Legendary hip hop group De La Soul joins the Kennedy Center’s New Hip Hop & Festival –
for Robert Glasper
Black Radio: A Duke x Dilla Celebration
Saturday, March 30 at 8 p.m.
(WASHINGTON)—The Kennedy Center announces Grammy®-winning American hip hop group De La Soul as a powerful addition to its new festival series, Hip Hop &. The iconic artists will join five-time Grammy Award®–winning pianist, composer, producer, and founding Kennedy Center Hip Hop Culture Council member Robert Glasper; two-time Grammy Award®–winning composer, conductor, arranger, musical director, and bassist Derrick Hodge; and the renowned Black Radio Orchestra to celebrate the 125th and 50th birthdays, respectively, of music icons Duke Ellington and J Dilla in the Concert Hall on March 30 as part of Black Radio: A Duke x Dilla Celebration. The event will be followed by a not-to-be-missed afterparty in the Club at Studio K, hosted by Emmy Award–winning drummer, producer, and DJ Karriem Riggins.
This year’s Hip Hop & Jazz festival represents an annual season focus highlighting hip hop’s intersections with other genres, forms, and disciplines—each year, Hip Hop & will explore the evolutionary and multitude of ways that hip hop impacts culture.
ABOUT DE LA SOUL
De La Soul is a New York trio whose members Posdnuos, Trugoy, and Maseo created the hip hop masterpiece 3 Feet High and Rising, initially released on March 3, 1989. The group is best known for their eclectic and innovative sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of jazz, rap, and alternative hip hop subgenres. The group won the Grammy Award® for Best Pop Vocal Collaboration for their song “Feel Good Inc.” with The Gorillaz in 2005. In 2015, De La Soul raised over $600,000 on Kickstarter from fans to independently release their 2016 album And the Anonymous Nobody…, which was their first No. 1 on the Rap Albums chart and was also Grammy®-nominated for Best Rap Album. In 2023, after years of legal battles over rights and ownership, De La Soul finally regained access to their back catalog and released their entire catalog to all streaming platforms on March 3, 2023 (34 years to the day after 3 Feet High and Rising was released). With the passing of David Jude Jolicoeur, aka Trugoy the Dove, on February 12, 2023, Posdnous and Maseo continue to carry forth the group’s ongoing legacy.
ABOUT HIP HOP & JAZZ
The inaugural festival, Hip Hop & Jazz, celebrates the dynamic relationship between hip hop and jazz over the course of several exciting programs. The festival kicks off on March 27 with a special jazz and hip hop edition of the Kennedy Center’s popular Hip Hop Listening Sessions. March 29, the acclaimed Igmar Thomas’s Revive Big Band takes over the Club at Studio K for two performances. Five-time Grammy Award®–winning pianist, composer, producer, and founding Kennedy Center Hip Hop Culture Council member Robert Glasper; two-time Grammy Award®–winning composer, conductor, arranger, musical director, and bassist Derrick Hodge; and the Black Radio Orchestra celebrate the 125th and 50th birthdays, respectively, of music icons Duke Ellington and J Dilla with a special one-night-only event in the Concert Hall on March 30, Black Radio: A Duke x Dilla Celebration, followed by a not-to-be-missed afterparty in the Club at Studio K hosted by Emmy Award–winning drummer, producer, and DJ Karriem Riggins. Then, on April 19 in the Concert Hall, three legendary musicians—Rakim; two-time Grammy Award® winner DJ Jazzy Jeff; and Grammy®–nominated saxophonist, bandleader, and composer Ravi Coltrane—come together for a must-see event: The Rakim & DJ Jazzy Jeff & Ravi Coltrane Project, produced by Jill Newman Productions.
Tickets for the Hip Hop & Jazz Festival events are available via the Kennedy Center website or by calling (202) 467-4600.
The Hip Hop & Jazz Festival is dedicated to visionary concert producer, music impresario, and Founder & CEO of Revive Music Group, Meghan Stabile.
EVENT LISTINGS:
Hip Hop Listening Sessions: We’ve Got The Jazz—Jazz and Hip Hop Edition
Wednesday, March 27 at 7:30 p.m.
Club at Studio K
A very special Hip Hop Listening Session focused on the intersection between Hip Hop & Jazz. Whether it’s classic hip hop songs with iconic jazz samples, jazz compositions, covers, collaborations, or concept projects, we will be exploring the myriad of ways that jazz and hip hop intersect. This Hip Hop Listening Session features panelists DJ, rapper, producer, and professor DJ Raydar Ellis; multidisciplinary creative and founder of B-FLY Entertainment Paige Hernandez; acclaimed trumpeter, composer, bandleader, music director and founder of the Revive Big Band Igmar Thomas and more to be announced. It will be moderated by artist, producer, and Guggenheim Fellow Kokayi with sounds by radio personality, DJ, and member of 9th Wonder’s True School Corp DJ Face. It will also be complemented by a live performance set of Paige Hernandez and B-FLY Entertainment’s iconic Liner Notes highlighting the jazz and hip hop continuum through jazz standards, hip hop samples, and liner notes from your favorite artists.
Igmar Thomas’s Revive Big Band
Friday, March 29 at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
Club at Studio K
Founded by Igmar Thomas, the former Music Director and bandleader for Ms. Lauryn Hill and Nas, The Revive Big Band is not just a band, it’s a movement. Rooted in Black American music and combining jazz, hip hop, funk, soul, blues, and gospel, this multi-generational ensemble is made up of some of the most accomplished musicians alive today. Collectively, the band’s members have 27 Grammy® nominations and 13 Grammy® wins; have been praised in nearly every major media outlet including the New York Times, NPR, Okayplayer, Downbeat, Billboard, and others; and have performed all over the world and collaborated with some of the most well-known artists out there today: Common, J. Cole, D’Angelo, Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, Sting, Esperanza Spalding, Dizzy Gillespie, Talib Kweli, Gregory Porter, Bilal, Robert Glasper, and Pharoahe Monch. Since making its debut in 2010, the Big Band has performed at the Kennedy Center, Central Park SummerStage, Harlem Stage, BRIC, the Apollo Theater, Highline Ballroom, Blue Note Jazz Club, Winter JazzFest, Art of Cool Festival, and Ginny’s Supper Club. With a repertoire that features original compositions and inventive orchestrations of jazz standards and contemporary classics by artists ranging from Oliver Nelson, Wayne Shorter, and Freddie Hubbard to A Tribe Called Quest, J Dilla, Gang Starr, and Bilal, the Revive Big Band returns to the Kennedy Center for another exciting presentation.
Robert Glasper
Black Radio: A Duke X Dilla Celebration
Honoring Duke Ellington & J Dilla with special guests De La Soul and the Black Radio Orchestra, led and conducted by Derrick Hodge
Saturday, March 30 at 8 p.m.
Concert Hall
In honor of their 125th and 50th birthdays, five-time Grammy Award®–winning pianist, composer, producer, and founding Kennedy Center Hip Hop Culture Council Member Robert Glasper celebrates the iconic musical legacies of Duke Ellington and J Dilla through his genre shattering brand—Black Radio. This special one-night only concert will feature Grammy®-winning American hip hop group De La Soul alongside the Black Radio Orchestra led by two-time Grammy Award®–winning composer, conductor, arranger, musical director, and bassist Derrick Hodge.
A Duke x Dilla Afterparty
Featuring Karriem Riggins
Saturday, March 30 at 10 p.m.
Club at Studio K
World-renowned musician, producer, DJ and drummer Karriem Riggins comes to the Club at Studio K for the official afterparty to the 2024 Hip Hop & Festival and Robert Glasper’s Black Radio: A Duke x Dilla Celebration. Part dance party, part jam session the Duke x Dilla Afterparty is a kaleidoscope of music encompassing soul, funk, hip hop, and jazz in addition to classic joints, deep cuts, and original beats that will keep heads nodding and people dancing. A celebrated jazz musician, producer, DJ, and Emmy Award winner from Detroit, Michigan, Karriem Riggins has played some of the world’s greatest cities. With a career spanning over two decades, he has made a significant impact on the music industry with his versatile style and innovative approach to production. He has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry, including Diana Krall, Common, Erykah Badu, Paul McCartney, Robert Glasper, Talib Kweli, Steve Lacy, Detroit’s own Dwele, and the late great J Dilla. Whether in the studio or on the stage, Riggins continues to push the boundaries of music and inspire a new generation of musicians and artists around the world.
The Rakim & DJ Jazzy Jeff & Ravi Coltrane Project
Produced by Jill Newman Productions
Friday, April 19 at 8 p.m.
Concert Hall
An exciting collaboration between three brilliant and legendary musicians, The Rakim & DJ Jazzy Jeff & Ravi Coltrane Project is a must-see event for music and culture lovers worldwide. Conceived and produced by Jill Newman Productions and hosted as the closing event for the Kennedy Center’s inaugural Hip Hop & Jazz Festival, the “God MC” Rakim (who grew up with a love for John Coltrane’s music); the always magnificent and two-time Grammy Award®–winning DJ Jazzy Jeff; and critically acclaimed Grammy®–nominated saxophonist, bandleader, and composer Ravi Coltrane meld their incredible music, history, and influences together for one epic evening of music backed by a live band. The evening will also feature a special opening set by DJ Jazzy Jeff.
