DOOM vs. Dilla: A Posthumous Collaboration

Hip-hop in 2009 is to be showered with releases by J Dilla and (formerly MF) DOOM. Since Dilla’s death in February 2006, all manner of album reissues have surfaced, and now, Rapster are releasing a collection of compilations designed to reinforce his legacy as one of the most influential and consistent beat-makers of the last 20 years. DOOM also returns this year, with his first new material since Dilla's passing, and with Madlib, Ghostface Killah and Danger Mouse collaborations rumoured to be surfacing soon, it could be a busy year for Daniel Dumile.

The Pharcyde - Runnin'

Back when he was Jay Dee, J Dilla co-produced the Pharcyde's second album Labcabincalifornia. Despite the limited commercial success of the record ­– something that caused Dilla little concern throughout his career – it featured some peerless production, and Runnin', with its skipping drums and loping guitar, is widely considered one of his finest beats.

KMD - Who Me?

Under his Zev Love X moniker, a baby faced Daniel Dumile released this single with early-90s trio KMD. The track is notable both for the young Dumile – with an unrecognisably slight stature and relatively honeyed voice – and for the humourous B-movie samples that now litter his work as DOOM.

J Dilla - Reckless Driving

Frustrated by constant delays to his major label debut, Dilla's relentless work ethic saw him issue the limited edition EP Ruff Draft on German imprint Groove Attack: a bold move for an artist working in the goldfish bowl of American hip-hop. The EP showcased some of the prolific producer's most experimental moments, and with numerous assertions that Ruff Draft is "for real niggers only" this remains one of his most aggressively fascinating releases.

Madvillain - All Caps

After five years away from music, DOOM came in from the cold with projects under various pseudonyms before releasing his defining album Madvillainy. Collaborating with Madlib, consort and friend of Dilla, the grainy flute samples, stop-start beats and gross-out rhymes of All Caps made this the stand-out track from DOOM's finest record so far.

DOOM - Lightworks

Similarly to Dilla, Dumile had developed a distaste for major label life during his career with KMD, and forthcoming album BORN LIKE THIS is set to be released on independent Lex Records. Here, DOOM raps over a track lifted from Dilla's final album, Donuts: a grainy, tuneless beat that reflects Dumile's deteriorating voice.

The appropriation of Dilla's music is nothing new – Talib Kweli, Busta Rhymes and the Roots have all taken beats from Donuts – and when the posthumous plundering of rapper's unreleased tapes to create "new" singles seems to have regressed in its intensity, it makes perfect sense that producers should have their work reappraised, reworked, and reimagined.