Last night Liv played host to some of D.C.’s hip-hop luminaries as they paid homage to producer/rapper James “J Dilla” Yancey, in what’s become an annual event, and raise awareness about the condition that cut his life short. The Detroit native died in 2006 from complications of Lupus. On hand Wednesday night were his mother, Maureen “Ma Dukes” Yancey, younger brother, John “Illa J” Yancey, and frequent collaborator, Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest….

Having spent a significant amount of time around the Southeast Michigan hip-hop scene, whenever I hear the name J Dilla uttered, my ears perk up. He was responsible for shaping my listening choice more so than any other artist. The Detroit native produced a number of works during his career which ran from the mid-1990s until his death in February of 2006. A few artists who are a part of his discography include Janet Jackson,…

We’re soldiering on with the second installment of our local lineup of 2006 favorites. Today we’ve got picks from Geologist of Animal Collective, Kat of Hello Tokyo, DJ Kaveh Soroush, DJ Aaron Lee of Dirty Sugar, and Chris & Alexia of Soft Complex. Geologist J Dilla, Donuts This album comes pretty close to perfect for me. I like hiphop but i’m not really into the lyrics so the beats have to do a lot for…