Award-winning DJ/producer/author/filmmaker Questlove comes to Deep Ellum for a first-of-its-kind event celebrating art, culture, and hip-hop.
Mixing breaks and samples with orchestral arrangements and visual media created exclusively for the Capital One-powered event, Questlove’s Hip-Hop Brunch: A Visual Journey Thru Hip-Hop takes place Saturday, April 16 at the Factory in Deep Ellum (doors open at 11 a.m).
It’s way more than just a Questlove DJ set, though: It’s nearly 90 minutes of hip-hop accompanied by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra … not to mention the immersive visuals, projection-mapped installations, guest performances, and thoughtfully curated vibe of it all.
Texas native and UNT Jazz alum Sylvester “Sly5thAve” Onyejiaka (producer, composer, saxophonist), who did the orchestration for the music, will also be conducting the DSO.
Originally from Austin but now based in Mexico City, Sly said coming back to his home state for a one-off show with Questlove feels surreal. It’ll be Sly’s first time meeting him, and his first time seeing the accompanying visuals for the music.
Ever the arts and culture patron, Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Questlove—whose “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)” has now inspired a new festival in Harlem next year—tapped local artists Jeremy Biggers and JM Rizzi to bring the musical narrative to life, visually speaking.
“It’s a full circle moment for me,” said Biggers, whose first concert was The Roots—right around the corner from the Questlove event—at the legendary Prophet Bar in Deep Ellum. (RIP, Prophet Bar.)
More information, as well as tickets and pricing info, are available here. Watch the Summer of Soul trailer below.
