MTV has turned to the Save The Music nonprofit organization to kickstart a grant in honor of J Dilla.
The MTV and Save the Music J Dilla Music Tech Grant is primarily focused on music production and will serve to assist students within the electronic music production realm.
“Dilla is the only hip-hop producer that literally changed the way musicians play music. You can always hear musicians trying to emulate him,” said Robert Glasper, a Save the Music ambassador, in an issued statement. “Dilla was definitely a unique and influential voice in music and I’m glad and blessed to have known and rocked with him!”
Also involved in the project is Pharrell Williams' i am OTHER brand and Arizona State University. The project will span across several years and will be centered around seven high schools in Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Miami, and Newark.
I’m so honored to have the J Dilla Music Tech Grant named after my son," said Dilla's mother, Maureen "Ma Dukes" Yancey. "This will continue his legacy and inspire the next generation of young creatives."
This now becomes yet another in over 2,000 initiatives started by the Save The Music program since its inception in 1997.