Rolling Stone hypothesizes that Jay Stay Paid, the fifth solo album from Hip Hop’s late legendary J-Dilla, is “possibly the best posthumous rap record since the final releases of 2Pac and Biggie.” Dilla, who passed in 2006 from cardiac arrest at the age of 32, remains one of hip hop’s most cherished producers, working with artists along the lines of A Tribe Called Quest, Common, and Talib Kweli. The producer has since had his hard drives and beats raided by his own mother and contemporary/hero Pete Rock. The material is said to span “the eight-year period between the sessions for A Tribe Called Quest’s final album in 1998 to material written in hospital stays during the last months of his life” (Rolling Stone).

According to Rolling Stone, the beats lean towards the heavier J Dilla style: “distorted organs, morse code pianos, sucker-punching bass thwacks and impossibly snappy snares. Smoother than 2006’s Donuts, but far less melancholy than its follow-up, The Shining, the new Jay Stay Paid rattles along with gnarly grooves made up of metallic clacking, Moroder-style synths and busy chimes. On first listen, one track appeared to be constructed from pieces of David Essex’s 1974 hit ‘Rock On’”.

Evidently, Pete Rock was able to salvage some beats that may have merely been clips, transforming them into full fledged songs, while others remain gritty and raw, the way they were left. Unlike other posthumous efforts, the only rappers to appear on the record will be those that Dilla himself loved and/or previously collaborated with. These artists include Lil Fame of M.O.P., Havoc of Mobb Deep, Wu-Tang’s Raekwon, (MF) DOOM, Dilla’s younger brother Illa J, and Black Thought of the Roots.

Jay Stay Paid Tracklist:
01. KJay FM Dedication
02. King
03. I Told Yall
04. Lazer Gunne Funke
05. In the Night (Owl N Out) – While You Slept (I Crept)
06. Smoke (feat. Blu)
07. Blood Sport (feat. Lil Fame of M.O.P.)
08. caDILLAc
09. Expensive Whip
10. Kaklow (Jump On It)
11. Digi Dirt (feat. Phat Kat)
12. Dilla Bot Vs. the Hybrid (feat. Danny Brown and Constantine)
13. Milk Money
14. Spacecowboy Vs. Bobble Head
15. Reality Check (feat. Black Thought)
16. On Stilts
17. Fire Wood Drumstix (feat. DOOM)
18. Glamour Sho75 (09)
19. 10,000 Watts
20. 9th Caller
21. Make It Fast (Unadulterated Mix) (feat. Diz Gibran)
22. 24K Rap (feat. Havoc of Mobb Deep and Raekwon)
23. Big City
24. Pay Day (feat. Frank Nitty of Frank N’ Dank)
25. See That Boy Fly (feat. Illa J and Cue D)
26. Coming Back
27. Mythsysizer
28. KJay and We Out