Sunday, May 17, 2009

Detroit Deserves Better.


Anybody knows me knows that I am a proud Detroiter. Whenever I go out of town, I make it a point to rock the old English “D”. Roughly 80 percent of my music collection contains artists from Detroit. As a car afficionado, when ever I see a classic car, my heart beams with pride knowing that it’s not an automobile, but a piece of not only Detroit history, but a piece of my family history being that I came from 3 generations of autoworkers. I am the first one to defend my city from racist suburbanites and out-of-towners whose only experiences here were from watching the news and arrogant ex-pats who somehow think that they are better because they left the city. I still marvel at the historical buildings and homes. I still hold on to the ideal that Detroit can once again become the world class city it once was many years ago. However, there are many things that preclude Detroit’s return to greatness. We all know that just like every other major American city, the onset of the crack epidemic in the early 80s was part of Detroit’s downfall, coupled with the big 3 losing market share due to foreign cars, severely impacting our economy...however by now, this could have been overcome and Detroit could have been made it’s comeback but there is one thing that has stopped it and continues to be a hindrance to Detroit rising from the proverbial ashes. And that one thing is APATHY. Apathy is a small word with very large consequences. Apathy is why we have a corrupt city council that does nothing but bicker amongst themselves and call each other names...And they wonder why the auto show may be leaving, word is GM, may be leaving too. As far as I’m concerned, the Auto Show is a Detroit tradition, and even though right now they are as broke as I am, General Motors IS Detroit so it would be devastating to see them leave, but frankly I can’t say I blame them. Who would want to do business in the city with such unprofessional people in charge? But a lot has to do with you and me. We are the ones that let the crooked mayor who cost us MILLIONS get elected, as well as the arrogant congressman’s wife get in because we couldn’t get to the polls because of (insert excuse here), so therefore the man or woman best suited for the job lost out. When the media continues to drag our city’s name through the mud, we do nothing but yell and cuss at the TV instead of letting them know that we are not going to take this anymore. We are the ones that let the crackheads strip the city piece by piece for their next hit, and we are the ones that let the drug dealers take over our street corners and infest our apartment buildings instead of getting involved. It’s not about being a snitch, it’s about giving a fuck about your community. What ever happened to neighborhood watch and block clubs? I haven’t seen an active block club since when I was in my teens on Walden street on the East side. Neighbors looked out for each other. They didn’t wait for the city to come and clean up the block...We got off our collective asses and cleaned out our own block...and made a party out of it, and had lots of fun. And guess what, there were no drug dealers or crackheads, at least on our block. I truly believe that if we were to just get involved in just keeping our block in order, before we know it, the city can once again be the greatest city in the world again.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Where are they now....UPDATE




It came as a surprise to me...People actually DO read this blog. It just so happens that one of the very readers of this blog is G5, member of Suspect Establishment, one of the artists that was featured in my post “Where are they now?” It turns out that they never stopped putting out dope hip hop and have a new album. I chopped it up with G, about what he and the rest of the crew have been up to.




Q: How did you first get into music and what motivated you?


A: Well I started doing music really late compared to others I was staying in the house more after my first child was born so I needed a new hobby. My brother gave me his Casio keyboard and I started making melodies, baselines & beats. I bought a little Boss drum machine & later a 4 track recorder started recording my own original songs. I always loved hip hop & music in general but I never though I could create it until then.

Q: Who were some of your favorite Detroit artists coming up?


A: A.W.O.L. Kaos & Mystro, Smiley, Detroit B.O.X, Detroit ’s Most Wanted & Awesome Dre. We ended up playing some songs for Sole-man from AWOL & C-Nile & I did a couple songs with him later. I’ve got to dig that stuff up some day.




Q: How did the original #1 Suspects come about?

A: We all grew up in the same hood on the west side 6 mile & Livernois area. In our late teens/early 20’s I heard C-Nile was rapping and his step brother “DJ Tech 12” was doing his beats. When I heard their trax I started kick-in it to him that while their music was dope with these melodies and beats I’ve got, he also could have his own original songs, not just break beats & samples. So we hooked up musically and we really vibed, & the music was good… really good and we decided to be a duo something like Guru & Premier.




Q: In the 10+ years you have been in the game, how do you feel about how hip-hop has changed?

A: G- it’s a lot more commercial now a lot less about skill & really saying something in the music. I’ve watched the game evolve from east coast to west coast and then the south & now I think our time has come for the Midwest to put a strangle hold on the game for a while. We just have to have strong artist with a fresh new sound.





Q: As
you know, Detroit is known for not being very supportive of Detroit artists over the years. What do you feel needs to be done to change this?


A: Good question, wish I had a better answer for you but it’s always been our experience that we got more love outside of the D than when were here. I just think in some folks minds, no matter how good you are, when you’re from here you’re viewed as a hood star but not on the same level as the out of town artist. It’s like you have to leave here, get validated by someone else like Dre, or JayZ and then comeback and The D will support you like we do for all of the other major label artist. That’s just kinda my observation on it I really don’t know how we can change things & why we don’t support more…




Q: In 1997 you had a single that outlined the problems of the city and the mayor at that time. What are your thoughts about the current mayor and city council?


A: Well I’m a city resident & I just don’t believe our city’s best & brightest minds are on the job of running our city. I think a lot of the people in place are there because they’re “electable” or popular but we need to get some of the really smart, morally sound, uncorrupted people in the D to run the city and the schools and maybe things will get better.






Q: Some say that hip hop has become stagnant. Others say that the market is over saturated. What are your thoughts on the current state of music in general?


A: Well Labels are trying stick with a cookie cuter like formula they believe works. Execs and A&R’s don’t want to get fired for trying something unconventional. So not many are trying to think outside the box and because of that yeah, I believe the market is over saturated with a ton of the same kind of artist that are all talking about the same things. Some just better than others…


Q: Your music has always had a message to it, but without coming off as self-righteous or condescending. How important do you think it is that music not only should entertain but speak to the listener?



A: Well I think it’s important for our music to have a message because that’s who we are. In this game “you’ve got to do you” so I have no problem with artist like Soulja Boy & Hurricane Chris that don’t really have a profound message just fun. Or like The Clipse or Gucci Mane and Juiceman that rap about moving weight. I just think there needs to be more balance with acts like us or The Roots, Talib Kweli, & Common.




Q: Before I end this, is there any other projects you have in the works, that you want to plug?


A: Well after a long layoff we are releasing a new CD in the summer 2009, “Keep Grinding”. Our music video “Dollar Bill” is getting a lot of air play on the “The Video Shop” on Comcast Detroit CH 68 so check that out. We are getting some spins on “What’s next on the Menu on FM98 WJLB check for that on Saturdays @ 9:00pm. Some of our music is going to be being featured in a upcoming film & on the sound track….That I can’t give the details on yet but stay tuned for that. We are also getting into doing production for other artist, that’s something we really didn't’t do much of in the past because we had so many in the camp we kept everything in house. We’re forming the company now and we will see where that goes… That’s about it Hit us on

www.reverbnation.com/suspectestablishment or

www.myspace.com/suspectestablishment or email us direct at suspectestablishment@yahoo.com