The final opus of the late great Jay Dee (a.k.a. J Dilla) entitled The Shining is a fitting departure for an underappreciated, phenomenal beatsmith of our generation. J Dilla’s beats are the epitome of soulful production, often including his famous soul clap, giving drum machines the warmth and texture of an analog set.
At thirty-seven minutes, the album is on the short side, which could have been due to his unfortunate death. But what it lacks in quantity it makes up with quality.
The album kicks into gear on the second track with Common on “E=MC2” spitting fire over Dilla’s up-tempo electronic boom bap. Common also appears on the close-to-the-heart “So Far So Good,” featuring classic, laidback, signature Dilla.
A welcome surprise is the hook sung by D’Angelo, who provides heartfelt crooning. Throughout the LP, Jay Dee’s production stands at the forefront; the soul-inspired melodies grace both Pharoahe Monch and Madlib & Guilty Simpson, while MED and Black Thought receive electronic thumps and soul claps, which they gracefully put to good use.
Though J Dilla will always be known as a producer’s producer, he also enjoyed rhyming and was fairly proficient at it. On his final album, he blesses the mic on several cuts and on the finale he goes solo with the body grooving “Won’t Do.” Though it may not be a perfect showcase of classic Dilla, The Shining is an accurate portrayal of his talents, and a sad goodbye to a man and musician who could have provided so much more.