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Donuts

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Work

Donuts was released on 7 February 2006, J Dilla's 32nd birthday and three days before his death. He had been ill since 2002 with a rare blood disease, later also developed lupus and was often in hospital. The best-known version of the story says that he made the record at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, with a portable turntable and a sampler. The writer Dan Charnas tells a different version in his book Dilla Time: the record began at home as a beat tape and was largely finished by Jeff Jank of Stones Throw.

The album is instrumental and runs like an endless loop: the last track flows into the first. The 31 short tracks use 34 samples from rock, jazz and soul. Critics praised the dense, idiosyncratic samples and the way the record seems to look mortality in the eye. In 2020 Rolling Stone placed it at number 386 on its list of the 500 best albums.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Last Donut of the Night and then straight away to Donuts (Outro): can you hear how the end flows seamlessly into the beginning?

Track list

  1. 1Donuts (Outro)0:13Apple Music ↗
  2. 2Workinonit2:57Apple Music ↗
  3. 3Waves1:39Apple Music ↗
  4. 4Light It0:36Apple Music ↗
  5. 5The New0:50Apple Music ↗
  6. 6Stop1:39Apple Music ↗
  7. 7People1:24Apple Music ↗
  8. 8The Diff'rence1:52Apple Music ↗
  9. 9Mash1:31Apple Music ↗
  10. 10Time: The Donut of the Heart1:39Apple Music ↗
  11. 11Glazed1:21Apple Music ↗
  12. 12Airworks1:45Apple Music ↗
  13. 13Lightworks1:55Apple Music ↗
  14. 14Stepson of the Clapper1:01Apple Music ↗
  15. 15The Twister (Huh, What?)1:17Apple Music ↗
  16. 16One Eleven1:11Apple Music ↗
  17. 17Two Can Win1:47Apple Music ↗
  18. 18Don't Cry1:59Apple Music ↗
  19. 19Anti-American Graffiti1:54Apple Music ↗
  20. 20Geek Down1:20Apple Music ↗
  21. 21Thunder0:54Apple Music ↗
  22. 22Gobstopper1:05Apple Music ↗
  23. 23One for Ghost1:18Apple Music ↗
  24. 24Dilla Says Go1:16Apple Music ↗
  25. 25Walkinonit1:15Apple Music ↗
  26. 26The Factory1:24Apple Music ↗
  27. 27U-Love1:01Apple Music ↗
  28. 28Hi.1:17Apple Music ↗
  29. 29Bye.1:28Apple Music ↗
  30. 30Last Donut of the Night1:40Apple Music ↗
  31. 31Welcome to the Show1:12Apple Music ↗

30-second previews via Apple Music. Listen to the whole album on Apple Music ↗

Categories: Albums and songs