Live Concert Photography: Donuts Are Forever 11 at Brooklyn Bowl 2/19/17 feat. J. Period DJ Parler Miranda Maxwell and others
Production company Rare Form hosts Donuts Are Forever, an annual fundraiser and tribute that has taken over Brooklyn Bowl over the last years and is largely inspired by the life and music of one of hip-hop’s most beloved and influential producers, James “J. Dilla” Yancey, who tragically died from complications from Lupus in 2006 — and takes its name from Yancey’s seminal and posthumously released full-length effort Donuts Are Forever. Funds from the night go to the J. Dilla Foundation, a non-profit charitable institution, which helps fund the development of music programs in the inner city and provides scholarships to students enrolled at schools with progressive music curricula; in fact, this year, Rare Form raised more than $11,000 dollars from the night from ticket sales, a powerful reminder of the impact of Yancey’s life and of how music and art can transform and enrich lives.
The 11th Donuts Are Forever was hosted/emceed by hip-hop duo Tanya Morgan and featured DJ sets from J. Period, DJ Parler, Miranda Maxwell, DJ Soko and others. Check out photos from the night below.
J. Period is a renowned DJ and producer, who’s been hailed as a “music guru by Rolling Stone and named one of the “world’s Top DJ’s” by The New York Times. As a producer, J. Period has collaborated with an impressive list of multi Grammy-nominated and-winning artists including Lauryn Hill, Common, John Legend, The Roots, Kanye West and Mary J. Blige, as well as Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda on the critically applauded, best-selling The Hamilton Mixtape, an effort that mixes narrative and music in a way that redefines what could be done on a mixtape. J. Period has also composed material that’s been featured in the Emmy Award-winning film The Doctor, the critically applauded EPIX series America Divided, the NBA Inside Stuff, as well as for film trailers for American Gangster, Street Kings and others. Additionally, J. Period is the music supervisor for the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center and he’s credited with producing the Nets’ opening theme song in their first two seasons at Barclays Center.
His innovative performance series, The Live Mixtape and The Art of The Crossfade have been featured at the launch of The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, The Roots Picnic NYC in Bryant Park, SXSW and TED Talks — and as a DJ, J. Period has toured and played with The Roots’ Black Thought, The Roots, Lauryn Hill, Q-Tip and Kanye West.
