- Associated Press - Monday, July 21, 2014

DETROIT (AP) - A new Smithsonian museum will incorporate music production equipment owned by the late Detroit hip-hop artist James Yancey, known as J Dilla.

MLive.com reports (http://bit.ly/1nXJ2iJ ) Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., will showcase equipment donated by Yancey’s family. The influential producer and rapper died in 2006 at age 32 of complications from lupus.

The Smithsonian says Yancey’s custom synthesizer and beat machine will be on display with the museum’s pop-music collection.

Yancey was born and raised in Detroit, and was a member of Slum Village in the late 1990s. He left after the trio’s successful first album to pursue a solo career. He later worked with artists including Kanye West, A Tribe Called Quest and The Roots.

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Information from: The Grand Rapids Press:MLive.com, http://www.mlive.com