J Dilla - Donuts Vinyl 2LP

Donuts began simply as an idea to turn a particularly strong demo beat tape into a full-length release, but it has since become a classic hip-hop album and one of the defining works of J Dilla’s career. Completed during a year that Dilla spent mostly confined to a hospital bed at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, the album gained added poignancy when the artist passed away just three days after its release, on February 10, 2006, succumbing to a rare blood disease. Announced in Fall 2005, the concept of a “rap album without rappers” initially struck some as a novelty, but Donuts transcended conventional definitions of hip-hop. Part DJ mix, part beat-maker’s workshop, the tracks start and stop unexpectedly, like flipping through an imaginary radio dial. Yet it remains unmistakably modern, perfectly showcasing Dilla’s reputation among peers and fans as a master architect of soulful, innovative hip-hop.