Yancey Boys Instrumentals

Jay Dee, Illa J | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 9, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Delicious Vinyl
• ASIN: B001KYQSGK
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #189,219 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

The heads have made a demand. The standard vocal version of "Yancey Boys" is not enough to satisfy their thirst for Jay Dee beats. They said an instrumental version has to be released, and luckily Delicious Vinyl is willing to supply the material to fill this request. John "Illa J" Yancey, younger brother of late, great genius producer James Yancey (aka Jay Dee, J Dilla), recently released his debut album. Rhyming and singing over a treasure trove of previously untouched Jay Dee gems, the project represents both a full-circle collaboration and a whole new beginning in the story of the musically exceptional Yancey brothers. Michael Ross says, "...Anyone who loves Jay Dee's music is going to flip out when they hear what Illa J's been laying down. For over a decade these beats have been waiting in the vault for this moment. It's like Jay Dee made these tracks with an extrasensory purpose, so that Illa J could make this album. There is no question that this is exactly what they were meant for. These beats belong to Illa J, they're his birthright, and I really believe Jay Dee would be proud of what his brother is doing."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jay Dee Was Head Of His Time, January 29, 2009

By 

Cazzie Williams "Impermanent Mind" (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Yancey Boys Instrumentals (Audio CD)

One of the things that make me irate is that people don't appreciate great talent while it is here on this earth. We always want to pay homage after the person left this planet. You have a lot of artists that were so ahead of their time that people did not get "it" until they died. The Notorious B.I.G, Kurt Cobain, and Jimi Hendrix just to name a few. Jay Dee aka J Dilla is no exception in this case. I remember when I first heard Jay Dee it was on the second Pharcyde album called Labcabincalifornia and I was blown away by his sound. It was very different from any other kind of hip hop beats I was listening to at the time. I think what most stuck out was that his drums were off key. His drums sounded like somebody with a drum kit was playing them instead of a drum machine (even though he was using a drum machine). I investigated more about him and found out that A Tribe Called Quest hired him to produce their long awaited fourth album Beats, Rhymes, and Life. I was ecstatic, my favorite hip hop group and my new favorite producer combing forces to make an album. When it came out I was a little disappointed at first, but in hindsight that was a great album. Modern day hip hop (mid-90's), with it's watery landscape and radio friendly mixes, got beat down when Jay stepped behind the boards. He was working with Janet Jackson, Mad Skillz, De La Soul, and Keith Murray at the time too.

Let's fast forward to 2009 with this great instrumental album release by Stones Throw. These beats are between the years 1995-98 during the time Jay Dee was working with Delicious Vinyl Records. The beats on this record are the types of beats that made me know that Jay Dee was ahead of his time. I would here a lot of naysayers talk about how his beats were too R&B or not "hard" enough. I felt like that was the whole reason why those tracks were slamming. He put the SOUL back into hip hop.

5.0 out of 5 stars Vintage Jay Dee, October 4, 2011

By 

Conduct (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yancey Boys Instrumentals (Audio CD)

I kinda bashed the vocal version of this album and they did a smart move by releasing the instrumentals.

Vintage Jay Dee beats no less than 5 stars.

The beats on here sound like a crisp autumn day after raking the leaves you go inside and your mom hands you a warm cup of hot chocolate and kisses you on the forehead, yeah..sounds like that...

5.0 out of 5 stars great early dilla, March 29, 2011

By 

Tim - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Yancey Boys Instrumentals (Audio CD)

These beats all seem to come from Jay Dee's period with Delicious Records c.1995-1998. They are pretty close in feeling to the beat tape "Another Batch" and his work on Phife Dawg's Thought U Wuz Nice. If you like either of those, definitely get this.

Needless to say, it's great Dilla so it gets 5 stars.