Detroit Writers

When Biba Adams asked me for an interview, I truly felt honored. This skilled Detroit lady is not just anybody: she has made a name in Detroit for her work and engagement towards her City and Detroit hip hop. If you come accross her articles, she will manage to raise emotions and transport you into her universe…many thanks, Biba, you are a great writer and journalist:)

1. What motivated you at first to become a writer?

I have always been a writer. I wrote my first short story at 9, and I would write a lot of stories and little novels most of my early life. However, I happened to luck up on doing a hip-hop column for Real Detroit Weekly (a newspaper here in Detroit) in November of 2003. I was trying to get a job as an advertising sales person, but I got the job of a hip-hop columnist instead. My first article was a cover story on Jay-Z.

2. According to you what are your main strengths as a person and as a writer?

I think my main strengths as a writer are the same as my main strength as a person. I am a very emotional and sensitive woman. I think my emotion and sensitivity make me a great writer because it makes people feel my words. I think people feel what I am saying and the feeling with which I write. I have the ability to help people feel my passion. I think that is a great strength, of course, it can be a weakness too, I could probably never write about politics, or sports, I am not a numbers person, I am not cut and dried. Music is emotional, and so am I. So, that’s why I do so well with music/entertainment journalism.

3. Did the city of Detroit influence your writing style? If so, to what extent?

I think Detroit definitely influenced me in general. Except for a short time here and there, I have always lived here. Being in Detroit, from Detroit, is a really cool experience. Detroiters are definitely underdogs, we are not very well-respected in national and even international media. People have this misconception of my city that we are all being held hostage, surrounded by criminals, that Detroit is an extraordinarily violent place. It can be a dangerous place, but can all urban centers. I have had a very happy and peaceful life here. There are a lot of abandoned buildings, but there are also a lot of extraordinarily beautiful homes. There are mansions in Detroit, in the city limits. There is a lot of water, so we enjoy beautiful shore lines and the serenity of living off a large river. We are a border city, so we can stand and stare into Canada. Detroit has so much culture, so much history, it is a beautiful place to live. That is what influenced me. I live in a really wonderful city. Detroit has influenced me, specifically, Detroit hip-hop has influenced me because it’s hard to hear so much amazing music and know that the world may never hear it. That’s painful, it hurts, and so, I’m driven to get the word out about my friends.

4. Not only are you an excellent writer, but you are also pretty much involved into the Detroit hip hop scene. What do you like in particular with the Detroit scene?

What’s not to like?! Like I said in one of my posts, and I say all the time, it’s a great blessing to be friends with and fans of a musical artist. I get to do that with dozens of people. These are people that I truly love. This is my extended family. My love for many of Detroit’s music artists is beyond superficial, many of us have been friends for ten years. We love each other, we love each other’s families, and children. We have dated each other, had kids with each other, we are all so interwoven and interconnected, we have been having one long connected experience. What we have here in Detroit is very special. It’s something most people could probably never understand.

5. Who is your favorite local artist and why?

My favorite local artist is Royce Da 5’9”. I think Royce is the best that Detroit has to offer lyrically. Royce is a consummate artist. He can be a battle rapper, he can be a skilled lyricist, he can slice with his words like a surgeons scalpel or like a chainsaw. He can also be a storyteller and is just an incredible artist. I also love him dearly as a person. I value his friendship, he is very funny, and very genuine. He is just an incredible person. I think he will be huge very soon. I envision him being a Grammy award winner. I want that for him.

6. You have known Deshaun Holton aka Proof personally. You are also the author of a very moving article about RIP Proof.
A few words about the man and the artist?

Proof was a wonderful person. He was the funniest man I knew. He had such an inner light. When he would walk into a room, people would just light up being in his presence. He could make a boring party, a better party. He was very sweet and very affectionate. He loved to kiss. He would kiss everyone on their cheek. And he knew so much about everyone, he was a secret-keeper, and he was not judgmental at all, I loved that about him. He was very genuine and a very good person. He is very much missed. As an artist, Proof was an incredible wordsmith, he would rhyme any word and he was a freestyler the likes of which most people could never understand. I remember that he would rap for hours. He was great. He was a good person. He was good to everyone and he made everyone feel special. I miss that.

7. As a testimony to your presence to Eminem’s recent come back concert in Detroit, you have written a very moving article entitled “ Relapse” in which you are exploring Marshall Mathers’ emotional side at the concert. Would you mind sharing your emotions/ impressions about the show with all of us?

Marshall is a very interesting person. He is very shy, actually, very reserved when you are around him. Because of how huge he got in such a short time, it affected him a lot of different ways. I didn’t know him before he was famous, when I met him, it was just before his second album, he was still somewhat easy to get close to, but even then he wasn’t very trusting, but he respects people who respect him. As far as the show and the album, I think it’s a great project. I know that it had to be hard for him to write and record without drugs, because they were such a big part of his life. Now not only is he drug free, but he doesn’t have Proof to lean on, he is in the midst of a new life. I think that Relapse is less about going back to drugs, but relapsing into his musical life. Relapsing into being a rapper and everything that comes with it. He is a good person, and I care for him deeply. I would love to work with Shady Records in a larger capacity. I hope that we get the chance to work on some projects together soon.

8. Who would you consider a model in terms of writing? Do you have a local or national / foreign writer who is a great source of inspiration to you?

I don’t really have a model in terms of writing. I am an avid reader. I read a lot. I love fiction, and I am a huge Stephen King fan. I love Harry Potter, I think those books changed my life. The visual quality of the work, made me want to raise the bar. I like to read music biographies about all different kinds of artists. I think that in terms of Journalists that I look up to, I would have to say, Nelson George, Bakari Kitwana, Anselm Samuel, Dream Hampton, Aliya S. King, and Kim Osorio, would have to be some that I really admire because they write about black music and they were very influential at a time when we, as fans, needed them the most.

9. Which publications/ books do you currently have at your active?

I am currently reading a lot of spiritual books because I am trying to be a better person. I read a lot of Deepak Chopra, I love his work and his teaching, I would love to spend time with him. His work taught me a lot. I am planning to start a new Stephen King, and I just pick up stuff. I am kinda reading a book called The Tipping Point, planning to revisit The Celestine Prophecy, and planning to read Conversations with God, and all of Paulo Coehlo books. That’s a goal. This summer, I will be teaching reading and writing to high schoolers, after that, I plan to build my business and travel. I hope to go to Brazil for three weeks, and plan to read a lot then.

10. What are your future writing projects for 2009/2010?

I am hoping that I get a grant to write a book documenting Detroit’s hip-hop history. This has been a goal of mine for about five years. Hopefully, I will get enough money to take a year off work and just focus on getting the book done. I am also working on some historical projects. Trying to have St. Andrews Hall declared a historic landmark, and get a mural done on the side of the building. I am trying to do a Detroit photojournalism exhibit. Just focus on preserving, promoting, and protecting Detroit hip-hop, that’s my life’s goal.

11. What would be your advice to aspiring journalists/ writers?

My advice to aspiring writers would just be…write. There are so many outlets for writers now with the internet. You can be a successful blogger, you can get in with a good site. I say just read a lot and work on your craft. I’ve been as successful as I have because I chose a niche, I focus on Detroit and because of that specialty, I get a lot of opportunity.

12. Where would you envision yourself-professionally speaking- within the next 5 years?

I would have to answer the question from the personal side first, I hope to marry the man I love and have his children, I hope we can build his business, and make that the center of our family life. Meanwhile, I would continue to work on my writing career and my music publicity career. In five years, I hope to have published my Detroit hip-hop music book, a novel or two, I would like to have been featured in all the major music publications as a writer and or interview subject. I hope to lecture about Detroit hip-hop history and enlighten people all over the world about the rich musical legacy of my hometown. Detroit, there is no place like my home. Peace, Isabelle, thank you.

Copyright© by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved

Before I get my interview with Biba Adams ready for you all, I would like to share with you her very emotional article about Eminem’s show yesterday in Detroit…Enjoy the way she words everything:)

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
I know the prayer by heart. I’ve been to a couple meetings. I’ve declined certain medications because of “tendencies of dependency”. Hey, I work in the music industry, the only job in the world where drinking on the job is rewarded.
However, Marshall Mathers III is drug free. After years of being high (remember the Rolling Stone cover?), my friend, Marshall is sober and he wears it well. He’s lost a ton of weight and he looks better than he did years ago. After emerging from darkness the likes of which no normal person has ever seen, or would ever survive. He made it out and lived to tell the tale.

I attended the Relapse release party as a guest of the Shady one himself. Plus one. I rolled through with one of my closest friends, one who keeps a good eye on “the package” as I have often heard celebrity handlers refer to their charges. My homeboy keeps me sober(ish), sane and on my toes and it works, it’s a good relationship.
Tonight I partied with Detroit music industry elite and realized that I can count myself in that equation. I watched Eminem on stage and thought about the ten long years that have gone by since he became a part of my life.
It’s a great blessing to be a fan and a friend of a music artist. I get to do it all the time. I feel this incredible energy and excitement when I see Black Milk, Slum Village, Royce Da 5’9” on stage, but that energy is magnified when I see Eminem rocking a crowd. Probably because he has been called the “Greatest Rapper Alive” a title that I dispute categorically as a staunch Jay-Z fan, but he is definitely number two, as in he is “the shit”.

He is also someone that I call a friend. Now, we don’t hang out. We don’t send each other Christmas cards, and a year may go by before I see him. But, when I see him, its hugs and smiles, and a level of respect that comes from mutual admiration. When I say, “I love you, Marshall.” He says, “I love you too.” Which is kind of a big deal.
When Em took the stage tonight, I was nervous. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him perform, and I hadn’t ever seen him without Proof, (God Bless the Dead). I was looking at his face from my perch on the second level of the Motor City Casino Sound Stage, a venue that I have never been in, but hope to return to. I found that I was more comfortable standing at the bar sipping expensive beer and watching the monitors with an eagle eye.

I was looking at his face. His newfound gauntness which looks good on him, I was looking in his blue eyes trying to gauge his true emotions. I saw nervousness; I even saw a little fear, which also looked good on him. He was hungry again, and that made me feel good. His unease reminded me that despite the fact that he is worth almost half a billion dollars, he’s human and he worries like a human being does. In a way that only a man does.

I also saw triumph. The kind of triumph that an athlete has who has suffered a devastating loss, but returned to champion level performance has. I saw him rock a crowd minus his right arm, and he did well. He inspired me with his winning spirit. He made me want to write. He made me want to save the world starting with my little corner of it. He made me believe in Detroit, in myself, in hip-hop, again.

So, I hope he sells a million copies this week. I feel confident about it. I hope he smiles more often. I hope he realizes that like I said in an article 5 years ago that he could fall backwards into the arms of Detroit, Michigan and we will always catch him, there is a level of trust there that is unmatched by any other artist in any other city.

I have an allegiance to this white boy. He told me once that an article I wrote was one of the best he ever read about himself. Me a fledgling journalist and him a diamond selling superstar, he thanked me for my work and he has consistently rewarded me. And now, as he takes this new step forward into a life post-Proof, I walk the line with him. And from the turnout at tonight’s concert, we are not alone.
We have all relapsed. We are Detroit. May God have mercy on us all.

It’s a great honor for me…she just asked me to interview her…so stay tuned, folks, the interview is in the works:)

BY KELLEY L. CARTER

FREE PRESS COLUMNIST

This last year has been rough for Iron Fist Records.

Unlike other indie labels, struggling to break out and get national and perhaps international recognition, the Detroit label had an advantage that few comparable labels share: a star to help sell it and its roster of hip-hop hopefuls.

Its star died last year after police say he killed another man in an after-hours gunfight.

“We’ve been going through a transition of sorts after losing Proof,” Khalid el-Hakim, the label’s vice president, says of dealing with the death of the rapper, a member of the group D12 and Eminem’s on-stage hype man. “Iron Fist was his baby. But everybody on the label has really stepped up to the plate. The artists have stepped up. The execs on the label have stepped up and we’re carrying on his legacy. …

“Iron Fist has not died with Proof. It’s living on. We’re going through some legal issues right now with his estate. We’re going through some growing pains right now — I can’t discuss them,” he says.

Late last summer, the family of Army veteran Keith Bender Jr. filed a suit against Proof’s estate in Wayne County Circuit Court. Bender’s family claims Proof, whose legal name was Deshaun Holton, is liable for attacking and fatally wounding Bender April 11 at the CCC Club on 8 Mile.

The suit does not seek a specific amount of money. A suit filed earlier in the incident was dismissed, but the most recent one claims that Proof was known to be armed and violent and shot the 35-year-old Bender, a veteran of Operation Desert Storm. Proof, 32, died that night; Bender died a week later.

The suit capped a trying year for Detroit hip-hop, which also saw the passing of James (Jay Dee) Yancey, another important figure on the scene who died a little more than a month before Proof, his friend.

On hearing the news, people near and far asked what was to become of Detroit’s urban music scene?

The answer may be partially revealed Saturday night at Soulful Saturdays as el-Hakim pushes the talent from his label’s roster to the forefront in what will become a monthly event designed to give local musicians and poets a stage.

It is also a chance to let Detroit know that despite the strife, Iron Fist Records is persevering — and it’s got some good talent on the docket.

Guys like Supa MC, Purple Gang, DJ Drummer and Woof Pak are making noise on the local front, hoping to break out nationally.

This weekend the event will include performances by Baatin — formerly of Slum Village — Omari (KingWise), Taja Sevelle and DJ Genesis. The show will be hosted by Versiz, a local poet.

“It’ll be a little bit of poetry, a little bit of R&B and a little bit of hip-hop,” el-Hakim says. “It’s an opportunity for artists, managers, promoters, record label execs to come and network in an environment that helps move the industry forward in Detroit.”

Contact KELLEY L. CARTER at 313-222-8854 or carter@freepress.com.

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You can order his Cd here for a total amount of $10 (including shipping costs).

I have read and reviewed this novel…it is really worth your buy!

He will share his thoughts with you here.