Busta Rhymes Announces J Dilla Collaboration
Busta Rhymes unveiled "Dillagence 2," a new project featuring unreleased production from the late J Dilla. The highly anticipated album continues their previous collaborations and is set to energize fans of classic hip-hop and underground production. This follows the recent New Music Friday releases that included Baby Keem's *CA$INO* featuring Kendrick Lamar.
- The newly announced project is a sequel to the 2007 mixtape *Dillagence*, which was released as a free download to honor J Dilla more than a year after his passing. That project was a collaboration with DJ Mick Boogie and featured artists such as Q-Tip, Talib Kweli, and Raekwon. - Busta Rhymes has stated that J Dilla entrusted him with a significant amount of unreleased music, claiming in a 2020 interview to have over 300 of his beats. He has been selective with these productions, having previously only shared some with Raekwon for his album *Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II*. - The collaboration between the two artists dates back to Busta Rhymes' 1996 debut album, *The Coming*, for which J Dilla produced the tracks "Still Shining" and "Keep It Movin'". Their work continued on Busta's 2006 album, *The Big Bang*, where Dilla produced the track "You Can't Hold the Torch". - J Dilla, who passed away in 2006 from a rare blood disease, is considered one of hip-hop's most influential producers. His signature production style often featured a "drunken" or un-quantized drum programming, which gave his beats a unique, humanized feel and has influenced genres far beyond hip-hop, including neo-soul and jazz. - A listening session for "Dillagence 2" in New York City, hosted by Busta Rhymes along with Statik Selektah and DJ Tony Touch, previewed the new material. A snippet shared from the event hinted at a potential collaboration with Lil Wayne, which would mark the first time the rapper has been featured over a J Dilla production. - Posthumous albums are common in J Dilla's discography, with projects like *The Shining* and *The Diary* being released after his death to critical acclaim. These releases often feature guest artists completing Dilla's unfinished work or rapping over his unreleased beats.
