February plays host to tributes throughout the world, as fans of all stripes come out to celebrate the man and his eternal music. I recently visited one of a series of tribute events in Los Angeles. Illa Jay, House Shoes, J Rocc, and Madlib all were there to reminisce and smile at the memories we all shared.

I hit the bar. Madlib orders a Martini next to me. I finger at the bartender and order two shots – Tequila. And two waters, tap, please. After reminding Julie of the tragic story of the famed producer (she’s been to her fair share of Dilla related events), we concurred that it was necessary to drink in his honor.

Turning to Madlib, I ask him what J Dilla’s drink was. He leans in. Hawaiin punch. I can’t believe it, but somehow I can. Motioning, he tells me how J Dilla preferred to smoke. It all made sense. Marijuana is the link that ties all of the hall-of-fame musicians together.

So this February, if you can’t make it to a tribute jam on your block, throw on some Champion Sound, and smoke ‘em if you got ‘em, for Jay Dee.

(legal disclaimer: I make no representation of what Madlib, aka Otis Jackson Jr., actually said or meant in any conversation with me. I’m a fan, and I’m not trying to blow up spots, slander, or defame his reputation as a serious,  professional artist)

The event was sponsored by the Red Bull Music academy. If you don’t know, the RBMA is some serious shit. They sponsor yearly conferences in exotic locales all over the world. This year it’s in Barcelona. It’s been in Sao Paulo, Seattle, Rome, and Cape Town among other world cultural capitals. These conferences bring together up and coming producers, DJs, and musicians for lectures, networking events, and, of course, studio time. Check out their podcasts on iTunes for past lectures and RBMA Radio for DJ sets and interviews with music luminaries.

Before things got underway, they had the honeys passing out the complimentary Red Bull, although I came totally expecting booze. Not even a Heineken? I can’t stand Red Bull. Two sips and I get a headache, but I appreciated the chance to gain some insight into one of my music heroes.

The panel was moderated by the hosts of XM’s The Rhyme and was broadcast live on satellite radio. Pete Rock and Talib shared some studio memories and of recoding in J Dilla’s basement studio. Pete shared how he was inspired by Dilla and how Dilla would call him in the midnight hours to let him listen to a beat he just made. Mrs. Yancey talked a bit about how Pete was one of Dilla’s icons growing up and how they came to be great friends over the years of friendly competition and collaboration. Talib told the audience about how anyone who worked with Dilla would have to come out the the Dirty D. Frank and Dank would be the tour guides and take guests on hours long drives of Detroit to give people the feel of the city before, finally, going to meet J Dilla himsel at his mom’s house.

Some of the cats in the audience tried to get deep with their questions asking Mrs. Yancey about health care for the urban poor. She shared some of her experiences dealing with her son’s battle with Lupus and how medication and treatment bills would get into the tens of thousands of dollars. Mrs. Yancey told us how she’s never felt greater love than she’s felt from fans towards J Dilla and his music. But it wasn’t always so. She wanted to send him to college to study engineering so that if his music career didn’t work out, he could have something to fall back on. Even as his work was getting recognized, she was worried that people were using him for selfish gains; how he was always content to be in the background, out of the spotlight, even as albums he’d worked on garnered Grammy nominations.

The night concluded with a live band recreating some of J Dilla’s most memorable beats. Led by Pete Rock’s younger brother, Grap Luva, they ripped through the creme de la creme of Jaylib, Slum Village, ATCQ, and Donuts. For a few key cuts, local MCs took the mic to spit their renditions of some of my favorite rap verses. Check the video:

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/y0w0h9j8RLg" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
Local favorite Flex Matthew takes to the mic to rip F*ck the Police (via Upset the Setup).

All throughout the night, the energy in the room was to the roof. During the panel discussion, everyone was as riveted as I was listening to some their heroes talking about another one of the greats that left us too soon. As Mrs. Yancey mentioned, J Dilla was there that night in spirit. He definitely would have approved of such a fitting tribute.

Some more photos of the night:

Sorry for some of the blurry shots. I’m still getting used to the camera, although it makes for some cool effects in some cases. Some better pictures from the night can be found here.