J Dilla Changed My Life

• Stonesthrow.com
• May 01, 2006

We at Stones Throw did not know his identity when, the day after what would be his last show, we were emailed a photo of a man wearing a hand-shirt with the large words: J DILLA CHANGED MY LIFE.

We placed the photo on our front page and were immediately hit with requests from people who wanted one of their own.

When Dilla returned from his short tour in Europe he remembered the shirt, and there was talk of making them available for the public. Dilla's mother also also recalled: "It was very inspiring - not just what it said but the fact that he made it and wore it up on the stage all night."

"Let me tell you about the inspiration to make this shirt. It has to do with the photos of the concert in London, but it was mostly the reaction of the people that started to write all these negative things."

"I have been a hardcore Dilla fans for years ... I can't think of any other artist that was able to touch me with music like he did. I have been waiting for years to get the chance to see this man perform and I was so happy that Dilla would come in December. I was reading all this stuff, 'this man should stay at home,' and so on. I was thinking to myself, why can't these people appreciate what Dilla is doing right now and just support him? I wanted Dilla to see that it is more than just music and that I support him from the bottom of my heart no matter what, because he has been there for me all these years."

- DJ Deckstarr, who created the shirt and wore it on the night of Dilla's show at Unique Club in Dusseldorf, Germany, December 2005. Deckstarr was also on the bill.