J Dilla or Jay Dee was not just a rapper, he was also a DJ and even a record producer. He lived a full life and made a major contribution to the hip hop music. In fact, critics say that J Dilla turned the American hip hop music to what it is today.

He started his career back in 1992 through Amp Fiddler. In 1995 he formed first down which is a hip hop group but didn’t last long but this didn’t stop him from pursuing his hip hop career. He became known for being the hip hop guy not just as the singer but also as the producer for artists such as Janet Jackson and Busta Rhymes among many others.

2002 was the year when J Dilla collaborated with Madlib and formed the group JayLib that released Champion Sound the year after. It was at this same time that J Dilla experienced an illness that made him drastically lose weight which sprouted rumors about him being sick. It was only in late 2005 that the revelation of his situation occurred. He had a rare blood disease and lupus. In just a few months after the revelation, J Dilla died just 3 days after he celebrated his 32nd birthday. He died February 10, 2006 just 3 days before his album Donuts was released.

His death made an impact to the hip hop music and his mother even named a foundation for curing lupus under his name. It’s been 3 years since J Dilla’s death but his memory and songs remain in the hearts and minds of his fans.