J Dilla

Before J Dilla, hip-hop was locked to the grid; after him, it learned how to swing. James Yancey fundamentally rewired rhythm, programming his Akai MPC3000 with a deliberate, unquantized stagger that felt less like a machine and more like a human heart skipping a beat. From his early days in Detroit with Slum Village to his work with the Soulquarians collective (alongside Questlove and D'Angelo), he supplied the soulful, off-kilter foundation for records by Common, A Tribe Called Quest, and Erykah Badu. He signed to Stones Throw and, from his hospital bed, composed the breathtaking beat-tape eulogy Donuts—a final, perfect lesson in making machines sound beautifully, irrevocably alive.