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These emcees don’t release your stereotypical rap lyrics, cluttered with cash, crack and other cacophony, no.  They are true lyricists.  Artists brought up around other artists, striving to make a change, while simultaneously supporting others trying to do the same.

They represent creation at its highest form: collaboration.  Tree City (General P., Cheeks, Clavius Crates, and DJ Cataclysmic) planted its roots a few years back at the Neutral Zone, a local establishment giving young students alternative means of expression.   They have shared the stage with such artists as Blueprint, Phat Kat, Buff1, Brother Ali, Bronze Nazareth, United States of Mind, as well as local heavyweights One Be Lo, The Macpodz and My Dear Disco.

The group has been making music for about 5 years now and is hoping that in the near future the city of Ann Arbor will have more music venues supporting the local scene.

The hip hop community in Ann Arbor is tight-knit and thriving, which drives these artists to continue to develop their craft, says Kyle Hunter, aka General P., of Tree City.

“It’s a constantly evolving scene that forces anyone in it to evolve with it,” he explains.

This support system is the necessary fuel that keeps many groups together, and happy.  Without it, many find it difficult to realize their true potential and actualize their true profits.

“It keeps you wanting to improve your music and keep up on the business end of things as well,” says Jordan, aka The Friar, of Masons Motif.

“There are so many talented artists doing their thing around here that you need to either swim or sink.  It’s not even so much about competing as it is bringing something people haven’t heard before.”

And if you haven’t heard before, check out Tree City and Masons Motif alongside Tru Klassick, Versatai, London Homicide and DJ Zu as Prhyme Rhyme Boss headlines the “For the City” Ace Deuce Hip Hop night on Wednesday, December 1^st at The Blind Pig in Ann Arbor.

Our good friends Sharky and the Habit are competing for one of these top spots.  Vote for them here.

Sharky and the Habit formed in 2009 and is comprised of vocalist Paul Clos, guitarist James North, bassist Liz Clos and drummer Phil Draham. The group recently recorded their first studio album “LOWE” at Dark City Studios in Clawson, MI and are currently booking shows in and around Michigan. They performed at both Emerge and See events and have a truly explosive and high-energy live performance, not to mention a unique, crunk-blues sound.

Check out Sharky and the Habit on Facebook | Twitter | Myspace | Soundcloud

Vote now!

Organized by Handmade Detroit, the DUCF will feature over 70 independent crafters and artists in the historic Fillmore Detroit on Saturday, December 4th from 10am – 7pm and Sunday, December 5th from 11am – 6pm.

Get your holiday shopping on and support local handmade work.  Expect everything from clothing and jewelry to artwork, magazines, posters, crafts, stationary and more from some of the area’s best creative talent.

Our friends at Perfect Laughter and LMNOP will be participating, among many others.

We will also have a booth set up with t-shirts, illustrations and more.  Come by and say hi.  The first 25 people that come to our booth each day and mention this post will receive a free t-shirt!

See all of the Vendors and details on the DUCF website.

Over 60 different bands from Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Detroit and Chicago will perform over 4 days.

Some of our personal favorites include: The Satin Peaches, Jehovah’s Witness Protection Program, Anna Ash, Jeff Pianki, Prussia, Computer Perfection, The High Strung, and Misty Lyn & the Big Beautiful.

Venue: Woodruff’s | 36 E. Cross St | Ypsilanti (Depot Town) MI 48198
Dates: Thu Dec. 30th, 2010 – Sun. Jan. 2nd, 2011
Doors @ 3PM each day
Music until 2AM + Late Night Dance Party on NYE
$7/night or $25 for 4 Day Wristband

Full Schedule here.

All Proceeds Go To 826michigan’s Programming in Washtenaw County.
826michigan is a nonprofit writing and tutoring center serving approximately 2,000 local students at their downtown Ann Arbor location as well as at numerous classrooms, community centers and elsewhere. Their free programs are based on the understanding that writing is important for every child, and that one-on-one attention is key to building academic skills and confidence in the classroom and beyond.

Created by Erik Proulx and Peter Nelson, the documentary will sensationalize hope, highlighting those who are creating, reinventing, revitalizing and pushing for change in our community.

Lemonade: Detroit has been featured on the CBS Evening News, ABC News, and FastCompany, among many others.

OWN A PIECE OF “LEMONADE: DETROIT” FOR ONLY $1.00!
Join the movement and become an IMDB-credited producer!

Their debut album, Go HAAM!, is available now on iTunes, and the album release party is November 24th.

Free downloads: Follow the Drip, History in the Making, Out 4 Just Us.

“Street Justice is on the cusp of breaking out nationally rather than just being known in Detroit and the Midwest with this project.” – Dart Adams (Bloggerhouse.net)

“…these cats are nice… I’m adding that one (”High Life”) to my rotation today!” – Kevin Nottingham (KevinNottingham.com)

“Just bumped my early copy of Street Justice’s album “Go Haam,” and it’s dope.” - William Ketchum (HipHopDx.com, MichiganHipHop.com)

“This is some real talk here: Street Justice’s “Go Haam” is 5 mic quality.” – Marcel Friday (Whutupdoe.com)

Street Justice’s Go HAAM! album release party, presented by Freshtight Designs, will feature some of the area’s best hip hop talent together on one stage.  Come celebrate their highly-anticipated debut album on Wednesday, November 24th at The Crofoot’s Pike Room, along with:

Magestik Legend
RenCen CoolBeanz
The Left
Rizzy
and special surprises!
More info…

About Street Justice:

Hailing from a city who’s musical legacy stretches back to Motown’s singing sensations The Marvelettes, arrives Inkster, Michigan’s own hip-hop group Street Justice The trio, commonly referred to as SJ, is comprised of Ketchphraze (Chrishaun Stanton) Redd (Clifford Johnson) and Jypsy (Julian Hearn),who together form a group that exemplifies a combination of passion, energy, and versatility. With a sound best described has “Soulful yet, Gangsta”, SJ provides listeners with a form of raw lyricism and substance over a broad range hard-hitting, soulful production.

Taking musical influences from artists and groups such as Slum Village, Little Brother, Redman, as well as the brilliant sounds of the Detroit’s own Funk Brothers, poises SJ to become a force in the hip-hop community.

Since the groups formation in 2003, Street Justice has received critically acclaimed recognition from the Detroit hip-hop community backed by three “Street Albums”; The Coffee House (2006) & History In The Making (2007), both receiving Detroit Hip Hop award nominations for Mixtape of the Year, as well as their most recent release Out 4 JustUs (2008) which received over 10,000 + downloads and was called one of Detroit’s top 15 albums of the year by the Real Detroit Weekly.

Though receiving many accolades from their current body of music, the stage is where Street Justice effortlessly excels. With a live show that has traveled on the Vans Warped Tour (2008) shared the stage with the likes of Nas, Redman and Method Man, Little Brother & Dilated People to name a few, exhibits the precise polished chemistry that has set SJ apart from their peers on stage. Always accompanied by a live band, Street Justice has proven they can electrify diverse crowds from festivals to local bars, historic venues and even college arenas. Bringing a “last show” mentality to every performance, weather there’s one fan or one thousand fans shows the dedication SJ has to their craft. With no signs of slowing, Street Justice is prepping for their first original project entitled “Go H.A.A.M. (Hard. As. A. Muh’f**a)”, to be released in 2010. The highly anticipated release from the Inkster trio is sure to solidify that “Street Justice is your favorite group.”

It’s ability to grab your attention?  Human interest?  Humor? Or just a good product?

Well, you’re wrong…and right.

The world’s largest social media conference definitely exceeded expectations.  The Convention Center itself is huge, almost 1.7 million square feet!  And BlogWorld used basically the whole facility. The Exhibitor space featured vendors from industries such as Social Media Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Content Aggregation, Mobile Technology, Blogging Platforms, and Online Video.  Not to mention the open bar and delicious catered food!

We attended many conference sessions, though I wished we would’ve been able to attend more.  Many presentations overlapped with each other so it was tough to decide.  I had thought that I could listen to the first half of one, and then run over and catch the latter half of another.. but once I was sitting in a session, it was too tough to leave!

Friday:

Music and Entertainment: I’m Nothing Without My Fans
panel: Asher Roth (@asherroth) and D.A. Wallach (@DAChesterFrench) from Star Trak Record‘s Chester French, Patrick O’Keefe and Wayne Sutton.

Friday morning we listened to a great panel discuss how artists and performers build meaningful relationships with their fans through social media, and how all industries can succeed using their strategies.  There were many topics they touched upon, including exclusivity, that people like to feel special, that you as a content creator need to provide the content that fans want, and the fact that your readers are always (whether consciously or not) looking for authenticity.  It was a great opportunity to hear the perspectives of the artists themselves.  One quote I particularly enjoyed, speaking of social networks, was to “embrace the lack of control of these environments; the spontaneity.”

Wayne Sutton (SocialWayne.com, @waynesutton) is an entrepreneur, strategist, and producer with a passion for video blogging and social media.

Patrick O’Keefe (PatrickOKeefe.com, @iFroggy) is the founder of the iFroggy Network, a network of websites covering various interests.  He has been responsible for the cultivation of communities like phpBBHacks.com, KarateForums.com and PhotoshopForums.com.

What blogger wouldn’t want to be featured in a popular periodical or on the nightly news?  You can spend hour after hour chasing one subscriber at a time via Twitter or Facebook, or get the kind of coverage in mainstream media that will skyrocket your following in an instant.  Seasoned journalist Amy Parmenter took us inside the newsroom to better understand how decisions are made.  She explained why some blogs get coverage and others do not, what makes a press release stand out, and how to create buzz around your blog.  As an entrepreneur and now blogger, Amy is one of the few people who stands squarely where mainstream and new media meet.

The Exhibitor Showcase featured over 90 social media and technology companies and was topped off by an open bar and catered food service.  Some of the big names were Yahoo!, Blackberry, Blogger, Ford, iStockphoto, Marketwire, CoTweet, Pepsi, Plixi, radian6, Shuttershock, Social Media Club, Southwest Airlines, Rackspace, YouTube and Sony.

Get out your camera, paintbrush, pen and paper — whatever medium suits your fancy — and submit your 4.25″ x 6″ design to their website no later than January 31^st, 2011.

Whether it’s a Saturday morning at Eastern Market, a romantic get-away to Mackinac Island, or a big weekend at the Ann Arbor Summer Festival — anything you can do or any place you can visit in Michigan goes.

AIGA will print and mail the winning entries to AIGA chapters all across the country.  Additionally, winning entries will be showcased at a gallery event and reception (date TBD).

Visit AIGA’s Wish You Were Here contest for details on submission guidelines, judging process, and qualifications.

It’s no secret that Michigan has gotten a bad rap in the media over the past few years.  With the Big Three fighting on the ropes, plenty of unfriendly lens have been focused on Michigan.  Now’s your chance show the world who Michigan really is.

Learn more about the history of postcards on the AIGA Detroit blog Superscript.

INSPIRATION:

Beulah | Angela Duncan

Beulah epitomizes the beautiful lifestyle of Michigan’s Northwest Lower Peninsula. Its rivers, lakes and forests set the stage for my childhood memories.

Eastern Market, Detroit | Don Kilpatrick

I recently moved here to the Detroit metro area from California to teach, and one of my favorite things about Detroit is Eastern market.

Bonaventure, Farmington Hills | Jessica Phillips

Who doesn’t love a day at the roller rink? It’s the perfect recipe for fun… skating in circles hand in hand, under a rainbow of lights, and dancing to sweet jams.

Sault Ste. Marie | Liisa Salonen

Living in the U.P. makes a postcard seem more relevant, less artifact. Inspired by old post-cards from a second hand store, typography and photos reflect my everyday.

Wilderness State Park, Carp Lake | Lisa Norton

Michigan Wilderness State Park is the perfect place to spend some time enjoying the great outdoors with your four legged friend. The park covers 4,492 acres filled with trees, rivers, and wildlife.