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thread on my favorite album of all time
donuts (outro): starts with the outro and begins with the intro, circular, looping, like a donut
workinonit: the longest beat on the album and its 3 minutes. hes workinon the album in his hospital bed
waves: a message to his brother johnny, telling him to continue making music
light my fire: j dillas creative spark was lit when he realized his time was limited
the new: talking about making the record and the new rappers that he wont be able to see. could also be his death making big news
stop!: my favorite off the album, he spins jadakiss saying "its dat real" into "is death real" and brings a new context into an old dionne warwick song, saying you're gonna want j dilla back when he's gone
people: the people he's telling to hold on are his fans, and the long breathing is him in dialysis
the diff'rence: he knew there would be a major difference in the rap world after this album released, and after he died
mash: he's mashing a bunch of songs together, like frank zappa talking and a piano melody
time the donut of the heart: again, time is circular and loops, like a donut. and dilla knew he didnt have much time left
glazed: its talking about his life, how he grew up in the slums and made it to where he is today
airworks: just a funky tune
lightworks: another killer beat. light up the spliffs
stepson of the clapper: you have to start clapping your hands to the beats, if you weren't already
the twister (huh, what): just a wave of confusion, which is probably what j dilla and his family were going through while he was making the album
one eleven: its 1:11 long, and dillas samples are from 1:11 in their tracks
two can win: there's two ways out and you have to choose between the two
don't cry: a message to his mother.
anti-american graffiti: "its my family tree and my history" dilla has to leave his family and the track describes him having to tell his family hes going to die
geek down: there are actually 2 versions of this track, one on donuts and one on the shining, an album j dilla never got to finish
thunder: introducing j dilla. a lot of the tracks are about introducing him to the person listening
gobstopper: another amazing beat
one for ghost: reminiscing about his relationship with his mother. this beat was made for ghostface killah, and was used on his track "whip you with a strap"
dilla says go: hes saying you dont have to be sad about him forever and you can "get over it"
walkinonit: a parallel to workinonit, talking about how the listener might be broken and blue listening to donuts
the factory: the coldest and most artificial beat on donuts, probably referring to other beat makers that have no soul in their work
u-love: a message to his friends, family, and his fans, telling them that he loves them all
hi.: j dilla introducing himself again
bye. : right after hi, a symbol for how short his life was
last donut of the night: no one really knows, but some say this was the last beat j dilla ever made. "all i give to you, i give to you" hes giving us these beats to remember him by
donuts (intro)/welcome to the show: he changes the sample into "why me" questioning why he has to go. the original sample says "when i die, i hope to be a better man than you thought i could be."
in most of the tracks, there's a siren blaring, sampled from mantronix's king of the beats. this symbolizes how j dilla will always be the best producer of all time. rest in peace.
