As I continued to mature, I grew more disenchanted with the direction that hip-hop was taking, i.e. becoming more mainstream and then pop music all together. My disillusion began with the deaths of Pac and Big and continued to fester.

This was compounded by changes in my personal life which allowed me to become exposed to different cultures. I saw truth, and explored different genres of music.

And then a DJ friend handed me Donuts...

Blew me away!

Dilla passed around the same time Donuts was released (?) and there were tons of tributes

My whole life Dilla was the soundtrack to my favorite tunes, and I never knew it. Dude was so humble. The Umma? I never made the connection to Jay Dee. But as I started to collect his work post-humously I truly gained an appreciation for the genius that he was and I found a spark for my love of hip-hop again.

I was telling a friend about a moment I was having. I kept hearing this beat in my head and I couldn't place it...then I heard Let's Go...put on Donuts...and it was Waves

I listened to Donuts for what it was, with no preconceived ideas or opinions. But after hearing it was a goodbye from Dilla, it's hard to revisit, because it brought me so much joy, while it brings others pain

Dilla Changed My Life