Mass Appeal Records & PayJay Proudly Present: J Dilla's Long-lost 2002 MCA Vocal Album, THE DIARY Prod. By Madlib, Pete Rock, Hi-tek, Nottz, House Shoes, ?uestlove & Karriem Riggins, and More
"
Dilla
spent the better part of 2002 working on an album for
MCA
that featured his rapping over contributions from other producers with whom he had connected and whose music he respected. At the time, he was known primarily for his beats, yet reviled for his [emceeing] by mist anyone not from his hometown of
Detroit
. The project was to be an intentional freak of the industry,"
Chicago
writer and film-maker
wrote within his liner notes accompanying
Stones Throw
's 2007 expanded re-issue of
Ruff Draft EP
.
J Dilla
's ultimately scrapped and indefinitely shelved '02
MCA Album
, or
"Pay Jay,"
as it's long been referred, was recorded between his widely underrated
BBE
solo debut
Welcome 2 Detroit
and adventurous stylistic shift that materialized across
Ruff Draft EP
during his relocation from
Detroit
to
LA
. "
Dilla
had agreed to a one-year contract on
MCA
with an option for a second, provided he produced two accepted releases. One of those releases was to be his solo project, and the other a full-length entitled
48 Hours
from
Detroit
rappers and childhood friends,
Frank-N-Dank
," Reese's in-depth liner notes continue. Unfortunately however, both
Dilla
's
MCA Album
and
were "subsequently languished in
Hip-Hop
purgatory" when unbeknownst to either
Dilla
or
Frank-N-Dank
,
MCA
suddenly folded into
Geffen
prior to the onslaught of 2004. Just a mere three days after his 32nd birthday and the release of his highly-revered magnum opus,
,
James "J Dilla" Yancey
passed away on February 10th, 2006 due to complications related to
Lupus
and
TTP
.
Although a handful of memorable and sub-par projects have been released throughout the years following
Dilla
's untimely death (including
The Shining
, Jay Love Japan,
Jay Stay Paid
, Rebirth of Detroit, and
Dillatronic
), I think it's safe to say
The MCA Album
has always been in the back of every donut-loving crate-digger's mind. It appears as though an early, seemingly incomplete, 11-track
bootleg leaked around April-May 2008, which likely stemmed from a 2003
MCA
-released promo CD-R; housed within were beats hand-crafted by
Dilla
enthusiasts
Nottz
, Pete Rock,
Kanye West
, Waajeed,
Hi-tek
, Bink!,
Supa Dave West
, Karriem Riggins, and
Roots
drummer
?uestlove
. "Now the vocal album – that is something that I know he had a desire to see out, as he did
Ruff Draft
and, oddly enough, an album he'd made of noodling improvised keyboard lines over drum breaks (one of those made it to
The Shining
album). The vocal album –
The Diary [Pay Jay]
, as we're calling it – is nearly done and should be out later this year,"
Now-Again
founder and former
Stones Throw
general manager
Eothen "Egon" Alapatt
revealed within our acclaimed 2015
interview, when prodded about any planned
Donuts
follow-ups.
The Diary
has been rumored since 2012-13 and was preceded by three
Rappcats
-released 12-inch EP's:
"Anthem"
and
Gary Numan
-flipping
"Trucks,"
Diamonds & Ice, and
"Give 'em What They Want,"
as well as an exclusive badge-shaped Record Store Day re-release of
"F--k The Police."
"[
The Diary
is] the last record that he actually wanted out – i.e., he said, in his own words, this record should come out during his lifetime. The last one,"
Egon
recently told
Rolling Stone
staff writer and
#tcot
drummer
, concerning the authenticity of their compiled recordings. Alapatt and members of
James Yancey
's estate have decided to re-launch his
PayJay
imprint to release
The Diary
, in conjunction with
Nas'
recently-formed
Mass Appeal Records
.
Egon
, House Shoes,
J.Rocc
, long-time engineer
Dave Cooley
, and a number of additional
Dilla
affiliates have spent the past nine arduous years meticulously "unpacking the files, finding the software that he used, [and] getting it again, because at that point, it was already archaic." This freshly-assembled 14-track version of
is currently available for pre-order ahead of its scheduled April 15th release and includes aforementioned production work from
Madlib
, Pete Rock,
Hi-tek
, Nottz,
House Shoes
, Supa Dave West,
Bink!
, Karriem Riggins, and
Dilla
himself; similar to 2008's
Pay Jay
leak,
The Diary
will showcase
Dilla
's whip-worthy flip of
Gary Numan
's 1979
New Wave
hit
"Cars"
(fittingly re-titled
"Trucks"
), a
?uestlove & Karriem Riggins
-produced cover of
Vanity 6
's
"Drive Me Wild,"
"F--k The Police,"
Snoop Dogg
-featuring
"Gangsta Boogie,"
and
House Shoes
-produced
"The Introduction."
"That beat is 16 years old. Make 'em count... I made [it] in 1999...
Dilla
replayed the synths and put the ill breakdown at the end,"
wrote in a series of Tweets accompanying
Nas' Zane Lowe
-premiered
"The Introduction"
world-wide release, which initially, wasn't attributed to
Dilla
's long-time DJ, hometown friend, and recent 12-inch coordinator. Let's "TURN IT UP; A LITTLE LOUDER," to quote the man himself.