Celebrating 50 Years of J Dilla
Slum Village and The Pharcyde celebrate the life of hip-hop's greatest producer
Event Details:
Date: July 12, 2024
Venue: Herbert Von King Park (Brooklyn)
Ticket Price: Free
Artists: The Pharcyde w/ Slum Village, Breakbeat Lou and Rich Medina
In my opinion, the greatest hip-hop producer of all-time is James Dewitt Yancey aka Jay Dee aka J Dilla. No questions asked. Not only did he have an outstanding impact on hip-hop and R&B but he has influenced an entire style of making beats that has inspired generations of artists from all genres. Many people don’t even know who he was or may only know his popular album, Donuts, which he mostly composed on his death bed and it is unclear how much was finalized by other contributors after he died. But if one were to look at the list of the hundreds of tracks credited to one of James' many aliases you would see some of the biggest hits of all-time.
As part of the SummerStage concert series, there was a free show in Brooklyn’s Herbert Von King Park to celebrate the life and music that started in Detroit. The two main acts were perfect choices. Slum Village was Jay Dee’s first group, formed with childhood friends Baatin and T3, and The Pharcyde whose most popular song, “Runnin’”, was born from one of Dilla’s masterpieces.
There was a chance of rain, and I kind of wish it had to cool things off, but it never came down so it was a muggy day. I arrived around 6:30 PM a little surprised to see Slum Village had already started their set. I figured a DJ would open for the first 30-45 mins, followed by Slum Village and The Pharcyde, but they actually moved the DJ set in the middle. Luckily, I don’t think I missed too much and saw them perform a good number of songs, including a few new ones and of course the their bigger hits. Sadly, T3 is the only original member still alive but they still performed a great set and it felt like a unique opportunity to see a group that probably doesn’t get as much love as they deserve.
Headlining was The Pharcyde and they are a really fun live group. I saw them last year at Brooklyn Bowl and their energy is contagious, especially Imani twisting his body in all directions and kicking his legs in the air. Their discography is rather small for a group that has been around since the early 1990s but their first two albums, Bizzare Ride II the Pharcyde and Labcabincalifornia, are all-time classic hip-hop albums that everyone should listen to at least once. They are from LA but their sound is inspired by the East Coast, with the boom bap and jazz rap influences.
The crowd was definitely into it, giving good feedback during the crowd participation portions and I saw several people rapping all the lyrics. They performed for about an hour and of course played all their hits. The sound was actually great for the temporary stage setup they had. The park has its own amphitheater, so I’m curious if it is still used for anything, but the location of the temporary setup allowed for more room for people to gather. As the sun set, there was a nice breeze and it started to feel pleasant outside, which was a perfect way to end a lovely summer evening. NYC is the best!
Cheers and keep rocking!