A Tribute to James Dewitt Yancey...

From atop Federal Hill, Charm City looks...charming. The skyline is subtle; neatly tucked into the arms of the inner harbor. Baltimore is like a lost city. A great American gem. Overshadowed by the violence and scandal, one tends to associate Baltimore more with The Wire, than as a city with great history, people and significance. Chris, our Baltimore brethren and Bmore native was here to remind us. Jamaal and I made the quick thirty minute trek to Baltimore and we hung out with Chris in his city. Though we've been to Baltimore more times than we can count, it's always good hearing about the city's nooks and crannies from a native son. We drove around the city, talked shit and ate Jamaican food, making our usual movie and Martin references every step of the way. Aside from the lighthearted fun, we were in Baltimore that night for a bigger reason, to pay tribute to James Yancey.

James Yancey aka Jay Dee aka J Dilla or just simply Dilla was a producer's producer. The true definition of sovereign. He came sneaking into my life when I skipped to track 16 every time I played De La's Stakes is High album. I wasn't familiar with his name at the time but I remember that song being one of my favorites from that year (which is pretty big considering Reasonable Doubt dropped the same year). Then came Slum Village. The rest is history. On February 10th, 2006, the world unexpectedly lost Dilla. But it's a mother's love and a mother's fight that is keeping Dilla's name and music in our hearts. Every year cities across the nation pay tribute to Dilla on the week of the anniversary of his death. The loss of Dilla is a particularly personal one for Jamaal, Chris and I. Not only because he was one of our favorite producers, but because his death has been attributed to complications with the disease Lupus. Unfortunately, Lupus is something that we are very familiar with. A close friend of Chris' suffers from the disease and my mother AND Jamaal's mother both have the disease(Lupus is an autoimmune deficiency disease that can become fatal if not monitored properly).

Although, the performances (all paying tribute to Dilla) were great, the highlight of the night was definitely meeting "Ma Dukes". I expressed my condolences and my gratitude for what she is doing and for what Dilla brought to the world of music. We all rocked out in the spirit of Dilla last night and even when the entire block's power went out...Dilla's light still shined.