Ruff Draft

Clocking in at just under 30 minutes, most people would opt to just click the download button on their computer & keep it moving but dammit when it comes to Dilla you better believe those 30 minutes are worth every penny of the $12.99 + tax you’ll pay at the soon to be obsolete record store. Besides, Dilla meant for this one to be some straight “Cassette tape” shit to be enjoyed in the whip with the subs on blast. Turn it up!!!!
Many already know the story of Ruff Draft so we won’t try to reinvent the wheel on the story behind it. The inside booklet of the CD does a great job of doing this so we highly encourage everyone to take a moment to read it. In short Ruff Draft is an EP that was originally released when Dilla just left MCA and took a break from major artist projetcs and just did something for him and his “real niggas”. It was done in constant analog to let you know what it was, that grimy and gritty music and Dilla kept with the them through out.

“Intro”: As Dilla says in the intro, this is for his real niggas only, Nuff said!!

“Lets Take It Back” - This track starts off like a blind person playing around on a synthesizer but in true Dilla fashion he finds a way to carefully mend it with a neck snapping beat and layered with more unique instruments to surround his flow on this track. While Jay Dee doesn’t kill it lyrically on this track he shows off his uncanny ability to ride a track & compliment it rather than try to overpower it and fit too much on it. This is indeed “Big Truck” music and I don’t know about you but I don’t need groundbreaking lyrics to do that.

“Reckless Driving” - Using a DJ’s backspin to start this track off and a backdrop that’s reminiscent of a mystery cartoon track and effects that bring you into the moment Dilla doesn’t waste a moment creating the mood on this one. Dilla takes us through an adrenaline filled ride through the streets letting you know the meaning of that big truck street shit. If you’ve had one of these moments (and were fortunate enough not to crash or catch a ticket from the boys) then you can relate to this track. Like the track says “This is for the real niggas with the beat in the ride”

“Nothing Like This” - One of my favorite tracks on the album & certainly the most hypnotic, this song has pounding drums reminiscent of a rock track. Vocally Dilla is chanting while the affect of his voice is crossed between an electric guitar and a crappy PA system but the results are audio bliss.. If you listen close enough, or are blessed to get your hands on the instrumental of this track you will notice a gospel infused organ being played. Dilla finds a way to layer so many affects but giving the final sound of a minimal beat, a true musical genius and visionary. Jay also showcases his ability to build an entire track around the smallest sample, which in this case you don’t realize until the end when the guitar loop is allowed to play at a full 3 second clip. Psychiatrist could use this track to place people under hypnosis if it were a few minutes longer!

“The Money” – This song is just a straight up motivator for real! J DIlla starts off “Turn it Up”!! The official battle cry of this album and that what I suggest all to do when this song is playing. The beat is bouncy w/ deep synths and Dilla the MC begins to flex his lyrical & vocal abilities on this one: “Down here in the valley of death/ we walk that, talk crap & wind up wetting the alley/ Survival the name of the game & everywhere I go they play it the same/ So stay minding your own & grinding ?????/ Keep shining, keep headlining shows & get that Doe, lets eat my nigga/lets not be broke next week my nigga/cause you know how we do when we get the money/so keep stacking your chips” Dillas singing on the chorus meshes perfectly and stays on note unlike a lot of rappers who make this attempt.

“Make Em Envy” - Are you serious? That’s what I asked myself the first time I heard this joint. Two of my favorites, M.O.P. (even just a voice sample) on a Dilla creation is like a dream come true for the die hards out there, the analog sound can bring out the best in M.O.P. From the start the beat kicks you in the chest like a shotgun (and not the firearm type either) and then the bells drop in. The easy cadence of the beat with the way Dilla layers the bells with the pace of the beat makes this track ridiculous. Now the hidden gem in this track is the low key spanish guitar melody that the bells are actually mirroring in melody. Once again Dilla shows how a lyricist is supposed to ride a beat, this track is that gritty grime with the ambassadors of that street element (some may argue pre-G-Unit only) M.O.P gluing the track. Check the rhyme “Don’t worry about the haters, you can shake they ass/ when they can’t they taste of the cake they mad/ and these backpackers wanna confuse it/cause niggas is Icy, ain’t nothing to do with this music”. Indeed!

“Crushing (Yeeeeaahhh)” - This one comes in with a vocal sample many will remember from Tribe and then blends into another vocal sample reminiscent of the results of the “come hither” motion (fellas, if your not lazy with your lady and know how to use your hands you know what I’m talking about). The laid back guitar riff, a set of happy keys that pace the tone of the track & a horn sound that I can’t identify the exact instrument but it’s a mean blend that helps keep the track together between verses. Dilla goes into one of his favorite subjects, which by no accident is almost every male’s favorite subject but Dilla finds a way to make it musical, tasteful but still dirty. Yeaahh!

“Wild” - How does one begin to describe “Wild”? Lets starts with a 4 year old that sounds as if he missed his last 2 doses of Ritalin but just had 3 Red Bulls, a drummer dropping a basic boom bap backdrop and a simple yet funky guitar riff that sounds as if it could have come from one of Smashing Pumpkins tracks. Add a dash of quirky sounds affects, throw em in a bowl and mix em up Dilla style and you get the banging track “Wild”. Now you got the beat, let Dilla do what he does on the microphone, Turn it up a little Louder and enjoy!

Overall Ruff Draft is short in playing time but its quality and ability to stay to Dillas vision of making and album for a certain crowd are a shining example of his genius. When you look at his musical progressions, and the fact that he was just coming off of “Electric Circus” it’s amazing that he was able to reinvent and elevate his sound yet again with no backwash from the eclectic experimentation he thrived on for Electric Circus. I wish more artist would make music that’s true to themselves and stop trying to figure out what everyone else wants to here. Newsflash: we the consumers like you better at your natural artistic state and not your poorly contrived attempts. So with this album, I encourage you to take notice and Turn it Up!