In 2008, Illa J teamed up with the historic Delicious Vinyl record label to release the highly acclaimed Yancey Boys, an album featuring beats by his brother the legendary producer J Dilla. Now, to celebrate the recent release of Yancey Boys Instrumentals, Illa J is giving aspiring rappers an opportunity to shine on two of the album tracks. Illa J, 2dopeboyz.com, Delicious Vinyl, and Audible Treats have joined forces and are proud to bring you the Illa J Remix Contest. After downloading the hook-included instrumentals of "R U Listening" and "Showtime" (found at the links below), contestants will have two weeks to rap their best verses based around the concept of Illa J’s hooks and submit their versions of the songs to be judged by Illa J and Delicious Vinyl.
Two winners, one for each song, will be chosen. Delicious Vinyl will officially release both winning submissions as digital singles for free download. Each winner will also each receive one unique 16 bar verse recorded personally by Illa J for inclusion on whichever personal project(s) they choose. So... Got the skills to hang with the Yancey Boys? To enter the contest, or for further information about the contest, including download links for the two hook-included instrumentals, rules, deadlines, and prizes:
Download Links:
R U Listening (Instrumental)
Showtime (Instrumental)
The Background:
When Jay Dee passed away from complications relating to lupus in February 2006, he left behind an extraordinary legacy of production work, including hits for Common, Janet Jackson, and Busta Rhymes. One mother lode of previously untouched beats dates from his time working on the Pharcyde's sophomore album, Labcabincalifornia (Delicious Vinyl, 1995). As Delicious Vinyl owner and founder Michael "Mike Floss" Ross explains: "From '95 through '98 Jay Dee was my go-to guy for hot beats and remixes. He was always making beats, always. So there was a select amount of tracks that he composed for me during that time, tracks as good as anything he'd done, only they never got used. When I finally met Illa J last year, I gave him a CD containing those unreleased beats."
In a case of pure serendipity, 21 year-old Illa J had just relocated from Detroit to Los Angeles and constructed a studio built using Jay Dee's recording equipment. He dubbed it Yancey Boys Studios in tribute to their fraternal bond. "Dilla was 12 years older than me," Illa J says. "So back in the day in Detroit I was just a little kid, sitting on the stairs in our house, watching him make those first beats for Slum Village. I always felt my brother's tracks and had an instinct for what I wanted to do over them." When Illa J set to work in early '08 recording the album, the project flowed quickly as he entered the proverbial can't miss zone. The name of the studio rightly became the title of the finished album, Yancey Boys, which is available online and in stores everywhere on Delicious Vinyl Records.
