Ty Stone has been a Detroit star-in-waiting for nearly three years. With Kid Rock's help, Stone landed a contract with Atlantic Records. Since then he's recorded enough songs to put out a box set, and he supported Kid Rock on his arena Rock N Roll Jesus tour. As you read this, someone at Atlantic is probably still trying to figure out whether to market Stone's many recordings as rock 'n' roll, country or soul. Genre label or no, the thickset Stone is a kick-ass singer. He is. No shit. 

Next year should finally see the release of his debut LP (his promo-only four-song teaser EP came out this year) and some royalties for the Downriver dude to buy a sweet car or two. Until then, Stone gets around, with more than an acceptable amount of style, in his awesome T-roof 1991 Camaro.

"It's ballin' on a budget, you know?" Stone cracks. "It's shabby chic." He snagged the Camaro from "the last hillbilly in St. Clair Shores," after test-driving more than 30. 

For painting and customization, Stone took his T-roof to one of the Detroit area's best customizers — Adam Genei's Mob Steel out of Brighton. Mob Steel's signature is tricked-out, all black Lincolns (Genei's grandfather once owned a Lincoln dealership). In fact, Mob Steel does work for a lot of NFL and NBA greats — among them the Redskins' Albert Haynesworth, NBA TV's Scott Pollard and the St. Louis Rams' Jacob Bell. For Stone's Camaro, Mob Steel mostly just fixed the bumpers, painted it black (of course) and (to Stone's surprise) dropped a custom TS logo on the car. 

It's makes perfect sense that Genei worked on Stone's car, their works are love letters to the creative and industrial legacy of the Motor City. "When Henry Ford got started, he made all black cars," Genei says, "This is our way of paying homage to him."

Ty Stone and the Truth will appear with Doop & the Inside Outlaws, Whitey Morgan & the 78's, Robin Horlock and Brandon Calhoun on Wednesday, Nov. 25, at St. Andrew's Hall, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; 313-961-813. For more Ty Stone info go to myspace.com/tystone; for more info on Mob Steel go to mobsteel.com.