albums and tracks

Editor's rating

Illa J has the good fortune of being related to the late J Dilla, the underground beatmaker who redefined the Detroit hip-hop scene and crafted memorable jams for those in the know (Q-Tip, Slum Village, Janet Jackson, Busta Rhymes), before passing away in 2006. The 22-year-old Illa was under his big brother's tutelage when Dilla worked in the lab during his Pharcyde days, and there's a chance Yancey Boys could usurp all the other unreleased recordings which have emerged over the past few years, just by virtue of the family ties that make this album all the more genuine.

The wispy jazz groove of 'Air Signs' is Illa's warm homage to his musical roots and, judging by his light-hearted rap style and half-decent alto, Illa's learned a lot from the Yancey clan. What's more, this 14-track chillfest suggests he's capable of filling his brother's niche of laidback good-times hip-hop, particularly on tracks like the nonchalant 'All Good' (complete with Burt Bacharach sample) or the smoothly melodic 'Timeless'. Elsewhere, the beats bang harder, with beefier rhymes, and it seems Illa just wants to make the whole affair as 21st century and youthful as possible. "I stay fresh and the ladies call me Mr Clean," affirms the rapper on the euphoric head nodder 'We Here'.

But for all its plus points, there's a danger fans might claim Yancey Boys as the posthumous return of J Dilla when, in fact, it's really his kid brother making good of demos which are more nostalgic than current. Of course, Illa's biggest challenge will be creating a follow-up but, in the meantime, he's done a top job in forming a sentimental offering his brother would've been proud of.

Matilda Egere-Cooper