Ruff Draft

Performer: Jay Dee
Producer: J Dilla
Distributor: Caroline Distribution

Notes: Composer: J Yancey. Personnel: Dank, Dank (vocals); J Dilla (rap vocals); Lil-Bit(ch) (unknown instrument). Audio Mixers: Kelly Hibbert; Dave Cooley. Liner Note Author: Ronnie Reese. Recording information: Studio A, Dearborn, MI. Originally released independently in 2003 on vinyl, the late J Dilla's RUFF DRAFT returns in 2007 as an expanded double album (the second disc is instrumentals) on Stones Throw. In hindsight, RUFF DRAFT clearly marks a pivotal point in Dilla's creative evolution, displaying a nascent interest in zooming early-hip-hop synthesizers and a plethora of soul loops and samples. These tendencies would come into full fruition in CHAMPION SOUND, his later collabo with Madlib, and in his 2006 masterpiece, DONUTS. J handles the rhymes (and some crooning) on most tracks, though Guilty Simpson makes an appearance, but it's the production wizardry that makes this album something special. While Dilla awaited the fate of a solo album set to be released by MCA -- which, due to corporate upheaval, wound up being thrown into indefinite unreleased limbo -- he knocked out Ruff Draft, a ten-track EP released in 2003 on he and Frank-N-Dank's short-lived Mummy label. Distributed only in Germany, the 12" was aimed at Dilla's "real niggas only." Unsurprisingly, physical copies reached the hands of his keenest followers and few others. It wasn't necessarily scarce; it was pretty much unknown, a low-key import release from a stealth producer. Over three years since its initial issue, and a little over a year since Dilla's passing, Stones Throw steps in with an expanded reissue, adding four tracks to the original sequence with a second disc containing the instrumentals. When compared to Welcome 2 Detroit, it's measurably more scattered, with stray ideas adding up to a less than cohesive whole that nonetheless engages entirely. Here, he makes moves further away from his past in the Ummah and, apart from a couple brief interludes and sampled interjections, it's all his show, with his vocals on each cut -- including "Nothing Like This," where he sings with an effective flatness. If you've never cared for Dilla as an MC, it's unlikely that you will be won over by these rhymes, since they entail his usual circuit of smacking down haters, getting money, and getting laid. Those who come for the productions and nothing else have plenty to lap up. Even the relatively straightforward beats ("Reckless Driving," "Make'em NV") take a few listens to fully appreciate, with subtle layers hovering and swirling in the background. The two key, previously unreleased tracks are "Wild" and "Take Notice." On the former, drums and handclaps stumble over one another as Dilla is accompanied by an ambitious, young English kid doing a spirited cover of Slade's "Cum on Feel the Noize." On the latter, the slow-motion sci-fi theme from the original release's "Interlude" is extended and bolstered by a hot assist from Guilty Simpson. Nothing is likely to duke it out with Dilla's most known tracks, but the release is necessary for anyone with the slightest degree of interest. ~ Andy Kellman

Spin (p.88) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[A] platform for the versatility of his eccentric genius." The Wire (p.67) - "[This] recording contains some of his finest and most immediate work....'Nothing Like This' is the winning moment, a beautifully naive love song over a dreamy reversed guitar sample sass." The Wire (p.55) - "Ditching studio sheen for layers of tape hiss and rugged snare hits, the rough hewn arrangements complement the album's lyrical motifs." CMJ (p.6) - "Dilla's fiercely chopped production integrates punk, industrial and techno with ease." CMJ (p.44) - "[The album plays] on Dilla's strengths as a performer..."

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