Tracking down J Dilla's synthesizer in D.C.

👋 Hey, Joe here. While in D.C. for our Axios staff retreat, I had to make a detour to check out a one-of-a-kind Detroit artifact — J Dilla's Minimoog Voyager synthesizer.

Driving the news: I've been listening to Dilla's music for years, but my interest went to another level recently after reading his biography, "Dilla Time."

• The book describes how his mother, Maureen Yancey, gifted the synthesizer to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture after Dilla passed away in 2006.

Flashback: We interviewed the author, Dan Charnas, about the book and Dilla's legacy.

What happened: As soon as I had the chance, I hopped on the D.C. Metro's red line and made my way to the museum.

• Tucked into a corner of its music exhibit, alongside Bo Diddley's guitar pedal and handwritten notes by Dilla's friend and collaborator Questlove, was the famous synthesizer.
• Jay Dee doesn't quite have the name recognition of other artists featured at the museum, so his machine's inclusion is a nod to his enduring innovation.

Quick take: It felt like the culmination of a music discovery journey that started years ago when I started listening to his group Slum Village, and evolved into a deep appreciation of his more obscure tracks that I discovered by reading the biography.

• Staring at the synthesizer, I imagined Dilla turning the dials and striking the keys at his home studio in Detroit.