Central High School in Detroit, a Title 1 school, has received a coveted Save The Music Foundation J Dilla Music Tech Grant to provide students state-of-the-art production equipment, technology and instruments to create electronic music and possibly a lifetime of opportunities.
The grant program was brought to Detroit by Cadillac after its success in six other cities.
“Music is a character- and self-esteem builder, a catalyst for learning both creatively and academically. It helps build well-rounded individuals that hunger to learn more,” J Dilla’s mom, Maureen Yancey, known as Ma Dukes, said at the ceremony announcing the grant. “The J Dilla Music Tech Grant is a grand investment for those students that want to expand the world around them, empowering them with new skills that will be instrumental and employable through the education it provides.”
J Dilla, who hailed from Detroit, died from a heart attack in 2006 at just 32.
