Summer Concerts at The Broad: Dilla’s House

Moodymann

Kenny Dixon Jr., aka Moodymann, has been clearly amongst the loudest voices when it comes to preserving the rich heritage of Afro-American music while fighting the industry powers that be. Blessed with an immaculate way of sampling, he takes blues and soul respectfully to the next level. From his dark and dusty deep house tunes on Peacefrog, Planet E, and his own KDJ label, to R&B-drenched outings on the Mahogani Music imprint, Moodymann’s fingerprint is unmistakable. He is committed to keeping a distinctly Black imprint on techno and house. Having worked at several Detroit record stores in the mid-nineties including a store owned by producer Blake Baxter, he was also the resident DJ at the Detroit-based Outcast Motorcycle Club. Moodymann’s sound is a hybrid form of techno/house dance music arrived at via innovative use of reworked riffs, samples, and grooves. While he may frustrate people with his refusal to be interviewed and insistence on reminding people of the genre's origins, the soulfulness of his output is unquestioned. Utilizing classic soul and jazz samples, low-slung bass lines, and an approach to drum programming that is diametrically opposed to the tendency to push the tempo faster and faster, he has achieved classic status thanks to gems like "Sunday Morning," "Shades of Jae," and his remix of Innerzone Orchestra's "People Make the World Go Round.”

Photo by Donovan Glover

Dez Andrés

World famous DJ Dez aka Dez Andrés was destined for a life in music. The son of Humberto "Nengue" Hernandez, a world-renowned percussionist, he got his first drum set at the age of three. While hanging out in Amp Fiddler’s home studio in Detroit, he met J Dilla, who recruited him to DJ for his hip-hop group Slum Village. Parallel to revolutionizing the U.S. rap landscape with the new-found electrified smoothness of S-Villa, Dez Andrés went on to explore his hometown’s house legacy from the late ‘90s onwards and released a string of 12-inches on KDJ. He later released three acclaimed full-length albums for Mahogani Music, which put him on the map as one of the most versatile figures in dance music. In 2012, Dez Andrés inaugurated his own La Vida label with the future classic “New For You,” which became one of the decade’s most delectable dance floor cuts, selling out multiple pressings. Seven years since the crowd-pleasing “New For You,” his latest release, Andrés IV, catches him at a professional peak, coming off a run of singles that was among the decade’s most pleasurable, making it clear that he’s a vital part of the musical landscape and Detroit’s musical lineage.‍

Photo courtesy of the artist 

Mark de Clive-Lowe

Musical maverick Mark de Clive-Lowe seems otherworldly at first sight, juggling beats, synths, live remixing all on the fly, brought to life with a casual ease that’s mind-boggling. In his formative London years, the half-Japanese New Zealander helped evolve broken beat, establishing himself as a pioneering voice in progressive electronic music. He’s collaborated with a "who’s who" of soulful club music including Kenny Dope, Jody Watley, DJ Spinna, Joe Clausell, Ge-Ology, Restless Soul, Dego, Waajeed, and so many more, effortlessly blending genres and forms. After London, MdCL was based in Los Angeles for over a decade where his acclaimed club night CHURCH took his brand of technology and beat-infused jazz mash-up from across the USA and further around the globe. MdCL is equal parts house head, jazz musician, and live production wizard, and his sets are a treat for the dancers, the progressives, and the purists alike. He creates everything you hear by hand from scratch — beat by beat, record by record. Whether he’s bumping creations for the dancefloor, remixing classic Blue Note Records on the fly, on stage joined by the likes of Kamasi Washington or Omar, or creating solo at a grand piano with a drum machine, MdCL is “a musical force unlike any other” (Popmatters).  

"Way before jazz hybridity became a worldwide phenomenon, de Clive-Lowe was busy designing its blueprint.” —Jazziz

“The man behind a million great tunes." —Gilles Peterson

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Dames Brown

Their show is a delicious buffet of non-stop, pulse-pounding house music that drives concert fans into a frenzy. The beat, the melody, the energy, the dancing, the vocals — it’s all there. The ladies of Dames Brown are going to rock your world. Detroit has produced a lot of notable girl groups from the Motown era and beyond. The city has been a hotbed of talent in the areas of gospel, soul, blues, rock, hip-hop, and techno. Enter Dames Brown — an eclectic group of singers from Detroit who have made their mark on the house music scene, both at home and abroad. Originally formed in 2008, Dames Brown have since been featured on albums by noted artists Amp Fiddler, Will Sessions, Ben Westbeech, Horse Meat Disco, and Lee Scratch Perry. They have also released their own wildly popular tracks, have received a “Detroit Ambassadors” award, and have been nominated for Best R&B Female Group and Best Urban Album at Detroit’s two main music awards shows. You better believe they’re going to bring down the “house!”

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DJ Rashida

After getting her first pair of turntables in 1998, DJ Rashida has gone on to play her signature fusion of hip-hop, funk, soul, dancehall, and house around the globe at music festivals, concerts, private events and on television. In 2004 after playing what would be the first of many parties for The Artist, Prince approached her about collaborating. Soon after (and for the next 10 years), she would tour the world with the superstar, spinning as an opener for his shows, as well as at his private parties and special events and performing live with him on shows such as The Tonight Show, George Lopez, and The BET Awards. In addition to her work with Prince, she is a familiar sight at the world’s most important music festivals, playing for thousands at Super Sonic in Tokyo, Good Vibrations in Sydney, and the Lollapalooza Festival in Chicago to name a few. She was the house DJ on MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew as well as on The Arsenio Hall Show revival. She is frequently called upon to spin for a bevy of corporate and celebrity clients worldwide. Rashida has also crossed the globe touring with Grammy-winning and nominated artists Kelis, Cee-Lo Green, and Pharrell Williams. Today she continues to tour and play for artists and clients around the world, most recently as the opener for Bruno Mars's 24k Magic World tour (US, Europe & Africa). Acclaimed not only for her DJ skills, but also as a cultural influencer and fashionista, Rashida has been featured in Vogue Italia, Essence, Vibe, The Source, Flaunt, Remix, Dazed & Confused, and Refinery 29, to name a few. She is currently the campaign model for avant-garde sunglass makers GreyAnt. Rashida has also made cameos as herself in music videos like Prince’s “Black Sweat” and most recently “Finesse” by Bruno Mars.

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Ashley Younniä

Ashley Younniä is a New Jersey-born, LA-based DJ, knowledge producer, and storyteller celebrating the deep-rooted power of house music in the Black American experience. Drawing from her cultural upbringing, she honors the legacy of Black art and music, inviting everyone to connect, release, and tap into themselves through her spirit-lifting DJ sets. Follow her journey on Instagram at @AshleyYounnia. 

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J Dilla

J Dilla, the beloved record producer, drummer, rapper, and songwriter, died in 2006 at the age of 32 of a rare blood disease and is considered one of the most influential producers in hip-hop and popular music. Having emerged in the mid-1990s Detroit underground hip-hop scene as a member of the group Slum Village, he was also a member of the Soulquarians, a musical collective active during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Photo courtesy of the Estate of J Dilla