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Detroit promoter and entertainment provider The Right Productions has teamed up with health and human service agency Neighborhood Service Organization to provide housing for artists in need. To help alleviate the issue of chronic issues of homelessness the two entities have launched the Tommy Garrett House as a solution for the local artistic community in Detroit.
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Located on the northwest side of Detroit, the Tommy Garrett House is a three-bedroom, 1,920-square-foot home designed to house six artists at a time. Named after the internationally acclaimed singer, songwriter and recording artist Tommy Garrett, who overcame homelessness with NSO’s support, this house aims to foster a nurturing environment for artists to live, build stability and create work safely in the heart of Detroit.
“Addressing the complex issue of homelessness is challenging. More than 1,500 people in Detroit experience homelessness on any given night. Despite nearly 6,000 households accessing housing assistance in 2022, a significant number are not officially considered homeless, but they lack access to safe and stable housing, resulting in a continuous cycle of transition,” said NSO president and CEO Linda Little in a release.
Little added that NSO’s collaboration with The Right Productions started when both entities conceptualized and hosted the inaugural Community of Hope concert featuring R&B artists Maxwell and Tamia. The Community of Hope inaugural concert, also hosted by the City of Detroit, took place in July of this year to energize, inspire and foster a community-wide drive to address the challenges faced by the unhoused and their families in metro Detroit. Funds raised from the Concert of Hope event were allocated to address homelessness by supporting housing and services tailored to the needs of the unhoused individuals, including those within metro Detroit’s creative community.
“The overrepresentation of Black individuals among the homeless population, the prevalence of domestic violence and the median length of 69 days for homelessness highlight the challenge, emphasizing the need for comprehensive, long-term and affordable solutions, such as initiatives focused on permanent housing,” said Little. “The Tommy Garrett House was created to do just that for local artists.”
President and CEO of The Right Productions Shahida Mausi added: “Sometimes you see a need and wish you had the ability to address it. I had long wanted a way to provide housing and support services for artists of many genres. Having worked with artists for my entire career, I’ve seen the gaps in financial and mental health services in the creative community. I dreamt of a place where creative people could feel supported and cared for during difficult times. I shared my dream with Linda Little at NSO, who has the expertise to bring a dream into reality.”
In addition to the Tommy Garrett House, the second annual Community of Hope is scheduled for Aug. 2-4 at Detroit’s Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre, which The Right Productions runs. The event will feature two evenings of inspiration and performances by various musical artists including headliner Kem. Efforts will also be made to connect the unhoused population in metro Detroit with community organizations that offer a comprehensive range of wraparound resources and will engage a colloquium of stakeholders.
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Source: Eric CATARINA / Getty
The Detroit music community is mourning the passing of funk legend Joseph “Amp” Fiddler who has passed away at the age of 65.
According to a post on his official Instagram, the beloved performer died after “an extensive and noble battle with cancer.”
The influential producer and musician is credited as being an instrumental force in the development of the career of James “J. Dilla” Yancey. It was Fiddler who taught Dilla how to use the Akai MPC sampling machine when the two lived as neighbors in the historic Conant Gardens neighborhood in Detroit.
A trained pianist, Fiddler played keys for George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic from 1985 to 1996. A post on the Funkateer’s official Facebook page salutes Fiddler, “Rest in eternal musical excellence Parliament-Funkadelic keyboardist Joseph Anthony “Amp” Fiddler (May 17th, 1958-December 17th, 2023). Fly on Amp! We love you dearly!”
On his own, Fiddler worked with Moodymann, Jamiroquai, and Prince, among others. His keyboard playing also appears on Seal’s 1994 hit “Kiss from a Rose.” In 1990 he released his first solo album With Respect under the alias Mr. Fiddler, followed by 2004’s Waltz of a Ghetto Fly and most recently 2017’s Amp Dog Knights, according to Detroit Metro Times.
Messages of love and condolences have been pouring in from across the world of Hip-Hop. Roots drummer, Questlove wrote on Instagram, “Rest easy brother Amp. For all those talks during the Pfunk tour. For all the music. Especially of course mentoring the one who mentored us (Dilla)——thank you brother 🙏🏾 #AmpFiddler”
Dan Charnas, author of the book Dilla Time, shared a message and an excerpt from his book where he explored how Dilla and Amp met.. “Some people give and ask for things in return, keep score, make sure they get theirs. Some people don’t. The latter group are quite rare. Joseph Anthony Fiddler was a true mentor. He transformed countless lives with his generosity. Thank you, Amp, for transforming mine. Thinking of all his people people today.”
Detroit Hip-Hop artists are deeply morning with many sharing memories of the legendary artist.
Messages of love and respect also poured in from X (formerly Twitter).
Details about the official celebration of Amp Fiddler’s life have not been disclosed. A GoFundMe is actively seeking funds to cover his funeral expenses.
In July, the National Independent Venue Association elected two new members to its board of directors including longtime independent promoter and venue operator Shahida Mausi of The Right Productions and The Aretha Franklin Ampitheatre in Detroit. Mausi, who has run her promotion company The Right Productions for more than 25 years, says the new position is giving her the opportunity “to bring my unique perspective from backgrounds in cultural affairs, government, non-profit and entrepreneurship” to the organization that is looking to take on unfair ticketing practices on a national level, in addition to continuing to advocate for independent venues from local to federal government.
Mausi’s expertise goes beyond the promotion company she founded in 1996. Prior to her independent business, Mausi worked in the non-profit sector and was the head of the Arts Council for the City of Detroit for 10 years. Her family’s roots in Detroit go back more than a century and Mausi’s commitment to bringing art to her hometown through the family-owned Right Productions (her four sons work throughout the company) and her stewardship of The Aretha since its opening.
“What you can do in Detroit with a vision or as an entrepreneur, you can’t necessarily do as easily in other markets. I’m not saying it’s easy,” says Mausi, adding “it’s because of the factory background and the strength of unions in Detroit and the role unions play in politics. You could be working on the factory floor impacting the union, which impacts who gets elected and therefore it gives you access to people that make things happen.”
Since the onset of the pandemic in 2020, Mausi and her sons have wielded their expertise and community building into helping found the Black Promoters Collective (which promoted Mary J. Blige’s 23-city Good Morning Gorgeous arena tour in 2022) and joined forces with NIVA, where BPC won the 2023 NIVA Idea award at the association’s annual conference. Mausi sat down with Billboard to discuss surviving economic downturns as an independent promoter and what comes next.
How do you get an independent production company off the ground?
With the cheekiness of youth, I called the general manager of the Nederlander Theater here in Detroit. Detroit is home to the Nederlanders. This is where the family came from. I called the general manager and said, ‘I don’t think you’re doing enough programming to serve the African American population of the city.’ They said, ‘well, I disagree,’ and there started a conversation and a friendship that has lasted 30 years.
[Nederlander’s Alan Lichtenstein] gave me the opportunity to help launch Broadway shows on their Detroit leg of national tours and whatnot. Early in the business, it served me well that I had spoken up and put my shoulder to the wheel when he did do more to serve this community.
When did you get involved with the Aretha Franklin Amphitheater?
When the building was first built, I was the director of the Detroit Council of the Arts. It was built by the city and I was running the department and, in that role, I did the first three years of programming. Between the time that I left, after those first three years, different entities have managed it for brief periods of time. Then there was an RFP [request for proposal] put out in 2004 and we won the bid. We’ve been managing it ever since.
Was that a difficult time to take over operations of the venue in Detroit?
Yeah. It was 2008 when the housing crisis shut down the economy with subprime mortgages, and Lehman Brothers and all those folks were crashing. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac failed that year, so we already had shows contracted and up on sale when the disposable income of people completely dried up and stopped. Nobody was buying anything. Nobody knew what was going to happen next. We had to honor those contracts regardless. General Motors – a mile from us – went bankrupt. [The Right Productions] could not afford to go bankrupt. If we had gone bankrupt, it would have been game over.
We had to negotiate our way through that crisis. We were able to weather that storm because we had a good reputation. If I tell you I’m going to pay you on such and such date or that I don’t know when I am going to be able to pay you but I’m gonna pay you, people took me at my word and I honored my word. I didn’t know if we were going to survive, but we pulled on our strength which was our reputation of honoring our word and our commitment to people.
You operated the amphitheater during another crisis, the pandemic. How did you get through that?
If we could only serve 100 people a night, then that’s what we were going to do. We were all shut ins for a year or more, and if you could give people just that, it was worth doing. It was crazy, but I am glad we were able to serve people. That’s what this is, ultimately. It’s facilitating a means of connecting people with things that lift them. It’s a stewardship of a stage and we’re honored to be able to do it.
Did being a family business help get you through the tough times?
I have four sons. All four of them function in different capacities here at The Right Productions and around the country. They all followed paths that were appropriate for their own personalities. They all went to college and brought back those skills. If it was not for family, we would not have been able to pull it through. Because family works when there’s not a dime on the table. I have grandchildren now and they are pulling and pushing and loading and unloading. In 2021, it was truly a family affair because we couldn’t hire people. I had cousins that flew in from New York, sleeping in my living room to help.
Can you describe how The Right Productions was instrumental in founding the Black Promoters Collective?
The pandemic was a good thing and a horrible thing mostly. When everything stopped, there was time to look and think of what could be planned and what could be better. My son, Sulaiman [Mausi] and the vice president of The Right Productions, reached out to other promoters that have a good reputation across the country and we began meeting on a weekly basis to talk about what we could do differently, what could do better in this industry, as opposed to being in our silos. So, we formed the Black Promoters Collective in 2020. That has been a game changer.
Last year, BPC scored a $60 million quarter on Billboard Boxscore before the Mary J. Blige tour. What has the reception been since those numbers came in?
It demonstrates that we have the chops. We have the skills to manage business on that level and that we can execute what is needed to deliver a major tour and to care of a major artist in the way they should be cared for. Let’s just say the business climate has been impacted by our success.
Are there plans to go beyond the U.S. and Canada?
We’ve had conversations. There are some things under discussion. That’s my goal. I’m always looking for growth. I’m always looking for the next opportunity and international touring is something that I want.
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Source: Scott Olson / Getty / Hill Harper
Author, and actor, Hill Harper is no stranger to the world of politics, and now he is looking to make a big splash in Michigan’s 2024 senate race.
The New York Times reports Harper hopes to add US Senator to his list of accomplishments after throwing his name in a Democratic Primary that will have plenty of people closely monitoring it.
Harper has pledged to run as progressive and hopes that will be enough to convince Michigan voters to choose him over Moderate Democrat Elissa Slotkin.
The actor best known for his roles on CSI: NY and The Good Doctor and now a first-time candidate is running on a campaign that will work towards expanding social security, making sure the people he hopes to represent will have access to affordable healthcare, addressing income inequality and tackling student debt.
He spoke about his campaign in an interview shared by the New York Times:
“It became clear to me that folks across Michigan don’t feel like they are being represented in Washington, D.C.,” he said, describing his conversations with people at farmers’ markets and union halls as he weighed his decision to run. The state’s Democratic leadership, which holds the governor’s office and both chambers of the Michigan Statehouse, he added, has “done a lot to move the state forward, but Washington is still broken.”
Harper Has Worked With Former President Barack Obama
Unlike some other celebrities, the 57-year-old actor isn’t new to politics. Harper was good friends with former President Barack Obama. The two men befriended each other while attending Harvard while playing basketball.
Obama would later appoint his friend to his President’s Cancer Panel in 2012, which worked alongside the National Institute of Health (NIH) that made recommendations to the Obama administration about cancer healthcare policies.
Hill Harper Isn’t Getting The Warm Announcement He Hoped He Would
Harper’s announcement is being met with a mixed reception. Some point to him misgendering Zaya Wade on her birthday while trying to push his book or for allegedly being transphobic.
Some people point out the Iowa native, who moved to Detroit in 2018, but barely stays in his home.
He also has some people excited about his Senate run. Actor Mark Ruffalo and Michael Skolnick both hit Twitter to support Mr. Harper’s run for the Senate.
You can see those reactions in the gallery below.
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Photo: Scott Olson / Getty
1. The Incredible Hulk approves
7. Well damn
Detroit’s beloved electronic music festival, Movement, returns to Hart Plaza tomorrow (May 27) for its 21st edition. While the fest’s 30,000 attendees partake in sets by Basement Jaxx, Skrillex, Kaskade, Kevin Saundreson, DJ Minx and many more, employees of Paxahau—the local independent rave promoter that’s produced Movement since 2006—will spend the weekend like they always do: taking notes on how to improve for next year.
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In 2000, the house and techno (with a little bit of hip-hop) fest became, along with Ultra and EDC, among the first few dance music festivals to launch in the U.S. It was the first to put its locally forged genre, techno, on a stage.
Yet unlike Ultra and EDC, which are now synonymous with EDM and all its glitzy commercial fanfare, Movement has remained rather minimalist in its approach—it’s really still all about the music, sans fireworks and mega-stages.
“This is a labor of love that all of us clustered around since we were young,” Paxahau Founder Jason Huvaere says of the company’s tight-knit team of OG ravers. “Detroit techno culture is what we committed to years ago, it’s second nature. The sustainable business part is another thing.”
But in an increasingly difficult landscape for independent event promoters, Paxahau is still turning a profit. The company is run by a team of 15 year-round, full-time employees across four departments: marketing and communications, production, talent, and creative. During Movement, they bring in an event staff of 350 to help bring the event to life.
Before taking over the festival as producer in 2006, Paxahau was first connected to Movement by throwing its afterparties. It stays true to that early ethos by now hosting its official afterparties, many in collaboration with labels, artists and other promoters. The company also hosts dance events at their partner venues throughout the year—Magic Stick, TV Lounge and Spot Lite, and for events over 1,500 people, at Detroit’s Masonic and Russell Industrial Center. Last year, they hosted 56 shows.
Movement 2022
Nick LeTellier
But like the other independent dance festivals across the country that survived the COVID shutdown (Southern California’s Lightning in a Bottle and CRSSD, Elements in Pennsylvania and Florida’s jam-band infused Hulaween among them), Movement has faced the existential threat of continually rising production costs – from cryo to porta-potty rentals.
“It was like a generation lost,” Huvaere says of people working in event production and other related jobs. He cites a 25 percent increase in production costs, a drastic uptick unheard of in prior years, and a continued rising of prices.
To offset this, Paxahau had to raise 2023 ticket prices but remain focused on fair rates, with three-day tier two GA passes going for $279 plus fees. (By comparison, Ultra’s 2024 tier two weekend GA price is set at $400 and Goldenvoice’s Portola 2023, a two-day fest, tier two GA passes are $360. Passes for the three-day Elements go for $289.)
A big reason Movement still exists at all is because the loyalty of its fanbase. Huvaere calls the third of Movement 2020 ticket-holders that held onto their passes (instead of requesting refunds) after the festival was cancelled during the pandemic as the main reason the festival survived. “I don’t know that I heard any other story in all of my conference calls, shared emails and comparing notes [with other festival organizers] that had that kind of a response,” he says.
A partnership with Twitch, who reached out to Paxahau early in the pandemic about doing exclusive livestreams on their platform, also provided a lifeline to both the company and the rich pool of Detroit artists that participated, including Detroit residents DJ Holographic, Eddie Fowlkes, Juan Atkins and many more. (Movement itself is not livestreamed, although select sets are recorded for later release.) 1.2 million unique viewers from the U.S., Canada, England, Germany, Russia and beyond tuned into the Paxahau Twitch channel during the lockdown to get their Detroit house and techno fix.
Surprisingly, livestreaming DJ sets is at the core of how Paxahau was born. Back in 1998, when the Detroit underground electronic scene was getting snuffed out by the police and the internet, Paxahau turned to the burgeoning world wide web to transmit techno. While it’s now easy to livestream a DJ set from anywhere with a decent internet connection, back in the dial-up days, Paxahau had to install an ISDN line, build a server rack and use Winamp software to create what was then called “a Shoutcast.”
Fans with their Shoutcast server address could type it into their Winamp and tune in, and Paxahau would celebrate when they had 12 simultaneous listeners. When a club called Motor started regularly booking dance music, Paxahau wired up the club and began livestreaming from there.
By 2000, they started producing parties again and in 2006 became the torchbearers for Movement when techno forefather Kevin Saunderson dropped out of hosting the sixth Movement festival after doing so the year prior. Paxahau was set to co-produce Saunderson’s stage at the fest, so they reached out to the City of Detroit and petitioned to run the event and keep it alive.
“The event at that time was a mess,” says Huavere. “It lost money six years in a row and had had three different producers. We wanted to do whatever we could to stabilize it, and the city wanted to do whatever they could to identify the stabilizing agent to it.”
While Paxahau got help that first year via “some great relationships that all came together to help us,” after that, they committed as Movement’s sole producers. “Fast forward a few years after that experience, we had a couple of rainstorms, wind storms, cancellations and mishaps – there’s all kinds of things that beat up festival promoters, and we definitely got beat up,” says Huavere. But “over time, through the natural process of evolution, the festival itself has come of age, and we’ve come of age.”
Detroit’s downtown has also changed drastically over the last 20-plus years, with its renaissance finally taking hold around 2008. Billions of dollars have gone into restoring once long-abandoned historical buildings in the area, with the city’s downtown now filled with hotels, bars and restaurants. Huvaere says the city has supported Movement from the beginning and that “techno culture is very celebrated by city residents and staffers.”
Movement 2022
Jacob Mulka
Movement’s ticket revenue is meant to match the cost of throwing the festival, with merch and beverage sales, along with the funds generated by partnerships, allowing them to turn a profit. Their annual festival budget is designed to match the audience size, typically 30,000 attendees each day, although this number can be impacted by the heavy rains common during spring in Michigan.
Corporate partners—many of whom Paxahau has worked with for years—are an important part of what keep the festival thriving. (“If we didn’t have sponsors, you’d notice,” Huavere says.) Larger partners like Red Bulls and JARS Cannabis underwrite the costs of building certain stages, while online music gear superstore Sweetwater hosts the Movement studio, a tent providing fans and DJs with hands-on learning about how electronic music is made.
For Paxahua, it’s essential that sponsoring brands are aligned with the vibe of the fests. The festival doesn’t actually even have a sales team, with all of these relationships established organically over the years, with a focus on long-term partnerships.
Above all, promoting Detroit dance music and supporting local artists is the most important thing Paxahau and Movement continue to do. “We have all been working together for almost 30 years. This is all one big organism, one big family,” Huavere asserts. Paxahau has hosted events with Craig and Saunderson – who Huavere says have long been “actively promoting their brand and Detroit all over the world” – since the company’s earliest days, and both techno legends often do stage takeovers at the fest.
Jason Huvaere
Courtesy of Movement
For Paxahau, supporting the next generation of Detroit talent is also an “absolute duty,” with rising stars DJ Holographic and Henry Brooks among the acts the team saw play in small local venues and knew just had it.
“Watching these artists develop over time and seeing them play in front of a larger and larger crowd and seeing the way that crowd reacts,” Huavere says, “that’s probably one of the best parts about this project, being part of and feeling that evolution.”
Part of the beauty of attending Movement as an out-of-town house and techno lover is experiencing the city, culture and people that made techno. Many of its founders and early innovators are still active on the scene, sharing their music and wisdom with the next generation of ravers and DJs. So too is Movement an excellent place to be reminded of, and educated on, dance music’s roots as a Black, queer urban American artform.
Bigger companies have expressed interest in acquiring Paxahau, but with Movement’s position as one of the few remaining indie dance festivals, Huavere is grateful to not have to adhere to a business structure that doesn’t align with the company’s values and vision.
“One of the great things about [Paxahau’s] culture is we aren’t goal-focused, but direction-focused,” he says. “It’s always been about the trajectory, the journey, the emotion. It’s never been about, ‘I need to get this thing done,’ or ‘I need to get this thing acquired.’ For the future, I just want to preserve that.”
Peezy may not be able to name his breakout moment – “I’ve always been popular,” he adds with a smile – but he does remember the first time he felt like a real rapper.
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It was “March Badness” at Detroit’s Little Caesar Arena in 2019, a concert starring Yo Gotti and his CMG roster. The Memphis CEO brought out Peezy as a guest, just a few months before the local mainstay would have to turn himself in to serve an 18-month sentence for RICO related charges.
Walking on stage to his locally anthemic single “I’m Good Pt. 5,” he heard the crowd of 16,000 fans chanting back the lyrics behind a sea of cell phones, immortalizing the moment. “Everybody lost they mind,” he recalls. “I’m like, ‘Oh s–t — even though I’m on my way to jail, when I come home, I’m onto something.’”
Since his return from prison, “every day been lit,” the 34-year-old rapper says. This year, Peezy experienced a career high with his 2022 single “2 Million Up,” which achieved TikTok virality, accumulating nearly 200,000 video creations. The track’s success also translated to major Billboard chart impact, peaking at No. 8 on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay and No. 9 on Rap Airplay. “2 Million Up” also made appearances on Hot Rap Songs, Rhythmic Airplay and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
While “2 Million Up” led to unprecedented success, it was initially a point of contention. Peezy finished the track six months prior to its release, attributing the hold up to disagreements with his team. Since the track’s sample of Dennis Edwards and Siedah Garrett’s oft-lifted 1984 classic “Don’t Look Any Further” wasn’t cleared, Peezy wanted to release it for free rather than through DSPs — something he says his manager didn’t agree with.
But for Peezy, the money didn’t matter. His goal was instead to “catch a buzz, put some music out and get people talking.” And he did just that, defying his management, self-funding the video and releasing “2 Million Up,” which quickly began gaining 100,000 views a day, he says. “You try to listen out of respect for people being around a little longer than you — but at the same time, I know what I know,” he explains. “Me going against the grain is the reason why we’re sitting here now.”
Leaned back in the private room of a Los Angeles restaurant among his entourage of 14, Peezy is visibly exhausted from a busy few days, but cherishing his new life. Raised between the east and west sides of Detroit, Peezy describes his upbringing as “fair at times.”
“You don’t really see what’s bad when you grow up in it,” he continues. “It feels regular even though you know something’s not right.”
He recalls witnessing “a lot” of the crack cocaine epidemic, which took place throughout the United States in the ‘80s and early ‘90s, and reflected on members of his community achieving material success through the “smoke and mirrors” of illicit activities. “Of course you want certain luxuries,” he says, “But when you see the outcome, you want to find a way to still have [the luxuries], but with a different outcome.”
Despite the influences surrounding him, Peezy says he learned hustle, drive and determination at a young age from his parents, and aspired towards more than what he grew up around. He leaned on rap as a form of art and self-expression, dropping out of high school in the 11th grade and later joining Detroit’s notable rap group, Team Eastside, alongside then-members Deen, Babyface Ray, Dame, Snoop, Reke and Perry.
“When I started, it was just about the art,” he says today. “It wasn’t about the money. I just love making music.” His first project with Team Eastside was given out for free. “That was the marketing strategy,” he explains. “I be telling [my team] to just put the music out. Stop figuring out a way to trick the people [with marketing].”
Team Eastside, along with their early west side rivals, Doughboyz Cashout, soon became emblematic of Detroit rap. While the two groups had their fair share of clashes at first, they put aside their differences, avoiding a repetition of past fatal rap beefs in the city. (Doughboyz member Payroll Giovanni even calls Peezy to catch up during his interview with Billboard).
After Team Eastside amicably went their separate ways, Peezy signed to Ghazi’s Empire Distribution in 2017 — joining a long roster of fellow Detroit artists, like Babyface Ray, GT, Payroll Giovanni, FMB Deezy and Drago. Under Empire, Peezy continued making a name for himself outside of his home state, by way of popular underground projects like Ballin Ain’t a Crime and No Hooks.
His momentum was abruptly cut short due to his 2019 imprisonment, something he says Ghazi knew was coming before signing him. “Til this day I don’t know what he saw in me,” Peezy says of Ghazi. Thinking back on his time behind bars, Peezy feels the experience was harder on his family than it was on him. Detained in Ohio, the rapper received frequent visits from loved ones and passed his time reading, writing and doing “real n—a s–t,” he says, without elaborating.
“[Before], I wouldn’t read,” he says. “I was never going to sit, pick up a book and learn certain things until I was forced to.” During his three months in solitary confinement, he wrote plans for the future, journaled and read self-help, psychology and CEO books. Sometimes, Peezy would read the dictionary. “I’d go through it and find words I didn’t know to use them in raps,” he says.
The formative experience of being locked up led to a shift in Peezy’s lyricism and style upon his release, leading to a mainstream boom for the rapper, starting with his critically acclaimed 2021 album, Only Built 4 Diamond Links.
Currently on tour with thirteen stops to go — including Detroit, Denver, New York City and Atlanta — Peezy feels certain of his positioning in hip-hop and where he’s headed. “I think rap is at a standstill,” he explains. “Either you’re making drill or rap that’s talking about something. I listen to all of it, but I’m on the side that’s talking about something. Because I’ve been through a lot.”
While Peezy doesn’t consider himself to be a conscious rapper, he sees himself in a class of “substance” rappers, with messages to offer through their own wins, mistakes, hopes and experiences. “Yesterday, somebody [told me about] how I changed their life,” he says of his show the night before at The Belasco. “People say my music puts them in better moods, makes them want to hustle, go back to school, make money.”
Once he achieves his own goals as a rapper (including collaborations with John Legend, Cee-Lo Green and Andre 3000), Peezy wants to go back to school himself to study contract law and “be [his] own shark.” “That’s gonna be a new venture for me,” he adds. “I never want to stop learning.”
But there’s still much to accomplish for the Detroit mainstay. Many of his dreams center not on his own rapping career, but on #Boyz Entertainment, his indie label housing Flint up and comers Rio Da Yung OG and RMC Mike. He hopes to build his own empire, drawing inspiration from labels like Quality Control and the late Young Dolph’s Paper Route.
“It’s kind of like ‘each one, teach one,’” he says, referencing the African-American proverb. In line with the proverb’s message, Peezy played a role in advancing the careers of rising rappers, as other veteran acts in Detroit once did for him. Today, Peezy is committed to creating avenues for “the guys that everyone else is scared to deal with,” while also aspiring to raise up singers and pop stars.
He calls his latest project, Ghetto, “some of the best music I’ve ever made.” The eight-track offering exudes Detroit sensibilities through Peezy’s delivery and production choices, coupled with tracks that deviate into other rap regions, like “First Night” and “Heart In It.” The lone features are women: singer Brielle Lesley and first lady of Detroit’s rap scene, Kash Doll.
Once his albums are released to the world, the “kind of shy” rapper ceases to listen to them. Instead, his current rotation includes Benny the Butcher, Griselda, D Baby and Babyface Ray. “I be thinking a lot of music sweeter than mine,” he admits, adding with a smile, “Even though I know I’m sweeter than everybody.”
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Michigan State Police took to social media this week to address rumors surrounding the deaths of three Michigan rappers who went missing in January and were later found dead in an abandoned apartment building.
Montoya Givens, 31, Armani Kelly, 28, and Dante Wicker, 31, were reported missing in late January after traveling to Detroit from the western part of the state for a performance at 31 Lounge on the city’s east side. Their families reported them missing after not hearing from them after the show was canceled. Their bodies were later found approximately six miles away in Highland Park, Michigan in what police described as a “rat infested” abandoned apartment building.
“We know there are a lot of media/social media rumors about this investigation. While we have to keep some things private we know a couple of things: There is no one in custody for this homicide. This homicide was not random and had nothing to due with music or a performance,” read one of the tweets from the Michigan State Police public information for Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties account.
The tweet continued, “This was a gang violence related incident. There are other people that know the details and we need them to come forward. Please call 800.Speak.Up if you have information on this case. Together we can bring closure to these families.”
One social media user inquired about a possible reward, to which the account replied, “That depends on crime stoppers and how the information provided helped in making an arrest.”
The story of the rapper’s disappearance and subsequent deaths became a national news story when they were reported missing Jan. 21. It was nearly two months later when their bodies were found with state police saying they each died of gunshot wounds, according to CNN.
The update is the latest provided by Michigan State Police. On Feb. 7, the same Twitter account wrote, “The investigation also has revealed that this was not a random incident. The investigation is continuing and detectives are making progress and we believe we may have determined a motive.”
Per PEOPLE, Taylor Perrin, Kelly’s fiancé told a local Detroit news station, “I just beg for help, for anything. I need answers and, if it comes to it, I need closure, because I will never forget and I will never stop,” she said. Perrin explained that Kelly who rapped under the rap name, “Marley Whoop,” was working, going to school and developing his rap career while bouncing back from a robbery arrest.
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Celebrated journalist Jemele Hill earnestly dishes about her career, her new memoir and being from Detroit in a recently-published interview.
Jemele Hill is never one to shy away from relating the facts (especially when jabbing former presidents). Fresh off of the release of her new memoir, Uphill, the former ESPN journalist and host isn’t resting on her laurels. In a new interview for NewsOne, she opens up about how the memoir helped her explore her life and career to this point.
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The conversation begins with Hill giving an overall take on how the tour for her memoir went. “Selling a book is so much different than any other thing that I’ve done, selling and promoting a book, I should say,” she began. “So it was pretty intense because I had not only book events but a ton of media appearances to do. So these were some pretty long and arduous days, but it was really rewarding to see upfront and personal, like how people responded to the book and some of the stories that I told in the book.”
Hill also spoke about how being a native of Detroit, Michigan instilled in her a distinct sense of pride and fueled her inner spirit and ambition. “That’s why certainly no one from Detroit is any stranger to having to work hard, having to hustle. It’s just kind of built into our bones.”
She touched upon the struggles that the city has experienced from crime to the crack epidemic and how negative stereotypes made residents more determined and prideful: “And because we knew that’s how people thought of us, it only made us want to put on for the city even harder and love it even harder. So when people meet people from Detroit, the level of pride and affection we have in our city, I feel like it’s different. I know everybody is proud of where they come from, but we probably take it to an annoying level, different level. Detroit is definitely in the building, OK? And we’ll tell you about the entire history of Detroit.”
The 47-year-old also laid bare how working on the memoir highlighted the relationship between her and her mother and helped them navigate lingering rough patches. “But us being able to have that conversation for the memoir, it was very cleansing and freeing for both of us. And me understanding more of some things now about her life, knowing her full story that I didn’t understand then, it helped me have more grace with those actions than at the time I considered to be very damaging and hurtful.”
Be sure to read the full cover story right here.
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Fans first became familiar with Eminem’s daughter through his many references to her in his early music. However, Hailie Jade is all grown up at 27, and she recently got engaged to her boyfriend Evan McClintock, according to Page Six.
Hailie Jade Mathers shared three photos with the caption “casual weekend recap… followed by a crying and ring emoji.” In one photo McClintock is seen on one knee holding a ring box. In another the couple is popping champagne.
Fans chimed in the comments section to congratulate the happy couple. Several wondered if McClintock asked Mathers’ Grammy-winning father for permission.
“Imagine having to ask Em to marry his daughter,” one person wrote, while another joked, “I wonder if knees were weak and his arms were heavy,” quoting Eminem’s 2002 hit “Lose Yourself.”
Hailie and Evan met while they both attended Michigan State University in 2016. The couple has been together ever since.
According to Page Six, Eminem shared a rare glimpse into his private life when he was asked if Haille had children of her own yet. “No babies,” Eminem replied. “Just a boyfriend. She’s doing good,” he added. “She’s made me proud for sure.”
Hailie hosts a podcast called Just a Little Shady and recently appeared at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony with her legendary dad. In his speech, Eminem referenced his daughter saying, “I almost died of an overdose in 2007, which kind of sucked because — Hailie, plug your ears! — because drugs were f**king delicious and I thought we had a good thing going.”
According to Entertainment Tonight, Haillie talked a little about growing up with her famous father on the podcast last summer, saying, “It’s so fun to look back [now], thinking back as an adult, I’m like, ‘Wow, that’s so, so surreal,’” she reflected at the time. “Those memories of me thinking those were normal things, now I look back like, ‘Holy crap, that was cool!”‘
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The search for three Michigan rappers who had been missing for over a week after their show in Detroit was canceled due to technical problems may have come to a tragic end.
Armani Kelly, Dante Wicker, and Montoya Givens, went missing over a week ago after their show in Detroit was canceled due to technical problems. According to The New York Times, the men have not been heard from since January 21 and both missing persons and homicide units with the Detroit Police Department and other police agencies participated in the investigation.
According to The Detroit Free Press, “multiple” bodies have been found in an abandoned apartment building in the city of Highland Park–an enclave near Detroit.
Per the Free Press, Antoine Woods, who identified himself as Wicker’s cousin, said police had not told his family whether Wicker was among the victims found, but that “we think it’s my cousin in there.”
Taylor Perrin, the fiancee of Oscoda rap artist Armani Kelly, said that she was notified that the bodies had been found though there had not been a positive identification she had been told to make the trip from Grand Rapids, Mich., to Detroit.
Wicker and Givens, both 31, were supposed to join Kelly, 27, who was performing at only his second show in his career. Kelly is from Oscoda, Mich. approximately three hours away from Detroit. He drove down for the show at a club called Lounge 31.
Woods said his cousin, “was excited about making music.”
According to the New York Times report, Kelly met Wicker and Givens while they were all in prison. While the police said that all three were to be at Lounge 31 on Jan. 21 for a rap event, it is still being determined if Wicker and Givens were also supposed to perform. The car that Kelly was driving which belonged to his mother was found in Warren, Mich., a Detroit suburb.
The Free Press spoke to Darnell Williams the owner of Lounge 31 the performances were canceled the night the men went missing because of technical failures with DJ equipment. He said there were too many people in the crowd to know whether or when the missing men arrived at the venue, but that police were reviewing video footage.
Detroit Police have said that there has been no activity on any of the men’s phones since January 21. “What was the most concerning, candidly, was the fact that there’s been no activity on their phones since they’ve been reported missing,” James E. White, the Detroit police chief, said at a news conference on Tuesday. “And that’s very, very concerning. That’s an unusual circumstance.”