RAPOBIT: J Dilla

The death has been announced of J Dilla, the hip-hop producer.

Unusually for a rap star, he was genuinely likeable as a person; more interested in creating beats than waving bling. During the 1990s he worked with A Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes, De La Soul and - spreading himself to soul - also found time to be behind the board for D'Angelo and Erykah Badu.

Diagnosed three years ago with the lupus that would eventually take his life, Dilla kept working. His debut solo album Donuts, part of which recorded while he was in hospital, was released on Tuesday.

J Dilla was 32.

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