The legacy of the late J Dilla will be celebrated this week during Dilla Day Detroit on Feb. 10 at the Fillmore.

Dilla Day is a worldwide event honoring the life and music of James Yancey, better known by his stage names, J Dilla or Jay Dee, a local rapper and producer who died in 2006.

J Rocc, of the famous Beat Junkies Crew will be the disc jockey, and there will be performances from worldwide hip-hop superstars such as Busta Rhymes, Jay Electronica and Phife of A Tribe Called Quest, along with local talent such as Phat Kat, Danny Brown and the Nick Speed Orchestra.

A portion of the ticket sales will help support the J Dilla Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to funding music education programs for underprivileged children in Detroit.

The event will also serve as the launch A portion of the ticket sales will help support the J Dilla Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to funding music education programs for underprivileged children in Detroit.

The event will also serve as the launch party for the Yancey Media Group, a music company started by Dilla’s mother, Maureen Yancey, who plans to release some of Dilla’s unpublished works. The first release is a new album called The Rebirth of Detroit, which will be released this May.

J Dilla is a legend in the underground hip-hop community, known for his unique production style, alternating between jazzy, energetic beats and soulful samples, to static, more electronic sounds.

Dilla’s music is the missing link between the Motown era that influenced him, and the modern hip-hop scene that he came out of.

J Dilla first rose to fame as a co-founding member of rap group Slum Village, before pursuing a solo career in 2000. J Dilla left behind a musical legacy that is unparalleled, working with icons of both hip-hop and R&B, such as Common, Janet Jackson, The Roots, and A Tribe Called Quest.

Despite his impressive body of work, J Dilla remained an underground figure.

J Dilla passed away Feb. 10, 2006, at age 32, from complications stemming from lupus. Hisalbum, Donuts, which is widely regarded as his best record, was released just three days before his death, with 29 of the 31 tracks composed while he was still in the hospital.

Dilla’s influence continues to spread posthumously, through his influence in producers such as Kanye West and Pharrell, to more unlikely sources, such as Cartoon Network’s “Adult Swim,” which
plays many of his beats during its bumpers between shows.

Similar Dilla Day events will be going in major cities around the world, from cities like Seattle, to London, to Tokyo. With Dilla Day Detroit being cast via web, all eyes will be on the city J Dilla called home.

“It’s going to be very special to have people right here in Detroit see his name up in lights and embrace his great legacy,” Maureen Yancy told the Detroit Free Press. “It’s very special that we’re doing it right here in his hometown. He loved his city.”