Classical music is amazing. The little I’ve learned about/ heard live this year has really opened my eyes to what I had previously regarded as old people music. There’s an artistry involved so far beyond anything I can imagine that it makes me feel like I’m a baby looking at the Mona Lisa. Hearing “Also Sprach Zarathustra” last weekend blew my mind. It also drew me one step closer to understanding Kubrick’s floating Cosmic Baby from 2001: A Space Oddyssey. 
When it comes down to it though, as much as I appreciate classical, I love hip-hop. But I think it’s really fun when the two meet. Enter Live Footage, a classically trained duo that using their cello and drums, plays through 30 minutes of some of the late, great J Dilla’s body of work. James Yancey aka J Dilla passed away about five years ago. Since that time, the already legendary producer’s stature in the music world has increased exponentially. From influencing beatsmiths and rappers after him, to providing crucial inspiration for much of the chillwave movement, J Dilla’s legacy has helped mold the forefront of music. 
His stuff sounds great on its own, just as he made it. However, sometimes groups like Stray Phrases and Live Footage take it on themselves to perform the man’s music live using their instruments of choice. The sheer emotional power of what they create affirms the musicality of J Dilla’s work.
The guys from Live Footage take some of the beats from Dilla’s albums and work he did for the likes of De La Soul and Erykah Badu, and I think the results are stunning. Badu’s “Didn’t Cha Know” is particularly brilliant. It sounds like it was meant for the cello. The impeccable musicianship never lets up on the tape, and I know that I’ll have it on repeat all day today. So take 30 minutes and zero dollars, and have a listen to this. If nothing else, it’s a really interesting study of what can happen when two genres so often opposed in the public consciousness are carefully and reverently brought together.
And just because….Portland Cello Project plays Kanye’s “All of the Lights”
