January of '06, I saw an advertisement for the " Hamtramack Blowout" and got pretty excited.  The "Blowout" is a sort of festival where basically you pay one price for  a wristband, and with that wristband  you can enter every bar in Hamtramack for 3 or 4 nights.  For those of you who don't know, there are what seems to be a million bars in Hamtramack and each one was to feature a lineup of hot local talent throughout the festival.  Detroit hip hop was well represented the previous year, so I was expecting the same for '06.

As the schedule for the performances started to pop up in the local papers, I was disappointed to find that their would be very little hip hop representation for '06.  I'm not quit sure what the reason was for the scarcity of hip hop, but I did manage to see an event that caught my eye.  A tribute to Detroit producer Jay Dee or J Dilla, who produced hits for De La Soul, Erika Badu, Janet Jackson and many more, was scheduled because he recently passed due to complications from a rare blood disease that kept him hospitalized for months at a time and created huge medical bills that still burden his family.  DJ Houseshoes was scheduled to bless the 1's and 2's and line up the performances for the night so there was no doubt the show would be worth the price of admission. 

The tribute was held at a small bar in Hamtramack called Chill and Mingle.  I entered the dimly lit spot when I noticed blown up pictures of J Dilla located around the DJ's set up and stage area.  Mics and mic stands were set up and ready to be wrecked.  A table was set up near the front of the venue and reserved for Jay Dee's family. 

As people slowly started to trickle in, DJ Houshoes spun Jay Dee produced joints until the show started.  First up was mic wrecker Finale who recited rhymes with precision for over 25 minutes.  After his set, BR Gunna's Black Milk dropped some pretty fly shit himself.  Original Slum Village crew member Baatin & his crew also blessed the mic.  All the sets were performed and received well. 

The table reserved for Jay's family was soon packed with his proud kinfolk, most of them lovely ladies.  Throughout the might, cousins, aunts and family friends made heartfelt remarks thanking every one for their support.  They seemed to be genuinely moved by the love people freely expressed for Dilla and his music.  Other people who knew or knew of  Jay took turns at the mic telling of how they too were positively affected by the man and his music. 

DJ Houseshoes blew the crowd away with the tributes he put together.  He had recorded voice messages that Pete Rock, De La Soul, Erika Badu and others made with their comments about Jay.  My favorite was the one from a member of  De La Soul, I believe it was Pos.  He told of how he and his crew were in town along with Q Tip.  They were in  Jay Dee's basement listening to beats.  He heard the beat that would eventually be "Stakes is High" and had to go in the other room to contain himself and tell his partner to act like the beat was corny so Q Tip wouldn't try to grab it.  I laughed my ass off when I heard the story.  When the recording finished, Houseshoes dropped "Stakes is High" and the crowd exploded.  The whole thing was pretty touching. 

For the rest of the night, Houseshoes played Dilla joints and we all stood around as if in a cypher and vibed to the man's creations.  People took turns at the mic singing along with the words.  People closed their eyes and zoned out and even danced a little.  I even saw one guy hugging the speaker while the music played.  It's very clear that this man's music touched people. 

Dilla died after years of  battling disease.  He would spend months at a time in the hospital.  He had to take weekly shots and lots of medication.  I've been told that these hospital stays would cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars each time and that his shots and medicines cost thousands of dollars a week.  The financial burden left on his family is huge.  If you would like to help, please contact his family to make donations and support any benefits that you hear of in his honor.  

Check out the Photos from the night

If you are interested in helping, please support upcoming benefit projects and make donations via bank wire to:

Wells Fargo Bank of Los Angeles, California, Routing number: 122000247, Account number: 6043250676, for details, call: 800-869-3557