Very hard to believe, but it has been 7 long years since we lost Big Proof. Again, to celebrate the his life and share his art with the world, I've unearthed another lost track from P and J. Dilla called "Keep It on the Low". The track was produced by Dilla and that's also him on the chorus. Forgive the sound quality but as I've said before these are ripped from cassette dubs and it's the best that I have. I'm pretty sure the track is from 1994, when Proof and J were working on their Funky Cowboys side-project. What can I say? The world just isn't as enjoyable nor the same without you guys. Rest in peace.
As promised, here is another previously unreleased (as far as I know) track from Proof & Dilla, called "The Fizzo." I heard about this track before I ever actually heard it from a very excited DJ Head back in '94, right around the time that F.C. (Funky Cowboys) was created. In his typical fashion when he had heard something that nobody else had, Head just giggled and said "man, Proof and Jaydee got this new record, man..." When I heard it I knew what Head was so amped-up about, these guys really had a crazy chemistry together. That's T3 of Slum Village on the chorus. I don't want to do anything but remember P and his music today, so hopefully this will put you in the same headspace. Don't ask about the photo, let's just say Proof went through a Spongebob phase! Enjoy- until next year: BIG PROOF FOREVER.
A lot of people don't know how close Proof and J. Dilla were. Back in the early-to-mid-90's these two Detroit favorites started working together closely on various projects ranging from Proof solo material to songs for Proof's group 5 Ela to the hush-hush never to see the light of day due-group they had together, F.C. ("Funky Cowboys"). Seeing these two guys in a room together was always quite a treat, they communicated with very few words but always seemed like they knew something that you didn't- like they were in on some kind of joke or secret that you would never find out about... Jaydee, as Dilla was then known, began working as a producer with the likes of The Pharcyde, A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul while continuing as a member of Slum Village. During the same period, Proof continued his hosting duties as the reigning battle champion of The Hip-Hop Shop while recording with 5 Ela and hatching the plans for D 12. Because they all had so much other stuff going on, a lot of the material that they created together never saw the light of day. I was such a huge fan of Slum Village, Dilla and Proof/5 Ela that any time I could get my hands on it I would dub cassettes of their material. Fortunately, I saved it all. A couple of years back I began digitizing it, and have just kept it close for personal listening pleasure. The sound quality varies, but the quality of the actual material remains high. A sign of what could have been had Dilla and Proof ever had the opportunity to create a full-length project together. I've decided that the world needs to hear some of this stuff. So, what better time to share it then now, on the anniversary of the loss of our dear friend, inspiration and the unofficial Mayor of Detroit: Big Proof. My current plan is to release a song every year around this time. Below, check out Proof's "On The Go" produced by and featuring J. Dilla. We miss you, P.
I keep a lot of random artifacts, and recently I came across this article from Detroit's Metro Times weekly free newspaper from October of '96. I'm posting this now to recognize the birthday and memorial of James Yancey a/k/a Jaydee a/k/a J. Dilla, who most of you know passed away a couple of years ago (2/74-2/06). Interesting analyses of the Detroit hip-hop scene at the time... No mention of Eminem which is funny. Historical trivia fact about J. is that he was originally known as John Doe, but abandoned the name when he realized it was taken- only to switch up to Jaydee (his middle name being Dewitt) and have that coincidentally adopted by Jermain Dupri. The game misses you, Jay.
