A rumor about J Dilla
aka Jay Dee of Slum Village being in a coma has been declared false, his recording
home Stones Throw Records confirmed Tuesday (Jan. 18).
"He is not in a coma, and his life is not in danger,"
Stones Throw said in a statement released to the media. "We spoke to his
mother who was with him only hours after this rumor began to spread on Jan 17,
and she confirmed that it was false."
Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson of The Roots apparently
accidentally initiated the rumor Monday (Jan. 17) with a message board posting
on the online community site OkayPlayer.com.
Thompson’s comments were posted as news, despite being inaccurate,
on several websites.
Questlove later attempted to explain his statement by insisting
that Dilla was simply sick, not in a critical coma. But by Tuesday (Jan. 18),
the famed Roots drummer had removed the posting.
Jay Dee disclosed in the March 2004 issue of Urb magazine that
he has experienced kidney problems as a result of malnutrition.
The beatmaker stated, "What happened was that the doctor
told me that I’d ruptured my kidney from being too busy and being stressed out
and not eating right. He told me that if I’d waited another day, I might not
have made it."
Dilla admitted that working vigorously on music was often the
cause of his illness but said he plans to focus more on keeping his health in
tact instead of over-working.
"Sometimes
that fixation can be a good thing and sometimes it can be bad. There’d be days
when I wouldn’t eat at all because I’d be in the basement working all day,"
said Jay Dee. "This is definitely my second chance, my wakeup call. I still
love the music, but I wouldn’t put it first in my life. It’s family first –
and then everything else."
