J Dilla – Music’s Prodigal Son
The beats were molecular, seemingly mapped from the sub-atomic level and parsed together with songs that no one had neither heard of nor expected from anyone in the hip-hop community.
But Dilla’s genius lay in his copious musical knowledge. His mind was almost encyclopedic, finding lyrics and sounds from artists and sources that shocked the hell out of anyone who gave a stern enough listening. For instance, one of my favorite tracks on the album, a track entitled Lightworks, was a chopped and screwed reimagining of a track of the same name from an album from the 50s entitled Manhattan Research Inc. The lyrics remind one of a jingle:
What do you call a pair of eyes the sparkle and gleam, light up the skies?
The name of the game is lightworks.
How do you show those teasing lips, oh, that dazzle and shine, whose heart does flips?
The name of the game is lightworks. [1]
Dilla’s version takes those simple lyrics and distorts the sound around two words to create a completely different word. See if you can guess what it is:
If you can’t guess it, I’ll be generous and tell you the answer in the comments … if you ask nicely.
