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Forum nameThe Lesson
Topic subjectAbout 50% through...thoughts.
Topic URLhttp://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=5&topic_id=3036297&mesg_id=3037654
3037654, About 50% through...thoughts.
Posted by LeroyBumpkin, Wed Apr-27-22 11:07 AM
I'll try to leave out spoilers?
I don't know.

So many thoughts:

- This is a must have book for any fan of Jay Dee or the Soulquarian era. Like most of the Soulquarian stuff I knew, but it helped to give context to how they saw Jay. Like I walked out of this even more convinced Jay Dee WAS the 2nd wave of Neo Soul. Dan's research and interviews in this book proves it.

- Had no idea some of the albums Jay Dee could have worked on, but passed.
Reading about his journey, it's like do you want to water down your art and get bigger,
or stay pure to your art but stay small?

- So much of his art is about him doing it HIS way (again, to the point above). I see a lot of myself in him in that I want the freedom to make whatever I want to make, but when your art becomes a business like this, you have to make sacrifices. I kept reading this thinking, "Dude, if you had done production on X album, the power you'd have later would have given you even more freedom."

- Kinda odd reading about his personal life. He comes off as moody and a jerk at times. If this is the detail they're going into on this, I know it's gonna be rough once I get to the part where he passes.

- Welcome Back 2 Detroit (smh)

- I have never heard this Frank & Dank album that Jay Dee produced.

- Jay Dee's wanting to be his own man (not under the Ummah, not under Soulquarians)...I get it. Again, I'm going through the same thing. But Jay Dee didn't have the structure (manager, etc) to help guide that other aspect of his career. Actually let me take that back. The ONLY structure he had was making music. Part of me wants to say "Oh, he would have gone so much further had he...", but maybe that's not what he wanted. Maybe that's me as a fan wishing more people would discover his genius. Honestly, maybe if he had ever reached those things, I would have abandoned him (he's not underground anymore...etc.).

- EDIT...oh, I still don't believe the Got 'Til' It's Gone story. Even after they explained it...ha ha.