DILLA JAZZ at The Ford to Celebrate J Dilla's 50th Birthday

On July 18, the Los Angeles Philharmonic will present DILLA JAZZ, a groundbreaking musical experience that celebrates the 50th birthday of the late J Dilla with an unprecedented one-night-only concert at The Ford. This unique event explores Dilla’s rich legacy and showcases the cross sections of boom bap, hip-hop and jazz. DILLA JAZZ is produced in partnership with Just Jazz and Fusicology.

DILLA JAZZ features Kevin “DJ Battlecat” Gilliam, architect of West Coast hip-hop and legendary producer (Snoop Dogg, Tupac Shakur, The Game, Faith Evans, Tha Eastsidaz); iconic singer-songwriter Bilal; and Beat Junkies co-founder J. Rocc, with special guests Medusa The Gangsta Goddess, Daru Jones, Cameron Graves, Cocoa Sarai, DJ Wyldeflower and The Pocket Queen, hosted by KCRW DJ LeRoy Downs.

The late James Dewitt Yancey—better known as J Dilla—was one of the most celebrated and influential record producers of all time. Before his passing in 2006, he created beats for A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Janet Jackson, the Roots, D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, Ghostface Killah, Common and a host of other artists, who exalted J Dilla’s uncanny and innate ability to defy the conventional sounds of hip-hop by breaking down the boundaries between hip-hop and jazz.

From his earliest days as a member of Slum Village through his essential solo collection Donuts, Dilla treated hip-hop production like jazz: developing swinging rhythms, embracing imperfection and letting his samples speak to one another.

Preceding DILLA JAZZ at The Ford, special celebrations of J Dilla will take place July 12 featuring Slum Village and The Pharcyde and July 14 with Common and Pete Rock at Von King Park in Brooklyn.

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