BY JASON MORGAN E DWARDS


hop quartet known as DDAT, which released its self-titled debut CD in Spring 2018. The group is the fusion of the Delbert An-


J


derson Trio (DAT) with the solo rap performer Def-i, hence the acronymic name. DAT, the jazz trio, is comprised of Delbert Anderson (Bitaani Claashchi’i/Kinclichiinii Todachiinii Clans), Nicholas Lucero on drums and Mike McClu- han on upright bass. They have been playing as a group for a little better than five years, al- though they’ve known each other much longer. They met Def-i (Christopher Mike-Bidtah) about four years ago at the Festival. They’ve been performing together ever since. “We didn’t know him, personally,” An-


derson says of Def-i. “But, when we played a show, we invited him to join us, freestyle. We put it together really quick. People really liked the different genres fused together.” In true jazz tradition, the quartet began as


pure improvisation. But it is now a directed collaboration,


actually composing songs


together. Anderson laughs, “We thought we would just keep going with it, keep pushing towards whatever it is. We’re still fairly new. But, there’s a lot in store.” The DDAT sound is reminiscent of the


jazzy/hip hop groups Digable Planets, Gang Starr and A Tribe Called Quest. But, where Digable Planets featured spoken word po- etry over smooth jazz, DDAT mixes Def-i’s rapid-fire lyrics over more up-tempo, con- temporary jazz and funk. In another key dif- ference DDAT composes all its own original music, as opposed to sampling music from other musicians. The combination works because the styles


are not competing. Def-i says, “I feel like we both complement each other. The older


SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 11 E


azz and hip-hop met about four years ago at the Survival of First Voices Festival at San Juan College in Farmington, N.M., and decided they got along together very well. The result was the jazz/hip


PHOTO BY J. MORGAN EDWARDS PHOTOGRAPHY


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