Understanding Donuts: J. Dilla’s Emotional Goodbye

One of the things that makes hip-hop unique and powerful is that when you turn it on, you can‘t run from it. It’s a genre of in-your-face self-expression.

A man or woman with a microphone speaks directly into your ear. Sometimes it’s watered down or made for radio. But in any format, no emcee can hide from the fact that line after line, verse after verse, they must constantly…