Photo by Gregory Bojorquez/Getty Images. Author photo by Noah Stephens.
We are pleased to present author and journalist Dan Charnas who will be giving a talk and reading at Southfield Public Library on Wednesday, May 24th at 6:30pm. His new book, Dilla Time: The Life and Afterlife of J Dilla, The Hip-Hop Producer Who Reinvented Rhythm (2022), chronicles the life of Detroit native J Dilla (James DeWitt Yancey). J Dilla’s methods and rhythms revolutionized hip-hop and influenced many artists across different genres, especially pop and jazz. Come celebrate the life of J Dilla and this new book. Copies of the book are available to purchase at Book Beat and will also be available at the event. Thank you to the Southfield Library who has allowed us the use of their space for this special event.
“It’s no ordinary book. . . equal parts biography, musical analysis and cultural history delving deep not only into Dilla’s history and music but also into the histories of rhythm and his hometown of Detroit.”–Variety
“Dilla Time is a portrait of a complex genius taken too young, as well as a glorious study of the music and culture he created.”–Spin
“Whenever I’ve been asked why Dilla was special, I didn’t feel like I had the right vocabulary to explain his importance–specifically the way he made work that was so perfectly imperfect that it redefined the way I thought about art. Dan Charnas to the rescue. He scaled the mountain of Dilla’s complex career and sent back instructions so that others could make the climb. This book is a must for everyone interested in illuminating the idea of unexplainable genius.” –QUESTLOVE
Mural by Victor “MARKA27” Quiñonez (IG: @marka_27) at Holbrook Street and Oakland Avenue.
Dan Charnas is a bestselling author, award-winning music and business journalist, producer of records and television, and professor. Recipient of both a PEN Literary Award and a Pulitzer Fellowship for Arts Journalism, he is the author of four books, was the co-creator and executive producer of the VH1 TV series The Breaks, and is an Associate Arts Professor at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University.