J Dilla

Having crafted beats for the likes of A Tribe Called Quest, Common and De La Soul, James Dewitt Yancey (aka J Dilla) is often regarded as one of the best hip-hop producers of all-time. Born and raised in Detroit, he grew up in a very musically-inclined household - the son of his opera singer mother and jazz musician father. By the 1990s, Yancey had developed a deep love for hip-hop, learning to mix and scratch vinyl in addition to developing his skills on various samplers, including the MPC. He quickly found himself working with artists such as Busta Rhymes and Q-Tip, as his reputation for producing vintage-minded but uniquely creative tracks began to spread throughout the hip-hop world. As J Dilla, Yancey's talents were respected enough to warrant him releasing several compilations of his instrumental beats, a couple of which were released posthumously when the producer tragically died in 2006 at the age of 32.