Bleep

In retrospect, Ruff Draft proved to mark a turning point in Dilla's career. He spent the '90s making a name for himself as an all-around, top-notch hip-hop producer.

First arriving on the scene with his own group Slum Village in his native Detroit, Dilla would establish himself throughout the decade on classic tracks for A Tribe Called Quest, Common, The Pharcyde and De La Soul, eventually branching out to work with a variety of heavy-hitters in hip-hop and R&B, from Busta Rhymes and The Roots to D'Angelo and Erykah Badu.

In contrast to the often understated, mellow vibes and minimal, crisp drumbeats he brought to the boards for those groups, Ruff Draft revealed to those who heard it the first time around and a whole new side to Dilla's musical genius. Freewheeling, in-your-face synthesizers, blend perfectly with an uncharacteristically sample-heavy approach that was as bangin? as it was experimental. And, as he indicated in the intro to the album, it?s supposed to bump in your car like an old cassette one of those well-loved ones that get played over and over and over. This very reasonable 2 cd set contains vocal versions with bonus tracks and a whole cd of instrumentals for people (like me) who love the intricate rolls of the beats as much as the rhymes and beats.