J Dilla’s life and legacy will be covered extensively with the premiere of The Legacy Of J Dilla on FX.
Premiering on April 7, The New York Times-presented film is “an intimate portrait” of the legendary producer who passed away in 2006. The Detroit producer’s family will appear in the documentary which covers his ascension to prominence and the difficulties in preserving his legacy since his death.
“I’m a Detroiter and I’m a fighter,” his mother Maureen Yancey told TV Insider. “I will stay in there and I will fight. I won’t let anybody put my son down, what I do for him down, because I’m here to lift up his music, his legacy.”
Christopher Frierson and Esther Dere handle the production and direction of The Legacy Of J Dilla, which heightens the excitement as they were also responsible for the popular docuseries The Weekly. The legendary producer is set to be honored in another special way by Questlove.
The Roots member will executive produce Dilla Time, which is an adaptation of Dan Charnas’ 2022 biography Dilla Time: The Life And Afterlife of J Dilla, The Hip Hop Producer Who Reinvented Rhythm. The documentary will be co-directed by Joseph Patel and Darby Wheeler, who produced Summer Of Soul, and J Dilla’s estate. It is set to be “part biography, part musicology, and part musical meditation,” according to a press statement.
“J Dilla was our teacher. And what he taught us was how to feel rhythm in a way we had never felt before. I’m so honored to be a part of bringing his story to the world through this documentary,” Questlove said about Dilla Time.
For those who can’t watch the 10 p.m. ET premiere of The Legacy Of J Dilla, have no fear. The documentary will be available for streaming on April 8 on Hulu.