Greenroom Magazine (Issue #02 / Spring '14) | Page 8

7

LATELY DETROIT HAS BEEN SYNONYMOUS WITH
BANKRUPTCY, POLITICAL CORRUPTION AND A CITY IN
CRISIS. OVER ARE THE DAYS OF MOTOWN GLORY AND
THE BIG AUTO BOOM. IT’S LIKELY THAT DONUTS ARE After Dilla (then known as Jay Dee)
NOT THE FIRST THING TO COME TO MIND, ESPECIALLY formed the group Slum Village in
THOSE PREPARED WITH ALL ORGANIC INGREDIENTS.
the early 90s along with high school
But that’s soon to change if Herman Hayes has anything to say
about it. Hayes is known as “Uncle Herm” to his late nephew,
revered Detroit producer and rapper, James “Dilla” Yancey.
Hayes is also a career baker and the owner of the soon-to-be
opened “Dilla’s Delights” bakery, a project that was inspired
by his nephew’s favorite pastry and magnum opus album,
Donuts. Hayes hopes to position “Dilla’s Delights” squarely in
the middle of Detroit’s emerging green movement, and in the
process pay homage to one of the greatest hip hop producers
who ever lived.
WRITTEN BY ERIN DUNCAN
ILLUSTRATED BY BEN PETERSEN
PHOTOGRAPHED BY QUINN WILSON

classmates, T3 and Baatin, he caught
the ear of Q-Tip and was brought
along to produce for A Tribe Called
Quest. He spent the better part of
the next decade constructing the
soundscape for the loosely formed
“Soulquarian” collective that included
Common, Mos Def, Erykah Badu and
D’Angelo, as well as being sought
after to produce seminal albums by
The Pharcyde and Busta Rhymes. In
his memoir “Mo’ Meta Blues”, fellow
Soulquarian and famed drummer
and bandleader of The Roots, Ahmir
“Questlove” Thompson, credits Dilla
as the single greatest influence on how
he approached playing the drums.
Dilla’s passing in 2006 from Lupus
came just days after releasing Donuts,
his masterpiece of an instrumental
album which soon became a hip hop
cult classic, he was just 32 years old.
It was a groundbreaking project and
curtain call in a sense. The album was
created during Dilla’s hospital stay and
combined unconventional samples
and experimental beats, reading
almost like a farewell letter with tracks
like “Waves” and “Don’t Cry.” Since
his passing, there have been several
projects created from Producers,
Rappers and fans alike paying
respect to the legend in their
own way. From electronic indie
darlings like Flying Lotus to chart
toppers like Pharrell Williams, you’d
be hard pressed to find a producer in
the wide ranging hip hop lexicon that
doesn’t cite him as a major influence.
In addition to his fans and peers, it

shouldn’t be a surprise that Dilla’s
family has also been instrumental in the
preservation of his legacy. His mother
Maureen Yancey,