Films
THE LEGACY OF J DILLA
THE LEGACY OF J DILLA
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
STROBE Music Film Festival
• 8.30pm, THU AUGUST 22nd, 2024
• 6.10pm THU SEPTEMBER 5th, 2024
GOLDEN AGE CINEMA & BAR, Surry Hills
Presented by Groovescooter
▣ BUY TICKETS
Watch the trailer below
WIN a hard-cover copy of
Ed Piskor’s Hip Hop Family Tree Omnibus
Starring: J Dilla, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Black Milk,
Robert Glasper, Karriem Riggins & many more
“The Legacy of J Dilla provides personal perspectives and technical insights into the singular sound for which the late hip-hop producer will always be remembered. But it also explores how an artist’s untimely death can complicate everything that’s left behind.” [Decider]
“…A deep dive into the mindset of one of Hip Hop’s most revered creators… Artists, producers, DJs, and music analysts across the globe have been amazed by and celebrated his musical genius.” [Hype Magazine]
“He used everything at his disposal and he did it better than all of us.” [DJ Jazzy Jeff]
During a lifetime that was tragically cut too short, J Dilla (aka James Yancey) profoundly influenced the hip hop world, along with neo-soul and jazz, from his Detroit basement. Given his creativity, groundbreaking techniques and prolific output – which includes work with Janet Jackson, The Pharcyde, De La Soul, Busta Rhymes, Erykah Badu, A Tribe Called Quest and Common – recognition should have been wider and come sooner. He passed away just three days after his 32nd birthday and the release of his magnum opus Donuts, but his legacy lives on.
In this New York Times presented portrait of the brilliant and influential artist, exclusive material and interviews provided by his family and friends help unpack the creative mind behind the productions; specifically how he “humanised” the MPC by manipulating it like no one before him for a unique take on sampling and sequencing. During the film J Dilla’s own voice narrates his story via an interview with Swedish journalist Mats Nileskar, lending it poignancy and legitimacy. Never one to seek the limelight, the self-effacing J Dilla was generous (perhaps to a fault) with his time and beats, but now for the first time on screen, his enormous gift to contemporary music and how his legacy is protected come under the spotlight.
“I’m a Detroiter and I’m a fighter. I will stay in there and I will fight. I won’t let anybody put my son down… because I’m here to lift up his music, his legacy.” [Maureen Yancey, J Dilla’s mum]
