The late J Dilla had a way of touching not only the ears and hearts of hip hop heads everywhere, but music fans across all genres. His sound surpassed any boundaries that a genre can attain. This year marks the 13th anniversary of Dilla’s solo debut album, “Welcome to Detroit,” which is the first time he used the name J Dilla (he was known as Jay Dee prior to this).
Today, it is my honor to announce the first official annual New York City tribute to J Dilla, which will take place this Sunday, March 23rd at Webster Hall (125 E. 11th St). The event is headlined by a performance from none other than Talib Kweli and hosted by Jarobi of ATCQ but to be honest, the biggest draw of the night will be a special appearance from Maureen “Ma Dukes” Yancey, J Dilla’s mother. I had the privilege of seeing her speak in a past Donuts Forever event and I am once again, looking forward to seeing her speak to the loyal Dilla fans in NY. Along with surprise guests, the lineup will also include Phony Ppl, YC The Cynic, DJ Parler and live art from XPAYNE. Tickets can be purchased at websterhall.com and all proceeds go to benefit the J Dilla Foundation.
