Got out of the station right around midnight and then it was off to see my brotha Dial 81. I got in right when he was starting his set.  Farenheight 2040 was holding him down on the decks, and they had Paul Randolph on the bass.  That’s right…Paul Randolph.  He even did a few exclusive never heard before tracks so if you weren’t there you should cry about it, and if you don’t know why you should be crying go play in traffic.  Detroit makes beautiful Music.  Back to the Dial ish though.  This man truly has fun on stage and makes each show he does an experience.  He had a VJ there (video jockey if you’re not into the whole brevity thing).  Mobil backed him up vocally through a bit of the show, and Beverly Fresh grabbed the mic as well (unfortunately I missed his performance, but I’ve been hearing great things about him).  To sum up, all these cats get people involved so it is a show not to be missed.

After I left Northern I rolled back to the Division Street Gallery because it was the beautiful Ms. Emily Rogers b-day.  I am truly greatful for our paths crossing some years back and we have a friendship I will forever cherish, but enough with that sappy shit.  I had to roll for that reason and I really had to roll because she always has a classic jam session that is never to be missed if you are physically able to attend.  Although I was still hit from last night, I pounded a couple red bull and vodkas at Northern and a few more drinks later I was good to go.  I don’t know all the musicians but everybody was amazing.  There was also too many people to name in the spot.  I know i’m not being too specific but keep in mind i’m writing this on my recovery day and don’t want to force my mind to remember too much (trust…it would be a task).  With the hour change I don’t think I even got out of there till 7 or 8am.  Have not done back to back party till the am nights in awhile, but this seems like the beginning of a beautiful summer.  The weather was pretty dope in the D this weekend.  If the city of Detroit was down south weather wise, cats would have problems.  There truly is no place like home.

On another note, there was some cat (don’t wanna name names) who came up to me on some “D. Allie” ish.  What I mean by this was he came up to me like I was just an MC.  I’m glad cats like the music, and I should really be thanking the fans at the end of the day.  Feel free to call me D. Allie if you don’t wanna say David or Strauss, but otherwise I’m just a dude.  Don’t get me wrong.  It’s not like this happens all the time, and if you are thinking why would people do this with me, I am in full agreement.  As the game is a totem pole I am very low on it and don’t go around feeling myself all day.  Therefore, if we’re having a convo don’t feel like you’re wasting my time and it’s ridiculous if you think it’s a “big deal” that you’re talking to me.  If I’m in the spot I’m chillin’, and if you dig the music that’s a plus, but I’m more than normal otherwise.  I hope that doesn’t come off wrong.  I just mean to say I’m everyday people (peace to Sly) and I just happen to rap so it’s not a big deal (after all…everybody wraps nowadays.lol)

When people talk to me about shit like “your image” I like the fact that my image is kind of having no image.  It is not my intention to appear cool, hang with the in crowd, and act like i’m above.  I really just like to have a good time and I believe in my family and friends, and with me it’s really not hard to be fam or friend.  I’m rambling and I feel like these last 2 paragraphs if interpreted the wrong way might seem pretentious and snobby, but I mean them with the best of intentions.  Then again the road to hell is paved with that as they say.  I will keep these paragraphs in here because I want you reading to know how I feel and give a glimpse into my everyday.  If this is boring let me know and I’ll write something different.  Until then.

thank you Jo for the photo, thank you Dial for the set, and thanks to everyone that came out to Blue Collar Gentlemen. The first Friday of Every Month if you didn't know by now.

Whaddup All,

I’m not one to keep a running diary of all my activities, but as I’m going on tour I thought it would be cool to document my experiences and thoughts as they come.  I’m still in Detroit (don’t leave until tuesday), but I just had my farewell show (just an excuse to have a show…i’m only gone for 3 weeks) so I figured I’d give this a test run.  I also want to give it a test run because i’m sitting by a CD duplicator burning out cd’s to take on the road with me.  Yeah, I wait till the last second (one part laziness and 3 parts everybody pulling you in another direction causes this).

So we’ll start with the Blue Collar Gentlemen show.  I woke up friday morning just sick of music in general (This happens often…it’s the same thing as when you fight with a loved one, and trust me…music is far more understanding).  Been trying to handle biz with this tour shit, and when it seems like I’m doing everything but actually creating music it is just frustrating.  However, this is neccessary for the modern day artist to do more than just write and perform.

I was completely not looking forward to the show at all, but then I had a vision of what would make me feel better.  I needed Dial 81 for the mission.  We’ve been working on music over the last year or so and he has made me fall in love with music all over again.  I called him and let him know my situation and he had my solution.  He was gonna bring his MPC and we were just gonna rock on the fly.  I’ve played so many shows in Detroit I wanted to do something a little different from just performing cuts off my album.   After we got off the phone I felt infinitely better

The joint was another success on the party tip for United States of Mind.  The Old Miami was packed front to back.  Performances started off around 11:45 (DJ Esso and Tree City’s DJ helped provide the vibe b4 that) and Mobil was the first to hit the stage.  His shit is dope and he really got the crowd into it.  It was a dare I say perfect kick off to the evening.

After that Keyel came out from Cleveland to show love.  I like these cats because they have a very Detroit sound about them (They started by playing Dilla’s “Fuck the Police” for goodness sakes).  Anyways, I got a text from Twizz from the crew and all he texted was “Keyel Love Detroit”.  It’s nice to be able to people from out of town in front of a Detroit crowd and it’s a beautiful thing when they enjoy each other.  This was the case here.

Next up was Tree City.  I believe this was their first show in Detroit as well although they are close being from Ann Arbor.  I really like these guys a lot.  They are a little younger than me so they put me in a mind state like when I was first starting to do shows.  The energy is there with them and they’re hungry so cats better watch out. lol.

After Tree City, Dante came through and killed his set.  I held him down on the hype tip as I’m gonna be doing a bit more of that while we’re on tour.  Dante brings a lot of showmanship to all his performances and the Energy level was definitely taken to the next level.  Dude comes out with a bull horn and you know the harmonica was by his side.

The closing duties were then placed in my hands as I was the last dude to go.  Dial plugs in the MPC and we start the show, but I wanted to throw in another loop to make me have a bit more fun.  I started to ask the crowd for topic suggestions and then I would have to freestyle off of that topic.  I can’t remember all the topics due to my music career being sponsored by Jameson (it’s not a choice when you’re addicted) but I remember doing one about love and one about cigarrettes and then one about money over bitches (thanks to this drunk named dolla bill).  I also had some fellow MC’s participate in the experiment with me.  Mobil came back up,  one of the MC’s from tree city, and dolla bill.  Dolla Bill was not really a good MC (didn’t even know how to hold a mic), asked me to sign him to a deal (I can’t even sign myself. lol.) but he did provide ample entertainment and for that I thank him because that is priceless and all that matters at the end of the day.  Everybody seemed to enjoy themselves, the Ghetto Blaster was only $3 (support your local breweries), and I didn’t suck so bad, and friends were there.  But you know it’s not over…..on to the after party.

After retrieving my trusty pint of jameson from Rude Mary.  I entered and the vibe was already set.  Crate Digga was already on the 1′s and 2′s and Division Street Gallery (aka the Misinformants Loft) was starting to fill up.  I did some light hosting and we all danced the night away till about 6 in the morning.  I also woke up with a big hickey on my neck on some high school ish (that’s all i’m saying about that one folks).  Shouts to the performers and the crowd for it is all of us together that creates and sustains this Detroit vibe (even though many think it doesn’t exist it is still alive and very real…not to mention growing exponentially).  As this was just Friday’s activities there is more to come on the Saturday update if I can find the energy to write it.  Till then….

we at it again

First of all, a big thanks goes out to everyone who came out to Kill The Bullshit. A good time was had and Kill The Bullshit is now every last Saturday of every month so I’ll give it about 2 weeks before I start annoying you with that. Moving along…

This Friday I will be playing at the Old Miami in Detroit. Par for the course Dante will be playing as well and this is our last show before we hit the road to share our music with as many new people as we can.

Rocking with us we have Mobil. You should already know this man because I see him everywhere spreading his music and just spreading the good time in general.

We also have Tree City representing Ann Arbor. Hopefully you’ve heard their Black Trees Mixtape by now (Black Milk already knows what’s up with these guys so you should too). They are young and hungry so their set is not to be missed.

And Last but not least as we do at every Blue Collar Gentleman, we have an out of town act to get them in front of our beautiful Detroit audiences (trust…the acts that we have had out thus far did not know how Detroit got down). This out of town act would be Keyel and they are representing Cleveland, OH. We had the pleasure of rocking with them last year in Toledo when we were playing in support of One Be Lo and we really dug their sound. They definitely got a bit of a Detroit sound in there so I think you’ll dig them to.

The whole night is hosted by Uncle P of Detroit Rap (www.detroitrap.com so check it). He has been supporting this scene for too long and has helped me immensely along the way with those little tidbits of advice you don’t cherish till about a year after you get it (i never said i was a quick learner).

I haven’t done a set in awhile outside of United States of Mind so this should be fun. Me and Dante will probably rock together so we’ll come up with something goofy that will embarrass all of us (the crowd included) i’m sure.

To sum up, the support has been ridiculous already so I’m already too grateful. The cover is cheap along with the beers and the conversation. If you’re free come out and we’ll have a good time.

Oh, also after party in the works at Division Street Gallery. Might have to rock an impromptu jam session so all artists as well as just lovers of music in general pace yourselves so we can go all night. Then lets do it again Saturday. Although I’m not performing my boy Dial 81 is playing at Northern Lights so I’m definitely having a bit of fun before I take off. If you think you’ve spent too much time reading this feel better about it. I actually sat here and wrote it. Love you guys.