Source: Johnny Nunez / Getty
It seems that Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie is living up to his Madd Rapper alter ego with claims that his catalog is better than that of the late, great James “J. Dilla” Yancey.
“I love J Dilla to death, but he can’t see my catalog,” Angelettie said on Math Hoffa’s podcast. My Expert Opinion, as reported by HipHopDX.
D-Dot was a member of The Hitmen—the in-house Bad Boy production team and he crafted hits like“Hypnotize” by The Notorious B.I.G, along with Diddy‘s “It’s All About the Benjamins” and JAY-Z‘s “Where I’m From.”
The producer sounded like one of his old skits when he added, “Put their shit up against mine. My shit is all over the place. Shit I made 27 years ago.”
This Dilla discourse is out of control.
D Dot really said “it was aaight, it was aaight, nah’m sayin’? That sh*t was aaight, it was cool… but my sh*t more john blaze than that… I got john blaze sh*t… and they not recognizing’ it…”
— Dee Phunk (@DeePhunk) December 6, 2023
Dilla fans took to X, formerly Twitter, to sound off about D-Dot’s claims to have a better catalog than the late Detroit legend who produced songs for A Tribe Called Quest, Erykah Badu, Busta Rhymes, De La Soul, and his own group Slum Village.
Another commenter pointed out a misconception that Dilla was only a “backpack” producer, adding, “The best gag I think is to call Dilla “conscious rap” or lofi because the nigga rapped solely about cars, cash, hoes, beats. Slum also. Nigga shit purely. Despite making soulful, soothing joints, the drums told U what time it was.”
The best gag I think is to call Dilla “conscious rap” or lofi because the nigga rapped solely about cars, cash, hoes, beats. Slum also. Nigga shit purely.
Despite making soulful, soothing joints, the drums told U what time it was.
— Fresh Daily (@Freshdotdaily) December 6, 2023
Another chimed in, “J Dilla has to be one of the most misunderstood artists ever. He’s constantly portrayed as this conscious backpacker with a rigid idea of what hip-hop is. In reality he was super experimental, loved bounce and funk and rapped about jewelry and Range Rovers.”
Because he was Black man from Detroit. He was never a backpacker. East Coast folks got that all wrong and made up some shit abt Dilla. Detroit dudes like fur coats, money, and fly women. https://t.co/GMucPlLd2T
— Sandro Pay Customer Rep (@iammarypryor) December 7, 2023
Dilla died on February 10, 2006. The producer was also a prolific rapper who emerged from Detroit’s hip-hop underground and quickly became a favorite among the hip-hop elite with his unique drum style.
His music has been celebrated by symphony orchestras, he has been honored with a street, Allée Jay Dee, named after him Montpellier, France and his MPC is in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.
A book about his life and his musical stylings was recently published by hip-hop scholar and teacher, Dan Charnas called Dilla Time.
Peep more of D Dot getting schooled, and Dilla praise, in the gallery.
