Welcome 2 Detroit – The 20th Anniversary Edition

by J Dilla

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Gaelan D'costa There's something to the production here I can't describe. It isn't totally smooth, but it's jazzy in an unpredictable way. Similarly, the lyrics are more arrogance swagger than I normally care for, but it has this staggered flow that I find really interesting. Favorite track: Pause.

lazy72 Beautiful rework of one of my favorite J Dilla masterpieces... The whole album remains a bonafide classic, as we share the same birthday date, February 7... I had to get this for my Aquarius Self! Favorite track: Think Twice (DJ Muro's KG Mix).

robmanga A CLASSIC ALBUM!!

essaruno Majorly slept on when it dropped. Great to see a classic album from dilla get the full treatment!

Peter Gilbert (aka. Jasper The Vinyl Junkie) thumbnail

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Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
12x 7" Vinyl Box Set
An accompanying book by British writer and filmmaker John Vanderpuije offers an oral history of the album’s making, as told by Amp Fiddler, Ma Dukes and all of the album’s key musical contributors.

Vinyl Tracklist
DISC 1
SIDE A
1. Y’all Ain’t Ready
2. Think Twice (faded)
SIDE B
1. Y’all Ain’t Ready (Instrumental)
2. Think Twice (Instrumental – faded)

DISC 2
SIDE C
1. The Clapper feat. Blu
2. Shake It Down
SIDE D
1. The Clapper (Instrumental)
2. Shake It Down (Instrumental)

DISC 3
SIDE E
1. Come Get It feat. Elzhi (edit)
SIDE F
1. Come Get It (Instrumental – edit)

DISC 4
SIDE G
1. Pause feat Frank ‘n’ Dank
2. B.B.E. – Big Booty Express
SIDE H
1. Pause (Instrumental)
2. B.B.E. – Big Booty Express (Instrumental)

DISC 5
SIDE I
1. Beej-N-Dem Pt.2 feat. Beej
SIDE J
1. Beej-N-Dem Pt.2 (Instrumental)

DISC 6
SIDE K
1. Brazilian Groove
2. It’s Like That (Edit) feat. Hodge Podge, Lacks
SIDE L
1. Brazilian Groove EWF (Instrumental)
2. It’s Like That (Instrumental)

DISC 7
SIDE M
1. Give It Up
SIDE N
1. Give It Up (Instrumental)

DISC 8
SIDE O
1. Rico Suave Bossa Nova
SIDE P
1. Azymuth – Rico Suave Bossa Nova (Vinyl Edit)

DISC 9
SIDE Q
1. Feat. Phat Kat
SIDE R
1. Feat. Phat Kat (Instrumental)

DISC 10
SIDE S
1. African Rhythms
2. One
SIDE T
1. African Rhythms (Instrumental)
2. One (Instrumental)

DISC 11
SIDE U
1. It’s Like That (Alternate Version)
2. Beej-N-Dem (og) feat. Beej
SIDE V
1. African Rhythms (No Drums)
2. Brazilian Groove EWF (No Drums, No Vocal)
3. Give It Up (Acapella)

DISC 12
SIDE W
1. Think Twice (DJ Muro’s KG Mix)
SIDE X
1. Think Twice (DJ Muro’s KG Mix Instrumental)

Includes unlimited streaming of Welcome 2 Detroit – The 20th Anniversary Edition via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more. ... more

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1.	Welcome 2 Detroit 00:49	buy track
2.	Y'all Ain't Ready 01:28	buy track
3.	Think Twice 03:52	buy track
4.	The Clapper 02:06	buy track
5.	Come Get It 05:02	buy track
6.	Pause 02:45	buy track
7.	B.B.E. - Big Booty Express 02:12	buy track
8.	Beej-n-Dem Pt. 2 02:49	buy track
9.	Brazilian Groove (EWF) 01:30	buy track
10.	It's Like That 04:05	buy track
11.	Give It Up 03:08	buy track
12.	Rico Suave Bossa Nova 01:25	buy track
13.	Feat. Phat Kat 03:43	buy track
14.	Shake It Down 02:55	buy track
15.	African Rhythms 01:36	buy track
16.	One 01:31	buy track
17.	Welcome 2 Detroit (Instrumental) 00:46	buy track
18.	Y’all Ain’t Ready (Instrumental) 01:29	buy track
19.	Think Twice (Instrumental) 03:36	buy track
20.	The Clapper (Instrumental) 01:57	buy track
21.	Come Get It (Instrumental) 04:25	buy track
22.	Pause (Instrumental) 02:46	buy track
23.	B.B.E. - Big Booty Express (Instrumental) 02:09	buy track
24.	Beej-N-Dem Pt. 2 (Instrumental) 03:07	buy track
25.	Brazilian Groove EWF (Instrumental) 01:30	buy track
26.	It's Like That (Instrumental) 04:08	buy track
27.	Give It Up (Instrumental) 03:11	buy track
28.	Feat. Phat Kat (Instrumental) 02:46	buy track
29.	Shake It Down (Instrumental) 02:54	buy track
30.	African Rhythms (Instrumental) 01:35	buy track
31.	One (Instrumental) 01:35	buy track
32.	Think Twice (DJ Muro's KG Mix) 03:51	buy track
33.	Think Twice (DJ Muro's KG Mix Instrumental) 03:51	buy track
34.	Rico Suave Bossa Nova 05:53	buy track
35.	Beej-n-Dem (OG) 00:51	buy track
36.	Brazilian Groove EWF (No Drums, No Vocal) 01:25	buy track
37.	It's Like That (Alternate Version) 03:06	buy track
38.	Give It Up (Acapella) 01:31	buy track
39.	African Rhythms (No Drums) 00:44	buy track
40.	Think Twice (Alternate Take) 03:33	buy track
41.	It's Like That (Original Beat) 00:42	buy track
42.	Y'all Ain't Ready (Cassette Demo) 01:30	buy track
43.	Think Twice (Cassette Demo) 03:44	buy track
44.	Come Get It (Cassette Demo) 04:05	buy track
45.	Come Get It (Alt Beat) 01:26	buy track
46.	Beej-n-Dem Pt. 2 (Alt Beat) 03:01	buy track

about

BBE Music announces a special 20th Anniversary edition of one of the most important records in the label’s history: J Dilla’s Welcome 2 Detroit, presented in a deluxe 7” vinyl box set boasting instrumentals, two brand new interpretations by Azymuth and Muro, a stash of previously unreleased alternative mixes and studio outtakes pressed over 12 discs, plus a book revealing the album’s hidden story, told by those who were there.

First issued by BBE Music on Monday 26th of February 2001, Welcome 2 Detroit was James Dewitt Yancey aka Jay Dee’s first solo outing and the debut appearance of his new ‘J Dilla’ moniker (bestowed on him by none other than Busta Rhymes). The album also inaugurated the producer-led Beat Generation album series, which would later spawn classic LPs by DJ Jazzy Jeff, Pete Rock, DJ Spinna, Marley Marl and even will.i.am, all of whom had been inspired to reach for new creative heights by hearing Dilla’s magnum opus.

Choosing to showcase his own voice and the voices of local rap-heroes from across the city instead of big stars, Welcome 2 Detroit marked a coming of age for the then 27 year-old producer, who fully embraced the creative-freedom offered by BBE for his first solo project. As Dilla tells it: “Peter (Adarkwah, founder of BBE) let me do whatever I wanted to do. So, I wanted to put people on there who are gonna spit y’know, lyrically and represent Detroit. Because I wouldn’t have been able to pull this album off if it came out under a major. Cos they’re not gonna let you just do a song or you can’t just do an instrumental. You gotta have this feature and you’re Jay Dee, why ain’t you got Erykah Badu? Why ain’t you got so and so on your album? I’d have had to go through all of that, instead of just putting out…y’know, Beej on this joint!”

The album would prove to be the perfect distillation of Dilla’s Detroit. From Kraftwerk- inspired Tech Noir that would make Metroplex proud, through subtle echoes from Africa, live jazz-funk and bossa-nova grooves, to tough Midwest boom-bap, this record somehow showed reverence to the city’s past without ever leaving its present. Grimy street flows that somehow swayed like James Brown. Unquantized marvels, so free and alive in their bounce, that they could seduce the hardest of hard-rocks into the sweetest screwface! Diverse, multifaceted, super collaborative and yet somehow singular, Welcome 2 Detroit was the shy and humble James Yancey revealing his true self in the only way he knew how: through his music.

“The numerous guest appearances from some of the city’s best MCs at the time — Beej, Big Tone, Elzhi, Frank N Dank, Phat Kat — added to the album’s immersive experience, offering listeners a taste of Detroit in a way that only Jay Dee could do.” – Okayplayer

To mark the 20th Anniversary of this momentous record, BBE Music is issuing a specially remastered edition of Welcome 2 Detroit, featuring a stunning new remix of ‘Think Twice’ by Japanese DJ/producer Muro and a stellar cover version of ‘Rico Suave Bossa Nova’ by legendary Brazilian jazz-funk juggernauts Azymuth, plus a stash of newly discovered alternate versions and work-in-progress recordings from the album sessions, lovingly reproduced from priceless cassette tapes recorded by J Dilla himself. An accompanying book by British writer and filmmaker John Vanderpuije offers an oral history of the album’s making, as told by Amp Fiddler, Ma Dukes and all of the album’s key musical contributors. The deluxe 7” vinyl box set and digital album will be released on February 5th 2021 during the annual #DillaMonth celebration, as close to the great man’s birthday as possible and will be available to pre-order from the BBE website and Bandcamp from November 3rd 2020.

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released February 5, 2021

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