NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) – MTV has joined forces with the nonprofit organization Save the Music to launch a grant named in honor of late rapper, producer and songwriter J Dilla.
Developed in partnership with Pharrell Williams’ i am OTHER company and Arizona State University, the J Dilla Music Tech Grant will focus on electronic music production and will assist students who produce and create through various computer programs, mirroring the current state of the music industry. The multi-year initiative will benefit seven high schools in Philadelphia; Brooklyn, Los Angeles, New Orleans; Miami; and Newark, New Jersey.
Commenting on the grant, Robert Glasper, the Grammy-winning musician and Save the Music ambassador, recently told The Associated Press: “Dilla is the only hip-hop producer that literally changed the way musicians play music. You can always hear musicians trying to emulate him. Dilla was definitely a unique and influential voice in music and I’m glad and blessed to have known and rocked with him!”
Dilla’s mom, Maureen “Ma Dukes” Yancey, said in a statement: “I’m so honored to have the J Dilla Music Tech Grant named after my son. This will continue his legacy and inspire the next generation of young creatives.”
J Dilla was revered for his work with artists including A Tribe Called Quest, Common, Erykah Badu, De La Soul, Busta Rhymes and others.
Save the Music was established in 1997. The organization has since launched more than 2,000 music programs in schools across the U.S.