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J Dilla’s legacy continues to touch the new generation many years after his passing. In a recent interview, Ty Dolla $ign details his love for the underground legend.

During a sit-down with Pigeons & Planes, the Beach House MC revealed that has been a big fan of the Detroit beatsmith since he was a teenager. “I remember back in the day when The Real 92.3 used to be 92.3 The Beat and they had this one DJ Julio G. He played this one sh*t ‘Forth & Back’ by Slum Village and it caught my eye” he explained.

Ty went on to detail how that first taste of the Yancey sound wouldn’t be his last. “Many years later they played this sh*t called ‘Players” it was off Fantastic Volume 2. That made me go to The Warehouse [record store]. Back then they used to have little stations where they had headphones and a CD and that’s how you could preview it. I went and listened to the whole Fantastic Volume 2 album and I was just amazed at all the beats and all the vibes on there. I read the book and saw James Yancey and J Dilla and I went back to my AOL, researched his sh*t and found everything he did.”

From there he admits he was hooked on Jay Dee. “Every underground beat tape [he did] I got it. He’s just one of my favorite producers of all time. He just had a crazy sound. Like when I think of like Hip-Hop beats, it will probably be him.”

Known for his sampling and layering of sounds, J Dilla produced for Janet Jackson, A Tribe Called Quest, the Pharcyde and has been held as a huge inspiration of Kanye West. He passed away in 2006 due to a rare blood disease.

You can view Ty’s entire testimony to Jay below.

Via Pigeons & Planes

Photo: Getty