Bowls & Coolout - J Dilla Tribute live at the Krispy Kreme (2006)

This, my friends, is one of the greatest gigs I've ever been a part of. It was a fairly mild night on December 16, 2006, and if you were a hip-hop head here in Nashville, you probably knew that Coolout and I were over at the Krispy Kreme on Thompson Lane, playing Dilla beats from 8:00 til midnight. If you weren't a hip-hop head, and you were just in the mood for some doughnuts, well...I guess you can consider the music as an added bonus.

I usually like to give a full chronological breakdown for stuff like this, but today I'll just hit you with whatever my memory can round up.

• Stones Throw sponsored the event and we also got Critics' Pick in the Nashville Scene. I've still got a few copies of that issue tucked away somewhere.


• Everyone who came to the shop for Dilla donated to the Lupus Research Institute. A lot of people who were just standing in line donated as well.


• Coolout was rocking off the CDJs and I brought a crate full of Dilla productions and original samples. Between us we had beats for days.


• This is the only time I ever drank and smoked in a Krispy Kreme parking lot. I think everybody else that night can say the same thing.


• The looks on the peoples' faces in line were pure comedy. I'd be shocked too if I walked in on turntables, loud speakers, and bobbing heads in a doughnut shop.


• I had just burned a copy of that Jay Love Japan advance that leaked, but I accidentally left it at home.


• A couple b-boys got down to some of the more uptempo joints. I have a picture somewhere of this dude doing a headspin on the concrete-tiled floor.


• My man Ted was in town that night, and he joined Coolout, Case, and I at Lay'la for the post-party. I definitely remember us skipping past a long line at the entrance. I know that it was only because Coolout knew the guys at the door, but it's more fun to think that we were getting the VIP treatment for rocking a Dilla tribute at a Krispy Kreme. You know, popping bottles and whatnot.

Big shout out to Mike for the video footage. I found this file buried in my music folder, and now it's up on YouTube over two years later. I know that Dilla tributes got kind of played and predictable over the course of the last three years, but I can honestly say that this ranks as one of the original and MOST original tributes to the man who left us with Donuts.

R.I.P. James Yancey aka Jay Dee aka J Dilla

Until next time,

Bowls

PS: FUNKY GOOD TIME TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY! It's Thursday night at Cabana. We're doing a James Brown tribute. Geezus might have a panic attack trying to pick just a few joints from his JB collection. See you there.