Last night (Feb. 6th), the James Dewitt Yancey Foundation in association with Distrokid, Official Ma Dukes, Delicious Vinyl Records, Fusicology and BBE Records produced the first annual digital James "J Dilla" Yancey, Dilla Fest. Hosted by close friend and frequent J Dilla music collaborator, rapper Frank Nitti (of hip-hop duo Frank-N-Dank), the fest was put together in honor of Dilla's 47th birthday and 20th anniversary of his crictically acclaimed solo album, Welcome 2 Detroit.
What we usually experience yearly for Dilla during this week, which encases his birthday date (Feb. 7th, 1974) and his passing date (Feb. 10th, 2006), is national "Dilla Days" where promoters pack night clubs and venues with DJs and mega fans of the bounce master's music to enjoy. But with these Covid-19 times, like everything else, the love for Dilla is shared virtually through DJ sets and pre-recorded interviews with friends and fam on DillaFest.com and the Apple store app YouSound.
Featuring the heavy hitting line-up of individuals Affion Crockett, Amp Fiddler, DJ Spinna, Dank, Dres of Black Sheep, Guilty Simpson, Illa J (Dilla's younger brother), J Rocc, Mike Ross of Delicious Vinyl, Pete Rock, DJ Rhettmatic, Rich Medina, Robert Glasper, T3 of Slum Village and Terrance Martin, the fest started off with Frank Nitti explaining the run-down.
Ma Dukes (Dilla's Mother), then chats it up with Nitti about Dilla's early days of falling in love with music, especially James Brown tunes. Seeing that he had a keen connection to sound as a toddler shocked the family a bit. Words are ever so present in the loving way she smiles when she speaks of her son. DJ Rhettmatic, of the world renowned DJ crew Beat Junkies, kicked off the music action with a set of Dilla's classics. This then flowed into the clips of all of those previously mentioned answering questions about how they met Dilla, first heard his music and how amazed they are at his impact and innovation in production.
To cap the almost two-hour extravaganza off was an afterparty being spun by the great Brooklyn, NY turntable master, DJ Spinna. Rare grooves and exclusive cuts were the perfect follow up to all of the insider knowledge we get from the interviews by Frank Nitti. Do yourself a favor and check the playback of the event and be as blown away as we were to find out that the bassline for Bilal's "Reminisce" is three separate chops from three different bass samples in one line. Straight genius...but hey, that's a J Dilla production. Check the 20th anniversary edition of the Welcome 2 Detroit album as well. It really is a sonic game changer.
Happy Birthday J Dilla.
NEW RELEASES
Nick Cave has celebrated the 300th entry of his Red Hand Files blog by asking his fans a question of their own.
In the 299th entry, a fan, Simon, suggested that Cave mark the 300th File by asking the blog’s fans a question, as opposed to the usual format of a fan asking him a question.
Simon said, “I realise this could be a bit of an everyone-answering-at-once shit-show kinda thing, but this Q&A relationship has worked out more than fine thus far, and I think we’re grown up enough to deal with it sensibly.
“This is a one-time deal – one shot, one question. After this, we’ll be back asking the questions again forevermore.”
Cave replied by thanking Simon for his “encouraging words” and calling his idea “excellent” – he then posted a question, and said he’d print his favourite answer in the 300th issue.
The question is as follows: “I have a full life. A privileged life. An unendangered life. But sometimes the simple joys escape me. Joy is not always a feeling that is freely bestowed upon us, often it is something we must actively seek. In a way, joy is a decision, an action, even a practised method of being. It is an earned thing brought into focus by what we have lost – at least, it can seem that way. My question is, where or how do you find your joy?”
He finished off, “I very much look forward to your answers. It may take me a little while to read them all as I am about to begin tour rehearsals with The Bad Seeds – now, there is an unadulterated, full-blown joy right there! See you in a few weeks!
Meanwhile, Cave’s Bad Seeds bandmate Warren Ellis spoke to NME earlier this month, and touched on Cave’s personal struggles – two of Cave’s sons, Arthur and Jethro, have died in the last seven years. He said, discussing Cave’s recent work, “Clearly, Nick has a very personal slant on these records – particularly the last few. They have been very different to anything he’s ever done. He’s lost two of his kids; that’s something I could never understand. I’ve been around him when it’s happening and made the records with him, but I’ve never had something like that happen to me.
“All that I could do was go in and work with him on the records. You wade in and do what you can, and try to do the right thing by the person. The best that you can do is to be there. It’s been a real privilege to have been involved in those records and to be with Nick.”
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds released their most recent album, ‘Wild God’ in August. In a four-star review, NME said, “Once the godfather of goth, now a freewheelin’ preacher of joy, Cave elevates above the grief on this colourful 18th album,” adding, “Bad Seeds records are infamously loaded with gothic doom and gloom. Of course, this ain’t a poptastic LOLfest, and still coloured with the many shades of a life so challenging and weathered. But never has Cave been so freewheelin’ than on the giddy ‘Frogs’, “Jumping for love and the opening sky above” as “Kris Kristofferson walks by kicking a can in a shirt he hasn’t washed for years“. With a lust for life, the once-dark prince is letting the light in.”
