great pair. So, like, Buster Rhymes and Dillard was crazy.

Jay Ray: Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Shout out to move on that Q-Tip renaissance droid too. Anyway, we have to we could do this all night.

Mr. Al Pete: We could do this all

Jay Ray: all night.

[00:48:13] Remembering Dilla's Legacy
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Jay Ray: Happy birthday to our brother. Um, just an inspiration for forever. James DeWitt Yancey out of Detroit. Um, he changed Detroit, like, really like, He put from Detroit from a hip hop perspective. Yeah.

Eminem was out there and d 12 and them was out there, but Dilla was like, When you think hip hop and you think Detroit, you often think Adela and all of the people that kind of spawned from him. Man, so happy birthday, bruh.

DJ Sir Daniel: Man, so now that, Jay Ray, you've gotten this off your chest. You've done it.

You've done it. I have to tell you. You did it justice as always. you did it justice as always, and I'm super happy that Mister, the 1 and only mister Al Pete was here to share in this experience with us. Um, before we let you uh, for sure.

For sure. Before we let you go, LP, please let the people know how they can keep in contact with you. Remind them of the amazing things that you have going on, the several different platforms that they can catch you on.

Mr. Al Pete: Indeed. Indeed. Uh, again, I my my par brothers, I I I appreciate this, uh, this opportunity to talk music with y'all. Um, people, please stay in tune with the, uh, Queue Points. They do absolutely great stuff, man, from the articles, uh, just to I mean, I gotta go see what y'all did on MitchCloud.

I'm I'm I I need to see what's up with that. I gotta snoop and see what's up with

that. Body 

Jay Ray: the link. We'll send you the bat link. We'll send you the

Mr. Al Pete: Yeah.

That's what brother that's what brothers get. I love it. But, no, um, thank you all again for having me, man. The name is mister Al Pete. Um, go to, uh, m p n dash l l c dot com.

So it's, uh, m in Mary, p as in Peter, n as in Nancy, dash l l c dot com. Check that out. Um, download the app, um, the MPN network app. You can listen to some podcasts. Listen to some music as well. The, uh, the website will take you everywhere, basically. But if you wanna, like, directly go to my socials, you can go to mister l p MPN on Twitter. That's majority what, uh, that's the place I'm majority at, so I'm there. Instagram is mister Alpeat, but, I mean, just to save you some trouble, just go to m p n dash l l c dot com, and it'll take you everywhere that that I'm a be at. So And, I'm sorry, neighborhood show the neighborhood show, Saturdays at 9 PM on WJCT News 89 9.

You can listen to it on the website, jacks music dot org. Um, I'll be playing some good stuff on that, man. You definitely gonna have some dealer this month for sure. And happy Black History Month too, man. Happy Black History Month.

Happy Black Love Month, all that stuff. Yeah.

DJ Sir Daniel: For sure. For sure. So, mister LP, He's got a lot going on, and his hair is real, and his hair is still real. this brother. He He's really 1 he's adult and person.

You know, ever since we met him at, uh, Afros and Audios, It's been nothing but love since, and I'm so happy, uh, for your success. Uh, again, you know, Jerry and I, you your family, you are part of the q podcast family. And so, Jerry, just 1 more time for the folks at home, for the folks listening, Let them know how they can support us as well and keep the lights on over here as we like to say.

Jay Ray: Absolutely. Um, real quick.

I wanna shout out. There's been folks in the chat, uh, dripping in black. It's like saying the same thing I said, LP. MPN has an app. 

Mr. Al Pete: Dripping it. Hold on. Dripping it black. Quit playing with me. Like, quit get off the get off the chat. Go to go go go on somewhere.

Jay Ray: They would they like the app. Shout out to Dominic Lawson. Thank you so much for checking out the Lauryn Hill So shout out to the brother Crate Digger. What's happening? Mark McPherson.

We got Gil. Uh, you know, just shout out to all of y'all for just rocking with us. Um, so really quick, um, y'all are doing the thing that is the most important thing. If you hear our voices, if you see us, Subscribe where you are. It is absolutely free.

If you wanna do us a solid, share the show with your friends, your family, your colleagues because if you like the show, They will probably like the show too, and that's also free. Definitely get more content. Uh, follow us on Queue Points magazine, magazine dot Queue Points dot com. We have all types of articles over there, including a dope article by DJ Sir Daniel, um, talking about all the stuff that's been going on with rap beef lately. So So definitely check it out.

Uh, join our newsletter on our website at Queue Points dot com. Those things are free. Definitely check out the Queue Points store, store dot Queue Points dot com. If you wanna keep the lights on over here at Queue Points, we just appreciate and we love y'all.

DJ Sir Daniel: We absolutely do, but, Jay Ray, what do I always say?

In this life, you have a choice. You can either pick up the needle or you can let the record play. Once again, I am DJ sir Daniel.

Jay Ray: My name is Jay Ray.

DJ Sir Daniel: That has been mister Al Pete. Absolutely.

And this is Queue Points podcast dropping the needle on black music History. We'll see you on the next go round. Peace.

Peace.

[00:53:47] Closing Theme
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