“Dilla called me and asked me to come by the crib so I did. We chopped it up for a minutes and he said, 'Let me ask you a question…have you ever been to Europe?' I said, 'Nope,' he said, 'You wanna go?' I was like 'Hell yeah, I’m down for whatever you need.' Out of all the folks he knew he asked me to go on tour with them. [Dilla] took me to like 10 countries that I probably would've never gone to…I remember the tour promoter kept messing up… every hotel [we were staying in] didn’t have a room for me except for one. So Phat Kat was cool enough to get a double room. Then there was two or three plane and train rides I didn’t have a ticket for so I had to put them on my credit card- thank God I had them with me. So I had some heated words with [the promoter] and everybody was holding me back from puttin' the smack down him. When it was over I said, 'Dilla, I’m sorry for losing my cool.' He looked at me and said, 'Dave, you’re a grown ass man. If you gotta smack em up, do what you gotta do!' and Frank N Dank, Phat Kat, DJ Rhettmatic and Tim Maynor was like, 'Nooo! Are you crazy? You can't beat him down!' Me and Dilla were rollin', that shit was funny as hell! …and no, I didn’t beat him down but I wanted to. I think Dilla wanted me to as well but i cant really speak on that. [Laughs]”
Dave New York, manager

“My favorite memory is when we would mock women who walk really fast in high heels in the tittie bar when Techno music was playing…ass shaking and shit...Man I still get a good laugh at that, dog. That's the funniest Dilla moment in life.”
--Baatin (of Slum Village), artist and collaborator

“Most of my memories with him revolve around record shopping, but I think the memory with the strongest impact was when Madlib and I first flew out to Detroit to record with him for the MCA album that never came out. He was a good host, driving us around in the Dillalade [Dilla’s name for his Escalade], taking us to dinner at a restaurant where they were playing Van Halen’s 'Jump.' We talked about how hilarious- in a dope way- heavy metal music is. He took us to a big nightclub one night where they were playing commercial music and introduced us to everyone there. Next night, he took us to a strip club and kept buying us rum and cokes and lap dances. He catered to us the whole weekend. Of course we went to Detroit to work and we enjoyed our time in the studio as well, but he made it a point to extend himself to us outside of the studio and I never forgot that. My uncle always told me about the importance of balancing work and play and Dilla seemed to live by the same principals. When he called me and told me he was moving to L.A. a couple years later, I thought ‘Great, now we can return the favor and show him our city.’”
-- Peanut Butter Wolf, founder of Stones Throw Records and artist

“My favorite Dilla moment was flying to Detroit to work on Quality, and being picked up in the limousine by Frank N Dank. Dilla had them swoop me from the airport and show me around the D a little before we worked. His crib was not furnished except for a flat screen, a couch and some studio equipment. It was Grammy night and The Roots, Common and Erykah were all nominated for records Dilla produced. As I watched The Grammy's, Dilla made beats. He wasn't at all interested in the accolades when he had fresh records to dig through. That showed me where his spirit was.”
-- Talib Kweli, artist and collaborator

“I think a lot of people don’t realize that 98% of the things Dill said on record was true! From the whips to the houses to the clothes and strip clubs… and oh my God, the women! He was a real quiet, personal dude unless he trusted you, so everybody didn't get to see him really pop off, but believe me there was a lot of debauchery involved. Let’s just say that the strip clubs, after-hour spots, and frequent trips to Amsterdam were part of our mojo. That’s how Frank, Dank, and Dilla made records no matter where we were in the world. From Maine to Spain it was like a way of life... and some of your favorite rappers and singers have been to a shindig or two with Dilla Dog and F&D...and no I’m not giving names. [Laughs] Honestly, it made us more free and genuine when it was time to make records! I think it was part of his genius. And even now things happen and it takes me back to something we did or spoke about and it's like he was always giving us advice, knowledge and lessons. The crazy thing is I don't know if he knew that it would affect us so profoundly later in life and even more after he passed. I really think that’s a sign of genius fasho!”
-- Frank [of Frank N Dank], artist and collaborator Continued on page 3 »