Detroit artists break down J Dilla's legacy for today's youth at Dilla Family Day

Local artists who grew up with J Dilla’s music broke down his legacy and beats for young Detroiters at a Dilla Family Day celebration on Saturday. 

“It’s necessary and it’s a part of Detroit culture,” Reginald Moorer-El, who also performs as a hip hop artist by the name of Mudd5Ela. “It’s a part of our legacy. It’s what we breathe.” 

Children skated, learned about the legendary Detroit producer and took creative workshops through the afternoon at Alkebu-lan Village. 

A Detroit native, Moorer-El’s friendship with James Dewitt Yancey began in the second grade, he said. From performing in their third-grade band class together to watching Yancey work on beats in his basement on Nevada Street, J Dilla taught Moorer-El the value of professionalism, practice and patience, he said.  

Celebrating what would have been Yancey’s 50th birthday on Saturday felt like a key part of passing on that lesson to other kids in Detroit, he said. 

“To me that’s the beauty of it all,” Moorer-El said. “Being able to tell this story, pass the knowledge on to the next generation that can take that and run with it.” 

Moorer-El played beats for families and explained how J Dilla’s influence expanded to become a global sound. Standing behind a DJ set, Moorer-El described J Dilla’s work with iconic artists and how J Dilla’s unique sound revolutionized the sound of hip hop. 

“Detroit made the best,” he told the children sitting before him. “You will be the best. You can be the best too.” 

Ron Johnson, executive director for Spin Inc., led a workshop on DJ’ing, guiding the hands of one girl onto the records to show her how. 

Johnson, who also teaches martial arts and performs under the name DJ Jungle 313, said celebrating J Dilla’s beats felt like another chance to give Detroit children something better to listen to. 

“Who wants to DJ?” he asked the room full of children. Hands shot up through the crowd. 

Alkebu-lan Village began as a martial arts school for Black Detroit youth in 1978, a time when martial arts and Black liberation were visibly intersecting in American culture, said Gregory McKenzie, business development coordinator at the Village.   

The Village has since built onto that mission to offer other community events for the arts, students and families. Educating youth about J Dilla’s international legacy was a part of that, he said. 

“We are saying, ‘This is a big world, and there are very many things that happen in it,'” McKenzie said. “’Here is one such example of how you can break out of the mold, out of the low expectations and into great possibility.’” 

Some kids shouted out the names of their favorite J Dilla songs. Others listened excitedly as organizers told stories about the musical giants who first came from Detroit’s Motown and hip hop scenes.  

Nikita Cunningham, 35, brought her children to the event seeking community more than anything, she said.  

Alkebu-lan Village has been a good space to stay connected with other Detroiters and educate her kids about the city’s culture, she said.  

“The next J Dilla, the next Marvin Gaye, the next Melvin Williams, whoever that may be from those great musical genres of the past, is right here right now,” McKenzie said. “But it’s the exposure to the information and realizing that someone just like you, from where you’re from, was able to do this, that makes it possible for them.”