J Dilla Changed My Life > Cargo0
Posted In Gigs,LDN Life by Speeakz
Sunday saw the annual “J Dilla Changed My Life” event go down at East London’s hottest spot (and my personal favourite venue) Cargo. The night pays homage to the man that changed Hip Hop forever, it’s an evening where Dilla is played and remembered and a night where every Hip Hop head (and a few bait scensters) congregate to celebrate the greatness JayDee left behind. And most importantly, it’s a night where 100% of the proceeds go straight to charity (J Dilla Foundation & Lupus UK)
I’ve attended this event for the past three years and it’s safe to say every year it gets bigger and better – 2009 was no exception. The event most certainly got bigger, look at that queue! I mean, damn, we got there early, trying to be clever, expecting to waltz right in but naaaaah bruvz, people weren’t rampin, we queued and queued and queued…and queued, until a good, good friend hooked us up and got us in (Nay Nay, I see you!). I can’t lie, towards the end of our wait, when the cold set in, we started to get pissed off - straight up the door process could have been dealt with a lot better, but fu*k it – we should have brought tickets!
THAT SAID we finally got inside Cargo and prepped ourselves for a night of awesomeness and boi, we were not disappointed. After a couple drinks and a chill by the sofa’s, we got up, headed to the main floor and rocked out to nothing buy Dilla, Dilla, Dilla, Dilla Dawg! The DJ’s on the night (who all played for free) included: Shortee Blitz, Mr Thing & Harry Love, Marc Mac, Morgan SpaceK, DJ Rags, DJ Lok & of course DJ Spin Doctor, all of whom were on point and kept their game tight the entire night…
It was Cargo at it’s best. A ram packed floor (literally couldn’t move), Hip Hop lovin’ folks, madcrazycool vibes and some very safe peeps (with the exception of a few fools). It truly was a celebration. I was by the stage the whole night soaking it all up with the crew and man, from beginning to end the crowd did not let up. Word for word, beat for beat, folks were going mental – each track sending the atmosphere higher and higher. I had the phattest smile on my face the entire night, just because I couldn’t help but think: ‘what a great way to celebrate a persons life’.
It didn’t matter that a few tracks got replayed because tracks like “The Light”, “The Red” and “F*ck the Police” don’t get rinsed, they get better! Dilla’s entire catalogue was played. I ain’t even gonna attempt to name the tunes that were pumped. Just believe that it was done proper. I gotta give a MASSSSIVE hand to DJ Spin Doctor, without who this night wouldn’t have been possible and of course, have to pay respect to all the DJ’s, staff and crew who donated their time and services to put on such a heavi event. Your hard work has most certainly not gone unnoticed.
And last but most certainly not least, the utmost respect goes to J Dilla. Not much I can that hasn’t already been said, so I’ll keep it simple: Rest in Peace Dilla Dawg.
Oh and Spin just announced that the “J Dilla Changed My Life” event raised over £3,500! Amazing! Icing on the cake really!
We now await next year – where we’ve been told the event will be taken to a bigger venue…Wise choice folks. Wise choice!
Peace, Love & J Dilla Changed My Life
Speeakz
Photography By: Alicia Eyes
