Oct 3, 2026 · Album review · 10 min read

Busta Rhymes & J Dilla “DILLAGENCE II” Review: The Story, Tracklist & Verdict

Busta Rhymes kept 300 J Dilla beats for twenty years. Now, with Ma Dukes’ blessing and guests like D’Angelo, Lil Wayne and Common, he turns them into DILLAGENCE II. This is the story behind the album.

Twenty years after his death, J Dilla has a new album, and it sounds like he never left. On August 25, 2026, Busta Rhymes released DILLAGENCE II through The Conglomerate Entertainment: 19 tracks and an hour of music built almost entirely on unreleased J Dilla beats that Busta had kept to himself for two decades.

It is the sequel to Dillagence, the 2007 tribute mixtape, and it comes with the blessing that matters most: Dilla’s mother, Maureen “Ma Dukes” Yancey, opens and closes the album with her own words.

Busta and Dilla: thirty years of history

Long before this album, Busta Rhymes and J Dilla were a team. Dilla produced on six of Busta’s first seven solo albums, with records like “Still Shining” (1996), “Show Me What You Got” (2000) and “Turn Me Up Some” (2002). Busta has said many times that he ranks Dilla among the three best producers ever, next to Dr. Dre and Q-Tip.

The relationship went beyond business. Before he passed away in February 2006, Dilla sent Busta more than 300 beats. Busta guarded them closely: in almost twenty years, he only let one go, to Raekwon for Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt. II (2009).

If you want the full story of Dilla’s life and his final masterpiece, read our deep dive on J Dilla’s Donuts.

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How Busta Rhymes Turned 300 Unreleased J Dilla Beats Into His New Album · Popcast

Dillagence (2007): the first chapter

In November 2007, a year after Dilla’s death, Busta released Dillagence, a mixtape hosted by DJ Mick Boogie with all-new songs over unused Dilla beats. Guests included Q-Tip, Talib Kweli, Raekwon, M.O.P., Rah Digga, Cassidy and Papoose. One highlight was Busta’s take on “Lightworks”, the same beat as the Donuts track, with Q-Tip and Talib Kweli. For many fans it remains one of Busta’s most slept-on projects.

How DILLAGENCE II came together

Work on the sequel started in November 2025, with the explicit approval of the J Dilla estate and Ma Dukes. Busta previewed the music at a listening session in February 2026, and a video of Ma Dukes listening to an early track circulated in March. The official announcement came in early August, three weeks before release.

Almost every beat is pure Dilla. The exceptions are telling: Karriem Riggins, the drummer and producer who finished Dilla’s The Shining, produced “Drugs” and co-produced the epic closer “What We Got In Common”, while Black Milk and Kev Brown helped finish “SPAZZZ”.

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Busta Rhymes & J Dilla – SPAZZZ (Official Video)

The sound: Busta slows down

This is not a polished studio album. It is built like a mixtape: short songs, few choruses, experimental beats and what critics have called “gonzo flows”. The most interesting change is Busta himself. On the Popcast he explained that Dilla’s beats asked him to rap differently, without the hyper-speed style he is famous for, and you can hear it. He sits in the pocket, lets the drums breathe and follows Dilla’s swing.

For producers, the album is a reminder of why Dilla still matters. On “How You Want It” the snare lands in that unmistakable lazy, behind-the-beat place known as Dilla Time. “Talk Ya Shit” flips a slowed-down Gilberto Gil sample. And even the short interludes, like “How The Boss Will Deliver”, sound like ideas a lesser producer would build a whole career on.

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Busta Rhymes & J Dilla – Talk Ya Shit feat. Lil Wayne (Official Video)

This Woman: Dilla and D’Angelo, one last time

The emotional center of the album is “This Woman”. It comes from a collaboration between J Dilla and D’Angelo that started more than twenty years ago, during the Soulquarians era that gave us Voodoo. D’Angelo passed away on October 14, 2025, after a battle with pancreatic cancer, so the song arrives as a meeting of two legends who are both gone.

D’Angelo’s falsetto floats over Dilla’s soft, heavy drums, and the video was directed by Hype Williams, who shot classics for both Busta and D’Angelo. Busta had already honored D’Angelo with the tribute song “Magic” in late 2025.

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Busta Rhymes & J Dilla – This Woman feat. D’Angelo (Official Video, dir. Hype Williams)

The guests

• Lil Wayne on the single “Talk Ya Shit”.
• Anderson .Paak and Ludacris on “Kingpin (Knock Ya Head Off)”.
• Common and Jon Batiste on the six-minute closer “What We Got In Common”. Common was one of Dilla’s closest collaborators, from “The Light” onward.
• T3 of Slum Village, Dilla’s original group, on “Lay Down”.
• Big Sean and Honey Bxby on “Wait 4 U”, keeping it Detroit.
• Talib Kweli, who was also on the first Dillagence, on “Love & War”.
• On “Royalty”, Busta brings in his own children, CIE and Trillian, with Ma Dukes also present: a family record in every sense.

Highlights

• “This Woman” (feat. D’Angelo): the heart of the album.
• “SPAZZZ”: Busta at full athletic power over off-kilter Dilla drums.
• “How You Want It”: pure Dilla Time for the beatmakers.
• “Kingpin (Knock Ya Head Off)”: Anderson .Paak and Ludacris bring the energy.
• “What We Got In Common”: a big, cinematic farewell with Common and Jon Batiste.
• “Ma Dukes Closing Words”: a mother’s goodbye that closes the circle.

DILLAGENCE II tracklist

Listen to DILLAGENCE II

Spotify

Apple Music

What the critics say

• Pitchfork (7.0/10): finds it a little less exciting than the 2007 original, but still full of thrills, capturing the duo’s vintage magic in a solid package.
• Associated Press (3.5/5): a solid project that honors both legacies without chasing trends, with “This Woman” and “SPAZZZ” as standouts. The reviewer suggests skipping “The Story Of The Old Man”.

Verdict

DILLAGENCE II is not a reinvention, and it does not try to be one. It is a love letter: a rapper who waited twenty years to use these beats the right way, a family that gave its blessing and a guest list that reads like Dilla’s extended family. Some interludes feel unfinished, but that is part of its mixtape charm.

The real star is the music Dilla left behind. Two decades later, his drums still sound like the future. Start with “This Woman”, “SPAZZZ” and “How You Want It”, then let Ma Dukes have the last word.