But it's an unmistakably modern album, and one which perfectly encapsulated the artist's reputation among his peers and fans as a top-rated architect of soulful hip-hop. Frequently and rightly placed in the same context as DJ Premier, Pete Rock, and Kanye West, J Dilla (aka Jay Dee) built and sustained a high standing as a producers producer while maintaining a low profile. It plays part like a DJ mix, part like a hip-hop beat maker at work, its songs starting and stopping unexpectedly, like someone turning the dial on an imaginary radio station. Donuts began simply enough as an idea to turn a particularly good demo beat tape into a full-length release, and has since became a classic hip-hop album, one of the defining works of the artist's life.Ĭompleted during a year in which J Dilla spent mostly in a hospital bed at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, Donuts would gain particular poignancy when, only three days after it's release, February 10, 2006, the artist passed away, losing his battle with a rare blood disease.Īnnounced in Fall 2005, the concept of a “rap album without rappers” struck some as minor novelty, but Donuts would prove to transcend the rigid definitions of what a hip-hop album could be. Rap US Rap Français Lossless Rap Polski 2012 2013 1998 1995 1999 1997 1996 2000 1994 2011 2001 2002 1993 2009 2003 2008 2010 2004 2007 2005 VA 2006 Chileno Rap J Dilla G-Funk 1992 Into The Groove 1991 Lord Finesse Hip-Hop 1990 Russian Rap Ice-T Chicano Rap 1989 Canadian Rap Romanian Rap 1988 Cut Killer España Rap Finnish Rap Public Enemy 1987. 1-2-3-4-5-6 Reviews by Stone on Febru5 Elementz A Tribe Called Quest Baatin Black Star Busta Rhymes Common De La Soul DJ Cam eLZhi Erykah Badu Heavy D J Dilla Little Brother Mad Skillz Mos Def Proof Q-Tip Rampage Slum Village T3 The Roots Woo 13.