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Jay Dee, a founding member of Detroit rap crew Slum Village and a key figure in Detroit's hip-hop scene, died Friday at his home in Los Angeles. No cause of death has been released, but Dee -- real name James Yancey -- had battled kidney problems in recent years. He turned 32 on Tuesday.
"The best producer to ever grace this city passed today," said Byron "Guilty" Simpson, a Detroit rapper and close friend of Dee.
Simpson described Dee (who also went by the artist name J. Dilla) as a workaholic and a perfectionist, and said his influence was felt not only in Detroit but around the world.
Early in his career, Jay Dee produced tracks for A Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes, De La Soul and the Pharcyde.
He formed Slum Village with fellow MCs Baatin and T3, classmates of his from Detroit's Pershing High School. The album "Fantastic, Vol. 2," which was released in 2000, was praised as an underground hip-hop classic, but Dee was barely featured on the group's "Trinity (Past, Present and Future)." He left the group after the album's 2002 release.
Members of Slum Village are touring overseas and were unavailable for comment.
Dee was admired by true hip-hop heads; super producer and artist Pharrell Williams told BET in 2004 that Dilla was one of his favorite producers.
Dee contributed two tracks to Common's acclaimed "Be" last year. Dee's instrumental album "Donuts" -- recorded at his home studio and from his hospital bed -- was released Tuesday by Stones Throw Records.
Dee's kidney problems were partially the result of malnourishment from touring overseas. He was hospitalized last year and performed several shows from his wheelchair.
Dee told XXL Magazine in June, "The rumors were like, 'Jay Dee is dead' and all that, but I was just in the hospital. I was in ICU with all types of tubes. It was crazy."
His role in the city's rap scene is not to be underestimated.
"(Eminem) is the face of Detroit hip-hop, but Jay Dee, he was like the spine," said Detroit rapper Paradime.
Salam Wreck, a DJ for D12 and Obie Trice, called Dee "ahead of his time." "Kanye (West), A Tribe Called Quest, they're all kids of his," he said.
