De La Soul To Play With Berklee J Dilla Ensemble at Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival
De La Soul will be headlining the 2010 Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival on it’s final day, Saturday, July 10, and be backed not by a DJ, but instead by an ensemble that exists to remember one of their frequent collaborators — the Berklee School of Music J Dilla Ensemble, according to a press release released from Berklee yesterday.
The Ensemble, which is the only musical group in the world solely dedicated to the work of J Dilla, consists of 9 members, which includes violinists, saxophonists and even MCs. The two-year-old group is overseen by faculty advisor, producer, DJ and MC, Raydar Ellis.
Students in the group are charged with examining, “[J Dilla]‘s repertoire in an academic light by deconstructing and performing the breadth of his catalogue,” and its existence, “[demonstrates] that the study of hip-hop has a place at a preeminent music school.”
Ellis’ group is also connected to the revamped J Dilla Foundation, headed by Dilla’s mother, Maureen Yancey. According to Ellis and Yancey, they hope that the Ensemble will serve as a way for the Foundation to do more youth outreach in the future.
The sixth annual Brooklyn Hip Hop festival is set to feature five days of “liberal” hip hop culture celebration. The events between July 5 and July 10 will celebrate music, fashion, politics, graphic art, DJing and many other aspects that surround hip hop culture. In addition, performances by the Duck Down Records’ roster, Curren$y, Fashawn, Skyzoo, Black Milk, Masta Ace and many others are scheduled in addition to De La’s headlining show.
The entire event will take place in various venues throughout Brooklyn. Visit the official website for full details, dates and times.
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