DJ Battlecat helped shape the sound of West Coast rap. His work as a KDAY mixmaster, musician, and producer for artists like Domino, Snoop Dogg, and Tha Eastsidaz certifies him as a California rap titan. Now, he’s tasked with honoring another one of the genre’s trendsetters. One of the chief architects of DILLA JAZZ, DJ Battlecat is teaming up with a bevy of J Dilla’s collaborators and disciples to present live jazz- and hip-hop-flavored recreations of some of the late Detroit producer’s iconic beats, including seminal work with A Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes, Common, and others.
As DJ Battlecat readies for the DILLA JAZZ concert July 18 at The Ford in Los Angeles, he’s grateful for the opportunity to pay tribute to one of rap’s most acclaimed producers. In our Q&A below, Battlecat reflects on the late musician’s brilliance, discusses the emotional experience of encountering Dilla’s equipment, and working with other artists to present the upcoming event.
What makes Dilla a noteworthy producer?
Dilla is such a great producer for many reasons—for one, the way he selected parts of records that others wouldn’t in order to create his own material. His melody selection was just awesome. I knew that for him, coming out of Detroit was a great responsibility since he was standing on the shoulders of Motown. He did such a phenomenal job. That’s why we’re still celebrating his endless love for music.
As you said, Dilla was from Detroit, but he also spent a lot of time in Los Angeles, which is where you’re based. Did you get to know him at all when he was out here?
No, I never had a chance to meet J Dilla. But thanks to his brother Yancy and his mother, after his passing I got a chance to embrace and visit the home where he stayed and see his equipment. I rubbed it like a genie lamp and cried a couple of times, ’cause I could feel the essence of his spirit through his equipment.
“J Dilla’s crate and beat machine epitomized the spirit of hip-hop. It was the revolutionary form of what was available. His unique time signature and unconventional swing leant itself to jazz.”
Battlecat
What did you notice about his equipment that was maybe similar to your setup?
It was similar because of the selection of instruments that he picked, like his Minimoog Voyager. I had the Minimoog Model D, which is like its nextdoor neighbor. He had the newest generation of Moog. Of course, he also had the Akai MPC3000. He also had a RADAR Euphonix board I was familiar with that I’d first seen from two peers in the game of mine, Mr. Kenny McCloud at Blackhole [Music] and DJ Pooh. So to see that setup was just amazing.
Why does Dilla’s work lend itself to jazz?
J Dilla’s music, like mine, is a real symphony of influences. Generally speaking, parts of the foundation of hip-hop comes from the elegance of jazz and the pain of the blues. But growing up, we didn’t always have instruments. We had records from our parents’ collections or record stores through crate digging. I know my parents had records in the house. I’m sure his mother, Miss Yancey, had records in the house. So from the house to the record store, we became crate diggers. But J Dilla’s crate and use of the MPC3000 beat machine to sample jazz and rhythm and blues epitomized the spirit of hip-hop. It was the revolutionary form of what was available. His unique time signature and unconventional swing leant itself to jazz.
Bilal
J Rocc / photo by B+
How did you select the guests that are going to be appearing throughout the show?
I have a plethora of great people around me, like Bob Johnson and DJ QwessCoast, planning this DILLA JAZZ concert. We have some great vocalists and musicians—some who’ve worked directly with Dilla, like Bilal and J. Rocc, as well others who’ve been inspired by or embody the spirit of J Dilla, like Medusa, Cocoa Sarai, Daru Jones, Cameron Graves, Dominique Sanders, Josef Leimberg, Corey Hogan, and The Pocket Queen. Those are the musicians who are going to be the guests accompanying us on this incredible concert.
With Bilal in particular, why do you think he worked so well with Dilla?
Bilal was one of the vocalists—as well as Dwele and anyone else Dilla had come across to work with, like The Ummah family and Erykah Badu—who just had an incredible chemistry [with Dilla] that they showcased on the many records that they put out. Bilal’s spirit and his choice of vocal arrangements around Dilla’s music was just a marriage that really resonated with me and others, as well. Bilal is someone who I haven’t had a chance to meet myself, so it’s gonna be crazy hearing me behind Bilal. I’m just being the olive branch of J Dilla’s contribution, as if he was here doing it with Bilal. I just want to showcase that.
J. Rocc is another artist who worked extensively with J Dilla. What’s it like collaborating with him for DILLA JAZZ?
To collaborate and have him as a part of this, one of my go-to favorite musicians and people in music, it’s a win-win because he understands the culture. He has a relationship with all of J Dilla’s family, and he knows California culture, so he was perfect to embody this thing. He has so much knowledge—I couldn’t have pulled this off without having him involved. He was so happy that I thought of him to be a part of this, because we’ve been doing some crazy things with J Dilla on other platforms, like when we do Dre Day, or even when we did some things with Dr. Dre on Dre’s radio station The Pharmacy on Apple Beats 1. We always kept Dilla in mind in everything we did, and we watched others appreciate and love him like we did, so I had to have J. Rocc. I couldn’t do it without him.
As far as your role in DILLA JAZZ, since you’re a DJ and you’ll have other DJs, singers, musicians, and rappers on stage with you, are you serving as a conductor of sorts?
It’ll be a little bit of everything across the board. I’m a musician, so I’ll be playing in the band. I’ll be conducting and co-MDing [musical directing]. I’ve got Cameron [Graves] and J. Rocc to accompany me, as well—it’s a three-man lineup, as far as musical direction and expressing ourselves in this J Dilla tribute. I’m grateful that Bob Johnson gave me this opportunity. I do appreciate everyone else involved who were the original contributors to this movement, as well. I’m so grateful that they accepted and embraced me being the face of such an incredible concert and tribute to J Dilla. FL
DJ Battlecat
