D-Day

It's a cold, wintry night on Detroit's east side, and Maureen Yancey is packing her bags for the type of overseas trip that normally would make anyone jealous. She's tying up loose ends and crossing items off her to-do list before she's set to hop on a plane and travel across Europe on a short, seven-day jaunt hitting music venues, theaters and nightclubs like a rock star on tour. Just listening to Mrs. Yancey — her voice fatigued yet uplifting — talking of the cities she'll visit, it's hard not to get excited with her. 

"Ooh, let's see," Yancey says, trying to accurately recall her itinerary, "we'll be in London, well, actually be in Manchester on the third at the Ruby Lounge, then Brighton at Sticky Mikes on the fourth, then we head to London for a really big affair, then we'll be in Moscow, then Copenhagen, and then we'll be back in Detroit for the event here."

Bands on major labels selling lots of music don't often get that type of treatment but Yancey's presence has been requested in all of these cities plus scores more. Within hip-hop circles, Yancey is a mini-celeb treated with respect.

Of course, it was her son, James "J Dilla" Yancey," who was the famous musician, not her, but each year Yancey travels the globe in order to honor the legacy of one of hip hop's most revered and prolific producers of all time. That he was born and raised in Detroit makes it even sweeter when you consider some of the most well-known songs by artists like Erykah Badu, A Tribe Called Quest, the Roots, Busta Rhymes, Janet Jackson, Common and De La Soul — to name but a few — were produced by a hometown savant who attended Pershing High School. 

For many in hip hop, February is known as Dilla month, which recognizes both J Dilla's Feb. 7 birth and Feb. 10 death in 2006. Since J Dilla's passing, various cities such as London, Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Berlin and others have staged thrilling tribute concerts each year befitting of a Dilla's genius and caliber. 

But the concerts aren't always of the same magnitude in Detroit — previous tributes have been at smaller venues, such as the Shelter and St. Andrew's in Detroit, and at the Bullfrog in Redford. This year, Dilla Day is slated for the Fillmore, a space that is considerably larger and seats roughly 2,200 people (depending on the setup) and typically sells out for well-known national acts. Late last year, Yancey, along with her new business partner, Jonathon Taylor, posited that if Dilla is internationally revered, why shouldn't he be honored at a space that reflects that.

"It's time to raise the bar in terms of how we celebrate J Dilla's life in this city," Taylor says. "People should be coming in from all over the world for Dilla and Detroit. This should attract the attention of people all around the region. The reason we chose the Fillmore is that there are great events all over the world representing this man. It's time for the world to see we love our hometown hero too."

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