The Roots, Erykah Badu, and more honor J. Dilla’s legacy
The final day of headlining concerts at the BET Experience was centered on the love of hip-hop. While acts such as Kendrick Lamar, Ice Cube, and Snoop Dogg were holding a West Coast takeover at Staples Center, The Roots and Erykah Badu had a late night hip-hop party of their own at Club Nokia. The artists along with a few special guests came together to pay homage to the late James Dewitt Yancey, a.k.a. J. Dilla, and his legacy.
Dilla’s soulful and hip-hop beats inspired some of the biggest hip-hop records, and to this day there are many artists who still pay tribute to the producer and his work. The Roots and Badu are just a couple of the artists who were fortunate to work with the talented individual. Even if you weren’t too familiar with Dilla’s handprint within the industry, by the end of this concert, you felt a sense of validation as to why you fell in love with hip-hop.
Black Thought, Questlove, and their fellow Roots band mates opened the show performing a few of their own hits such as “Dynamite” and “Stay Cool.” Erykah Badu is known for making a theatrical entrance and this night wasn’t any different. She glided across the stage on a motorized skateboard as she enticed the crowd with her hit songs “Window Seat” and “On and On.” She acted as the co-anchor of the hip-hop ship as she added vocals to songs by The Roots and sang between each act.
Busta Rhymes was the first special guest to join The Roots on stage. Although he had some technical difficulties with his microphone, fans were still able to rock out with the rapper on “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See” and “Woo Hah.” He told a heartfelt story about how he first met Dilla through Q-Tip and how their friendship evolved over the years. Busta had all the fans jumping around as he ended his set with “Pass The Courvoisier.”
Although Dilla is known for working with a number of solo rappers, he also made his mark with collective groups such as A Tribe Called Quest and The Brand New Heavies. Badu came back out letting the audience know, “We’re going to take you to Detroit” and to everyone’s surprise the legendary group Slum Village took the stage. They kept the party going with a number of hits including “Fall In Love.” Once Slum Village finished their set, Los Angeles group The Pharcyde came out and performed a few of their biggest hits such as “Runnin’” and “Passin’ Me By.”
The vibe of the crowd started to mellow out once The Roots brought out soulful singer Bilal to the stage. The Roots and Badu continued to sing hits in between each act, including Badu’s song, “Love Of My Life.” Soon after Black Thought hinted to the audience about bringing Ms. Hill to the stage, the crowd went wild at the thought of Lauryn Hill gracing the hip-hop heads with her presence. However, before Hill came to the stage, Badu told a brief story about how she first met Dilla and being so inspired by his music.
Once they introduced Lauryn Hill for the second time, the crowd was ready to learn a little Miseducation for the night. She came out in true Hill fashion with three background singers as they performed “Lost Ones” and “Ex-Factor.” She closed her set with a thrilling performance of “Doo-Wop (That Thing).”
Badu came back to close the show with her memorable Roots collaboration “You Got Me” and her Dilla-inspired track “Telephone,” before leaving the stage in a warrior stance. So what’s the melody behind the Dilla tribute? For the hip-hop purists, this is the type of show one usually dreams about. The Roots and Badu along with their friends accomplished a touching celebration for their fallen friend who is dearly missed, but his music lives on forever. #ForDilla.
