Every year, Feb. 7 heralds Dilla Day, a celebration of the late, great hip-hop producer J Dilla, who would have turned 41 today. Dilla died on Feb. 10, 2006 from Lupus complications.
The annual "Dilla Day" festival, sponsored by Dilla's mother "Ma Dukes," has expanded to a whole weekend, but it has been moved from Detroit to Miami this year for weather reasons. Detroit acts like Slum Village and Black Milk will perform, among others — more information is available here.
Dilla didn't give many interviews, but he did grant Metro Times a Q & A back in 1999 — revisit here. MT also asked fellow musicians, friends and family members for thoughts on his life and legacy back in 2006.
Meanwhile, Fusion's got an interactive "Dilla Family Tree" which charts Dilla's influences and collaborations. And you can check out a mix below, featuring an hour's worth of Dilla beats sampled by Miami DJs Manuvers, Sharpsound, and Louie Arson.
Enjoy.
About The Author
Lee DeVito
Leyland “Lee” DeVito is the editor in chief of Detroit Metro Times since 2016. His writing has also been published in CREEM, VICE, In These Times, and New City. He once asked porn star Stormy Daniels to spank him with an issue of Metro Times. She obliged.
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