That was a show of dedication from Dilla's co-owner Mike Vanover and J Dilla's daughters, Ja'Mya and Ty-Monae'. For one day only, Dilla's was offering a record-for-doughnut swap—no cash. So even though some left bummed and the cash register was empty, Dilla's bulked up its in-store record collection and ensured doughnuts remained for its fans.

On a recent Sunday afternoon, Dilla's Delights could've been banking. The Detroit Tigers home game at Comerica Park across the street from the downtown store led as many curious baseball fans to wander into the shop as hip-hop fans.

The doughnuts and Dilla's Delights are the work of J Dilla's uncle, Herman Hayes, a.k.a. Uncle Herm. He and his nephew were tight, sharing the same taste in desserts as J Dilla grew up. Uncle Herm used to work at a Michigan doughnut/diner chain called Dawn Donuts and would hook up Dilla, who liked the doughnuts more than anyone in the house. That's where he developed his sweet tooth, and later in life he began encouraging his uncle to open a doughnut shop.

While money is, of course, important, Ja'Mya, 14, and Ty-Monae', 16, (the "Delights") tell MUNCHIES there's a bigger goal: "To carry on the legacy" of J Dilla, the Detroit hip-hop artist/producer who passed away in 2006. He died of complications from lupus and a rare blood disease just three days after his 32nd birthday and the release of his influential album, Donuts.

"As he was passing away, he was making an album called Donuts—when something like that happens, you reflect back on it and you're like, 'I know what I'm going to do for the rest of my life,'" Herm tells MUNCHIES.

In 2006, Herm knew Dilla was sick and his mother was caring for him in Los Angeles, but the news of Dilla's death blindsided him. At the same time, he learned the new album was called Donuts.

"I felt honored that I was the kind of the drug pusher, the dope man, so to speak," he adds with a laugh.

"We're asking a lot of customers, but you can taste the difference," co-owner Mike Vanover says of the doughnut prices. Recent offerings included Cakeboy Chocolate and McNasty Macaroon.

While Herm knew Dilla's music, it wasn't a world that he ran in. But he started exploring his nephew's catalog and quickly turned into a true admirer of Dilla's work and of hip-hop.

"I ended up becoming a huge Dilla fan, and not just because he's my nephew. It was just like, 'Who is this guy?' So I'm finding out who Dilla was, because I was still calling him 'James' at the time," Herm says. "He was my nephew and I changed his diapers, so it's like learning about a whole nother person."

Several years later, Herm and Vanover met at an open mic night, quickly hit it off, and eventually partnered to carve out a 600-square-foot space that opened earlier this year in downtown Detroit's former Milner Hotel. The location is significant because it's where J Dilla once lived and helped out his mom with a diner she ran on the ground floor.

Herm also wants Dilla's daughters involved. The business exists for them and their future, Herm says, and it may be one of the few benefits from their dad's legacy beyond his artistry. In the wake of Dilla's death, the family learned they couldn't use his likeness for commercial purposes, and there's little royalty money despite his influence.