Metal Leaves Studio

Jack White, formerly of White Stripes fame, brings one of his latest musical endeavors back to the D. [& he has many] The Dead Weather performed at The Filllmore on Saturday.

Black cards, black cars, all black everything.

RIP BIG.

The Hamtramck Music Blowout is set to Explode! tonight. Events kick off at The Majestic Theatre in Detroit. This year's event will feature over two hundred bands, fifteen venues, spanning across four days- with Hamtramck as the backdrop.

This year's festival focuses on variety.  The event's promoter said that he wanted the theme to be musical integration. People can check out one set from Millions of Brazilians, then slide over to The Belmont to catch Friendly Foes. This makes perfect sense for many reasons.

It is all going down in one of Detroit's most ethnically diverse neighborhoods. A plethora of music venues reside in this two square miles town. Hamtramck holds the honor of being the country's leading Rock & Roll cities, [it came in at #2] due in large part to the festival itself. 

Detroit embraces the wide range of musical styles and genres available to us that other cities may lack. There is no shortage of pride to be found within the Detroit audience. It disguises itself as furious sweat, spilling off the crowd, it leaps off their logo t-shirts, and its glory is screamed onstage by the musicians themselves.

Tonite. TriBecA. Dame Dash's Gallery opening.
More to follow.

This past weekend, we attended a private gathering at Dame Dash's [not yet unveiled] gallery: DD172. Artist Vanessa Chakour presented 'Ma Dukes' Yancey with a portrait of her late son, J Dilla. 

Check out the recently launched J Dilla Foundation website for more information about the Foundation itself and to see how they are keeping alive both the legacy and dreams of J Dilla.

J Dilla Foundation Benefit in Brooklyn. [Donuts are Forever]

Yesterday the life and music of J Dilla was celebrated full force in Brooklyn. The tribute was orchestrated by DJ Metaphysic, Iverani. NobleStar, Drastic Measure, Jessica Estevez of iHEARTDilla.com, Fat Beats NY, The Bronx Museum, and Scratch Academy. 

Proceeds were given to the J Dilla Foundation. There will be an additional benefit tomorrow evening at The Bell House.