For the comedian Jay Dee, see Jay Dee (comedian).

Not to be confused with the Dutch house producer and DJ Jaydee.

J Dilla
J Dilla in 2001
Background information
Birth name	James Dewitt Yancey
Also known as	Jay Dee Dilla Dawg
Born	February 7, 1974 Detroit, Michigan
Died	February 10, 2006 (aged 32) Los Angeles, California
Genres	Hip hop soul instrumental hip hop electronic
Occupation(s)	Record producer rapper
Instruments	Turntables sampler drum machine keyboards bass guitar synthesizer drums cello vocals guitar
Years active	1993–2006
Labels	Delicious Vinyl BBE Pay Jay MCA Stones Throw Bling 47
Associated acts	Slum Village Common Questlove Soulquarians Madlib MF DOOM Dwele Guilty Simpson Frank n Dank Phat Kat Black Milk Mos Def J Rocc Waajeed Bilal Busta Rhymes Erykah Badu De La Soul A Tribe Called Quest The Pharcyde
Notable instruments
Akai MPC3000 E-mu SP-1200 Minimoog Voyager

James Dewitt Yancey (February 7, 1974 – February 10, 2006),^[1][2] better known by the stage names J Dilla and Jay Dee, was an American record producer and rapper who emerged from the mid-1990s underground hip hop scene in Detroit, Michigan as one third of the acclaimed music group Slum Village. According to his obituary at NPR, he "was one of the music industry's most influential hip-hop artists",^[3] working with big-name acts including A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Busta Rhymes, Erykah Badu, The Roots, The Pharcyde and Common.^[4] Yancey died in 2006 of the blood disease thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura.