J.Rocc Unleashes Long-vaulted J Dilla & Michael Jackson Blends Album SHARE MY BED (Original Artwork By: @UnibrowDuck)
It's safe to say, I've been patiently awaiting J.Rocc's J Dilla & Michael Jackson-blending mash-up project ever since Stones Throw posted: "Share My Bed=M.J. & Dilla 1st track "Player Has Butterflies"... wait 4 the rest" nearly 10 years ago back in November 2009. Over the years, a handful of tracks have been sporadically leaked out from the project—alternatively, referred to as "Dil Jackson"—but every year, as Dilla Month (February) comes and goes, I've always wondered, if we would ever hear the entirety of J.Rocc's Share My Bed. Even this year, J Dilla's birthday, Feb. 7th (same as my dad's!) passed, as well as Feb. 10th, the 12th anniversary of his passing, and still, no signs of J.Rocc's anxiously-awaited Dil Jackson project. However, just a few days ago, on Valentine's Day, J.Rocc quietly dropped Share My Bed on his Bandcamp, without any prior notice or warning. Self-described as a project Beat Junkies Founder & DJ J.Rocc admittedly, "started years ago, but never finished," Share My Bed consists of eight wonderfully-executed seamless blends of both Michael & Dilla's greatest hits and most beloved cult favorites.
J Dilla, himself, actually, sampled both Michael Jackson and The Jackson 5 on a number of occasions throughout his storied career: "Time: The Donut of The Heart" from magnum opus Donuts samples Jackson 5's "All I Do Is Think of You," "Inhuman Nature" naturally, samples "Human Nature" from Thriller, and "Track 19" from Dilla's infamous Beat CD '05 #3 samples Jackson 5's "Dancing Machine," which was ultimately, re-purposed on Q-Tip's 2008 single, "Move." Not only did J Dilla AKA Jay Dee produce a 1997 "Gone 'til It's Gone" remix for Janet, he also constructed a remix of Michael's "HIStory" along with A Tribe Called Quest members Q-Tip & Ali Shaheed Muhammad, collectively billed as The Ummah. "J Dilla once said he was [going] to make an album of him singing. The cover was a picture of him [on his side] like Michael Jackson on Thriller. The title of the LP was going to be SHARE MY BED," J.Rocc further detailed on his Bandcamp.
Upon first hearing J.Rocc's Share My Bed, I reached out to my friend and frequent collaborator, graphic designer Tin Kulj AKA Unibrow Duck to see if he could design an original alt. Thriller-esque album cover, as Dilla himself had imagined. Needless, to say, after a few emails back-and-forth over the weekend, Tin indeed, delivered! Unibrow Duck designed three pieces of original artwork inspired by Michael Jackson's world-renown album, Thriller; specifically, the 1982 inner-sleeve gatefold artwork featuring Michael posing with an adorable little tiger cub, to which Tin even added distressed "worn LP" details. Unibrow Duck's Share My Bed inner-sleeve art can be viewed at the top of this very post, with the rest of his artwork available to view at UnibrowDuck.Tumblr.com. Lest we forget, @UnibrowDuck also, recently designed original pieces of artwork for our recurring Beat-maker Bedrock producer column, as well as The Witzard's Andy Cooper "THE PERFECT DEFINITION" Remix Comp. playlist. "TURN IT UP! A LITTLE LOUDA!"
