The Making Of J Dilla’s “The Diary” [Video]

“This is the last piece of the puzzle,” says DJ House Shoes of long-time collaborator J Dilla’s The Diary. Rumored since 2002, Dilla’s unreleased rap album — featuring the prolific producer on the mic rather than behind the boards — had tantalized die-hard fans. A short EP released back in 2014 wasn’t enough. A few months ago, our own Mass Appeal Records put out the full version of “The Diary”, and the puzzle was complete. When Dave Cooley found the drives that Dilla had recorded his long-rumored rap album, featuring his own lyrics over others’ instrumentals, it seemed all hope was lost: the drives were locked. Even when opened, there came a second challenge of posthumous art: piecing through the many studio takes and mixes, trying to channel Dilla’s intentions for the project. We put together a short doc on how The Diary came together, catching up with producers who worked on the album such as Hi-Tek and Nottz, as well as musicians like Snoop Dogg and Bilal. J Dilla will probably remain an enigma forever, but “The Diary” and this short doc gives insight into what may be the last full project we get out of his catalog. Read our piece on Dilla’s legacy, and purchase “The Diary” via iTunes here.

Read more

TrackBlasters Radio: 16.05.16

Da More Fire Monday – The Correct Flava To Start Your Week Host: DJ P.R. Heavy hit after heavy hit – you know the motto! Record Of The Day: T.I. feat. Marsha Ambrosius – Dope Playlist Creative Gold – Penelope’s Song 2 **Record Of The Day** T.I. feat. Marsha Ambrosius – Dope Dr. Dre feat. Justus & BJ The Chicago Kid – It’s All On Me Snoop Dogg – Late Nights Prie – Never Can Say Goodbye **Throwback** Dr. Dre feat. Snoop Dogg – Lil Ghetto Boy Ice Cube – It Was A Good Day Eazy-E – I’d Rather Fuck You DJ House Shoe & 14KT Live @ Boiler Room Los Angeles Download here (right click and save as…)

Read more

House Shoes Presents The Gift: Nameless & Dertbeats [Mixtape]

This is the inaugural jumpoff for THE GIFT, a series where I will be spotlighting producers and artists you may not be aware of. Each volume will be curated from prior bandcamp/soundcloud releases as an introduction to cats who have released prior material that I feel hasn’t reached its potential audience like it should. Leading it off with volume one is Nameless. Get familiar… @namelessdesigns83 Ex-Flint, MI resident now living in Florida, he is a definite descendent of all that is good and dirty about that Detroit shit… Stay tuned… -Shoes Check out Volume 2 “Dertbeats” below.

Read more

Crate Diggers: House Shoes’ Vinyl Collection [Video]

Crate Diggers profiles people with extraordinary vinyl record collections, with owners displaying and telling the stories behind their collections. In this episode, Detroit’s favorite DJ House Shoes talks about breaking the legendary J Dilla, almost dying in a carjacking on Mother’s Day, and reveals the real story behind Eminem and 8 Mile. Previously: Crate Diggers: J Dilla’s Vinyl Collection [Video]

Read more

House Shoes Presents DREAMS: B.I.G. Re:Imagined [Mixtape]

On March 9th, House Shoes got a lightbulb. And when House Shoes gets a lightbulb, it’s usually pretty flawless. So with a bunch of Biggie acapellas in his possession, the Detroit DJ/producer reached out to a couple of his friends (Nottz, Waajeed, 14KT, Quelle Chris, Khrysis, Nameless, etc) and had them do what they do best. Download: House Shoes Presents DREAMS: B.I.G. Re:Imagined via 2DBZ

Read more

Bling47 Breaks Dilla Edition: House Shoes – Purple [Video]

Bling47 takes you on a journey into samples used by Dilla. Filmed, edited and animated and directed by Waajeed. Had a look though the videos we shot with Houseshoes a couple months back. I had to post this one! Record and beat is too crazy to pass up.Our time is winding down to our final episodes in February. Enjoy! – Jeedo Previously: Bling47 Breaks Dilla Edition: Rich Medina – Fuck The Police [Video]

Read more