J Dilla Remembered

It's hard to believe it was only a year ago that beat-maker J Dilla passed away from complications due to lupus. At the time, he'd just released his instrumental project, Donuts, arguably the best album of his career, on his 32nd birthday. He died three days later. Naturally, the album was met with reviews that read like eulogies. Some were over-the-top, but virtually all of them acknowledged what critics had slept on for a decade... that Dilla was the greatest of hip-hop producers. Years before the release of Donuts, Dilla, AKA Jay Dee, pioneered the soulful sound of underground hip-hop as a member of Slum Village, then produced a litany of hits for everyone from Janet Jackson and Diane Reeves to the Roots and Erykah Badu. He may be gone, but Fort Lauderdale cats are eager to pay tribute. Come and celebrate the posthumous birthday of a legitimate hip-hop genius as DJs Kemf and Lumin revisit Dilla's lengthy canon all night long.

DJ Kemf and DJ Lumin perform Wednesday, February 7, at Roxanne's on Main, 3148 NE 12th Ave., Fort Lauderdale. Also performing are Breakdown, Effex, Earthworx, Protoman, and Famous. Doors open at 9 p.m. Tickets cost $5. Visit www.roxannesonmain.com.