J Dilla changed my life.

Not really, but that's what it says on the shirt I want to get. And I'm almost feeling that way this morning after downloading some dude's J Dilla "tribute" that he put together and posted to the Animal Collective forum. It's 70 or so minutes of his work producing and a few tracks from his own albums and it's pretty awesome. I knew I liked the album Donuts he released just before he died, or right around there, but this just takes it to another level.

Maybe I like more hip hop than I realize. Could be. Some music, like opera or free form jazz you always kind of assume that you might grow to like when you're older, that you'll get it some day. It never occurred to me that this would happen for me with beats and rhymes.

This tribute has some pretty low language, but not a whole lot that I haven't been heard to say on the golf course. A little more disturbing is the way some of the lyrics treat women, but I deleted most of those songs from my playlist because that stuff truly takes away from the music. I'm such a champion for women everywhere.

But I'd love to be a dj producer like dilla. I mean look at that picture. Your life would be to hang in rooms full of lp's and instruments and electronica and you would get to fiddle around all day with your art. I think it's also the attitude you'd get to project--dj's never smile in their pictures, but they're not frowning, either--they just look deep, like their beats have connected to something sublime. But being an English teacher is really cool too. I too am connected to the sublime.

I just have to get this shirt now, though.