Comments on: Review: Mos Def Big Band J Dilla Tribute Show

By: Alex

Alex — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 22:45:41 +0000

Actually, wanderlust is right, it wasn’t produced by Dilla. It was produced by Ayatollah who did a lot of other work with Rawkus artists at the time including “My Life” by Styles P and Pharoahe Monch.

I’m not sure why he decided to do that song at the show - maybe that was just Mos lettin’ his own catalog live at a Mos Def show.

By: ONI

ONI — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 16:38:20 +0000

“Oh and Ms. Phat Booty wasn’t produced by Dilla..”

Really??, then I wonder why Mos chose to do that song at the show…

By: Alo

Alo — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 00:34:22 +0000

I’m not sure if this is totally correct but House Shoes (the Godfather of Dilla tracks) said Ma Dukes only got ONE DOLLAR from every ticket. I paid $35, so if that is true I should smack Mos in the face, rob him and give Ma Dukes the loot!

By the way I was the one who gave him those cd’s when he went in the crowd, if ur shoppin for beats and want a copy of the tracks email me at alogenius@gmail.com. Real rappers only.

By: Thandiwe Thomas

Thandiwe Thomas — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 08:24:00 +0000

I am a Detroiter now living in California and when I heard about the event I felt a tinge of jealousy It would’ve been a event I would’ve like to see firsthand. Does anyone know if video or music will be released of it?

By: Wanderlust

Wanderlust — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:58:56 +0000

I thought the show was okay. The band didn’t seem all that great to me…there were points in the performance where it seemed like they just got lost. Then again I’ve seen The Roots perform many times, so I guess my expectations were too high. They did a decent job though. “The $, Fantastic,Thelonius,Stakes is High stood out..E=MC2 too. I got the improv notion, but as vast as Dilla’s cataloge is, I would have liked to hear more songs! At some point, a twenty minute song comes off as trying to fill time.

Being that I flew in from North Carolina, I was kinda hoping to see him perform with other artists that he worked with from The D. I do believe that Slum Village was on tour in Europe at the time though…don’t take that as gospel though. There were still a gang of solid artists right there in The D though. I was kinda hoping to see them. Would have been cool to see Mom Dukes too. I know one can’t have EVERYTHING they want..but I’m just saying. lol

My thing was that on paper, it had the potential to be CRAAAAZZY! They really could have banged it out. I just hope that people left the performance with some sort of feel for J Dilla’s contribution to music. Even if they were confused about the show, perhaps their curiosity about Dilla grew and they will seek things out on their own.

Any idea how much money was donated to the J Dilla Foundation as a result of ticket sales…like per ticket?

Oh and Ms. Phat Booty wasn’t produced by Dilla..

By: Alex

Alex — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 02:31:13 +0000

I don’t understand why Mos didn’t commission original members of Slum Village to play actual Slum Village songs [since they live only 40 minutes away], especially when it seemed Mos may have just learned the words. There was one point where he went behind the piano to read a piece of paper, which…

I was thinking the same thing about Slum. I don't seem them turning it down outright or demanding too much money to where it would have broken the show's budget.

I can see not having Common or the Roots - because it would have cost too much - but not having SV didn't make sense when Mos was doing their verses.

Also, I think that piece of paper was probably a set list. If i remember correctly, he checked it right after the first song/into and he didnt really do many verses for a while afterwards, so it wouldnt seem like there were lyrics on it he was trying to remember.

By: Hubert / Spartanaire

Hubert / Spartanaire — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 18:24:35 +0000

I must say that this event seemed confused and partially-forced. I cannot imagine this was Mos Def’s idea. If it was, I would think he would have made a much more concerted effort to include other folks to perform with him.
An interesting - no, fitting - tribute show would have included The Roots and Common , which I’m sure Mos has their numbers on his smartphone.
I definitely understand the scUM (just jokes) student’s sentiments, being that if one who was a fan of Mos Def and paid $XX to see him perform, only to hear him rhyming / scatting over beats he’s never heard of before, I’d be a bit confused too.
I knew every song that Mos attempted to do justice. The band was tight. Mos knew most of the words. I don’t understand why Mos didn’t commission original members of Slum Village to play actual Slum Village songs [since they live only 40 minutes away], especially when it seemed Mos may have just learned the words. There was one point where he went behind the piano to read a piece of paper, which… yeah, I’m wondering what was on that.
Anyway, in terms of tributes, it was pretty lackluster to me. I am not the biggest Mos Def fan. I do respect the man, especially in terms of his activist work and his movie roles. Musically, he has lost me. I must say I was glad he didn’t try to include more of his own work into the set, because that would have been devastating since I came there to see a DILLA tribute. At the same time, I noticed that it seemed like Mos Def was booked to play first, then the idea to do a tribute for MLK Day second. I guess I cannot be that mad… $80 for 2 tickets later. o rly.
Whatever whatever though, I will wait for The Roots to do something. I imagine ?uestlove will do it properly and I’ll go just about anywhere to see that transpire.

Prop to scUM (again, just jokes) for trying.

By: UM Student

UM Student — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 01:09:20 +0000

I agree with the sentiment that Mos Def did not present a clear message to the audience– I also left without really feeling anything about Jay Dee specifically or having learned the significance. However, I did find out after reading the article published in The Michigan Daily that my lack of understanding was partially caused by my inability to recognize what songs he was trying to incorporate in the performance. After reading that article I found that while I didn’t recognize the music, he was expressing tribute through mixing and performing J-Dilla compositions. When these were named (and there were many) I realized how I might have percieved the performance differently if I were more versed in J-Dilla’s discography. I don’t think this pays tribute in an academic sense so maybe he shouldn’t be called “Professor Def”, but he expressed his tribute to J-Dilla through his music and that’s all I expected.