J Dilla

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

On February 18, 2016, New York City rapper Nas announced on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 radio program that the much-delayed album *The Diary* was expected to be released on April 15, 2016, via his own label Mass Appeal in collaboration with Yancey's imprint Pay Jay Productions. He also unearthed an unheard track entitled 'The Introduction'. On March 17, 2016, Nas previewed a previously unheard collaboration with J Dilla during his headlining set at Mass Appeal's Live at the BBQ showcase at SXSW in Austin, Texas. Titled 'The Sickness', the Madlib-produced track originated in 2001 and was completed in 2015 with a verse from Nas. Though not included on *The Diary*, it came as an iTunes exclusive bonus track with pre-orders of the album.

In Their Own Story

In February 2016, Nas stepped onto Zane Lowe's Beats 1 radio show and dropped news that sent fans into a frenzy: J Dilla's long-lost album *The Diary* would finally see release on April 15, 2016, through Nas's own Mass Appeal Records alongside Dilla's Pay Jay Productions. Nas unveiled an unheard track called 'The Introduction' that same day. A month later, at SXSW in Austin, Texas, Nas headlined Mass Appeal's Live at the BBQ showcase and previewed a previously unheard collaboration with Dilla—'The Sickness', a Madlib-produced track that had been recorded in 2001 and completed in 2015 with a verse from Nas. The track became an iTunes exclusive bonus for pre-orders, bridging two eras of hip-hop through a beat that had waited fourteen years to be finished.

Reader's Guide

J Dilla's connection to Nas centers on the release of *The Diary*, the sixth and final studio album by Dilla. Originally intended for release in 2002 via MCA Records under the title *Pay Jay*, the album was shelved and later released posthumously on April 15, 2016, through Pay Jay Productions, Inc. in conjunction with Nas' record label, Mass Appeal Records. The album was supported by the singles 'The Anthem', 'Diamonds', 'Give Them What They Want', 'The Introduction', 'Gangsta Boogie', and 'The Sickness', and includes the 2001 underground classic 'Fuck the Police'. Nas played a direct role in the album's promotion, announcing the release date on Beats 1 and previewing 'The Sickness' at SXSW. The album's completion was overseen by the estate's Creative Director Eothen 'Egon' Alapatt, who disclosed to *Rolling Stone* that *The Diary* was 'the last record that [Yancey] actually wanted out.'

Did You Know?

• J Dilla's album *The Diary* was originally intended for release in 2002 under the title *Pay Jay* via MCA Records.
• The album features production from Madlib, Pete Rock, Nottz, Hi-Tek and Karriem Riggins, among others.
• Recording sessions for *The Diary* took place from September 16, 2001, to April 2, 2002, at The Spaceship in Clinton Township and Studio A in Detroit.
• The track 'Fuck the Police' was released on 12-inch vinyl on September 18, 2001, just a week after the September 11 attacks, and was turned down by MCA Records.
• Eothen 'Egon' Alapatt, the estate's Creative Director, told *Rolling Stone* that *The Diary* was 'the last record that [Yancey] actually wanted out.'