Funeral Services For Producer J Dilla To Take Place In Los Angeles

Funeral services for Detroit rapper/producer J Dilla, who died Friday (Feb. 10) of complications from lupus, will take place this week in Los Angeles. He was 32. A viewing for J Dilla, born James Yancey, will be held Monday (Feb. 13), followed by a funeral on Tuesday (Feb. 14). A memorial concert is also being […]

Funeral services for

Detroit rapper/producer J Dilla, who died Friday (Feb. 10) of complications from

lupus, will take place this week in Los Angeles. He was 32.

A viewing for

J Dilla, born James Yancey, will be held Monday (Feb. 13), followed by a funeral on Tuesday (Feb. 14).

A memorial concert

is also being planned.

Sources told AllHipHop.com

that rappers Q-Tip and Common are among the concert organizers, though the venue

has yet to be determined.

J Dilla, also known as "Jay Dee," was a founding member of the rap

trio Slum Village. He left the group in 2003 to pursue a solo career and has

since produced songs for Common, Erykah Badu, Busta Rhymes, The Roots, De La

Soul, The Pharcyde and others.

In 2004, J Dilla revealed that he had kidney problems and in 2005, the rapper

spent a considerable amount of time in the hospital fighting the disease, which

causes the immune system to attack the body’s own tissue and organs, including

the brain, heart, lungs, blood, kidneys, skin and other vital organs.

According to the Lupus Foundation of America, approximately 1.5 million Americans

have a form of the disease, which affects men and women of all ages.

Lupus is two to

three times more common among African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians and Native

Americans.

In the most severe

lupus cases, the immune system cannot tell the difference between foreign substances

and its own cells and tissue. The immune system then creates antibodies to protect

against its "self."

Before his death, J Dilla had been working on The Shining, the follow-up

to his 2001 solo debut Welcome To Detroit.

The album was slated

to drop independently, via BBE in June.

While in the hospital

and in his home studio, J Dilla also crafted the recently released instrumental

album, Donuts.

"Jay was one of my favorite Hip-Hop producers of all time," said BBE

Founder Peter Adarkwah. "His passion for music was a rare thing amongst

people in the music industry. His music and presence will be sorely missed for

many years to come."

Detroit rapper Guilty Simpson, who worked with J Dilla on various projects,

is featured on The Shining.

"J Dilla was

the best to do it. He influenced a whole movement in Hip-Hop," Simpson

told AllHipHop.com. "There isn’t a top-notch producer in the game [who]

wasn’t influenced by his sound. I just appreciate being able to work with him

and soak up some of the knowledge he gave me. He will never be forgotten."