February, in many avid music fans' eyes, is Dilla month.
Both the birth and resting dates of James Yancey lie only three days apart - and what can I say; the amount of celebration, tribute and emotion I have witnessed in the last four weeks have been simply breathtaking!
Starting off with the sheer amount of dedication from fans, DJs, artists, labels... Brighton held it's cosy but passionate tribute at The Druids, causing a mexican wave of neck breaking as Headnod, Ruff Snippits, Callum, Russ and friends banged out non-stop Detroit goodness until the small hours - but it was the following that really touched people:
Spin Doctor ordered us along to Cargo, London for an eye-opening party resulting in many of us with lumps in our throats.
"J Dilla Changed My Life" saw the 500-people capacity completely smashed with 600 through the door - plus another couple hundred still waiting outside! It was beautiful to see so many different types of people get together for the love of Dilla's music (delivered by Harry Love, Mark Mac and Morgan Spacek to name a few!).
Regarding media, Stones Throw's J Rocc blessed us with ANOTHER installment of the fantastic 'Thank You Jay Dee' series (Thank You J. Rocc!) whilst Parra did their bit raisin' it up for Ma Dukes.
Still soaring from the iconic Obama poster, Shepard Fairey teamed up with B+ to create one of the sharpest pieces of graphic design I've seen in a long, long time!
Long-time collaborator and Detroit native Dwele cheekily came out with "Workin On It". A tidy, homegrown, tastefully done medley to the Donuts LP and other works.
I think the main event however, has to be Carlos Niño & Miguel Atwood Ferguson's "Suite For Ma Dukes". Where do I begin?! We once heard "Fuck hip-hop, I'll listen to classical" being spat on Slum's "Fall In Love" and low and behold here's exactly what we have. Complete with 40 piece orchestra, Atwood-Ferguson conducted his way through four chapters of Dilla's legacy with spine-tingling energy and an almighty abundance of soul.
The best bit? All of these works were made solely to help Ma Dukes, Lupus Foundation and The Dilla Legacy.
It's been 3 years since the passing of Jay Dee, yet his music and technique manage to amaze and draw more people in by the day. So regarding as February is now globally regarded as Dilla Month - One won't do, two is not enough, or three and I'm already looking to four!
Figure Of Wax | Waxy Deposits
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