This One's for Dilla

Sidedoor

Smithsonian Institution

Science, The Smithsonian, Tony Cohn, Art19, African American History And Culture, Exhibit, Dc, Exhibits, Pop Culture, Zoo, National Museum, National Zoo, Natural History, Air And Space, Smithsonian, Postal Museum, History Of The World, History, Sidedoor, Museum, Washington, Society & Culture, American History

4.6 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 6 December 2017

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Even if you’ve never heard his name, you’ve probably heard his sound. J Dilla was a prolific hip-hop artist who collaborated with many hip-hop greats – from Questlove to Erykah Badu to Eminem. In this episode, we’re telling the story of J Dilla’s life and legacy through those that knew him best – his mother (aka Ma Dukes), James Poyser, and Frank Nitt – and some surprising objects on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Sidor, a podcast from a Smithsonian with support from PRX.
0:13.0	I'm Tony Cohn.
0:15.0	A few days ago, I saw this YouTube video and I can't stop thinking about it.
0:26.2	At a small concert venue in Paris,
0:31.8	hip-hop fans came out to see the group Frank and Dink perform with their friend and collaborator,
0:37.0	Jay Dilla, on their big European tour.
0:40.0	It was smokey and just cram packed. It was people everywhere.
0:47.0	That's Frank Bush, also known as Frank Knit. He's clearly the Frank half of Frankendank.
0:53.2	You know, Paris is always one of those places that
0:57.6	when you're in Europe like and for underground hip-hop the hip-hop we do. The crowds are always very passionate and very into it and basically lose their minds.
1:10.0	This crowd was especially excited to see hip-hop renaissance man Jay Dilla, a rapper,
1:17.0	producer, musician, and beatmaker who worked with boatloads of big name hip-hop artists.
1:23.2	They were just extra hype, like the anticipation
1:26.4	it was thick.
1:27.6	Before Dill is even visible,
1:29.4	Frank and Dink got on stage to hype up the crowd. You made some noise if you're already, man.
1:34.0	Not that they really needed it.
1:37.0	Say it.
1:38.0	Say it.
1:40.0	Come out.
1:41.0	Come on, come on. Before he's coming to the room before it's just the energy in the building was already up to without
1:49.9	and the way it was set up you had to go through the crowd to get to the stage.
	...

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