I really hate to be a contrarian regarding the new J Dilla documentary Still Shining, but I'm about to sound like a contrarian. Listen, I love J Dilla just as much as anyone else does and while I would love to see a documentary exploring his vision and indelible contributions to hip hop for the short period of time he was in it, this doesn't seem to be it. Maybe that's because in my mind, I keep imagining an opus akin to the Jean-Michel Basquiat documentary The Radiant Child. For now, we have Still Shining which at its core I'm sure was a mammoth undertaking by its producers and directors. Expect appearances from collaborators Erykah Badu, Dwele, Questlove, Busta Rhymes, Common, Q-Tip, Houseshoes, Pete Rock, Bilal, and many more. According to the trailer, the documentary is scheduled to be released--via internet?--on February 7th. I wish I had more details but the website referenced in the trailer, JDillaProject.com, isn't up yet. Take a look at the trailer for Still Shining below and let's all collectively hope that this means more celluloid expolrations of Dilla's legacy are imminent.
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