Cover Story
How Tay Crispyy took a fender-bender and a wig and became one of Detroit’s most distinctive characters
Tay Crispyy is posted up on Glendale Street on Detroit’s Westside as the sun sets. It feels like he’s waiting for some unexpected action to happen that only he knows about, but nothing eventful is going on. He’s just hanging with a friend enjoying a not-so-cold Detroit day. He has on a maroon wig (one…
Rashida Tlaib revives $5B bill to improve neighborhoods struggling with abandonment
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib reintroduced a bill Tuesday that would provide $5 billion in housing grants over the next decade to help rebuild struggling neighborhoods like the ones in Detroit and Highland Park. The Detroit Democrat first introduced the Restoring Communities Left Behind Act in February 2021. Since then, the bill has not advanced. The…
McClure’s Pickles launches limited edition ‘Dilla Dills’ in the late hip-hop beatmaker’s honor
If you’re a J Dilla fan, chances are the only food that you associate with the late hip-hop producer are doughnuts — a nod to the album he released on his birthday, three days before his death in 2006. Well, McClure’s Pickles is entering the chat with a limited edition jar of pickles in honor…
Why you need to hear punk band Day Residue, and other Detroit music news
Got a Detroit music tip? Send it to music@metrotimes.com. Debut EP from Day Residue: The DIY-punk label Painters Tapes, as the name implies, releases EPs and compilations on cassette from a bevy of hard rock and experimental synth and punk acts. The roster includes a mix of local but also international acts, with a healthy…
U-M study: Job and wage growth to continue rising in Detroit, despite recession fears
Over the next five years, Detroit’s economy will continue to add jobs, the unemployment rate will decline, and residents will earn more money, according to a new study released by the University of Michigan. Researchers expect steady growth despite fears of a mild national recession at the end of this year or the beginning of…
Michigan Dems propose $180 ‘inflation relief’ checks, increasing EITC, repealing retirement tax
After weeks of negotiations, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Democratic legislative leaders announced Monday morning that Michigan taxpayers would receive $180 “inflation relief” checks as part of a proposal that includes boosting the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and rolling back the state’s so-called retirement tax. “I’m excited about delivering the largest tax break in decades…
At rally, Detroit tenants accuse landlords of retaliatory evictions and intimidation
Kyleigh Mathewson refused to stay silent any longer, so she grabbed the microphone and told bundled up protestors standing outside a church about how she’s endured squalor ever since she signed her apartment lease. “We’ve been living in a safety and fire hazard for five years, and they refuse to do any repairs,” Mathewson said…
Detroit Councilman Benson targeted for recall over tax incentives vote
Detroiters plan to launch a petition drive to oust city Councilman Scott Benson this spring after his home and office were raided by the FBI in August 2021. The FBI targeted Benson and then-Councilwoman Janeé Ayers as agents ramped up their investigation into corruption at city hall. While Ayers was defeated in the November 2021…
New Detroit Institute of Bagels has an official opening date
We’ll finally be able to get our rosemary sea salt bagel fix come February 16 when the Detroit Institute of Bagels reopens. Owner Ben Newman confirmed the opening date to Metro Times on Monday. The bagel shop first announced it was taking over the former Ochre Bakery space in Detroit’s Core City in October of…
M. Night Shyamalan and Brandon Cronenberg each seek thrills their own way
We’re in something of a boomtime for vacation-centric films, and two new ones remain in rotation on local screens. The first, Infinity Pool, comes from Brandon Cronenberg (son of the better-known David) and was released in January; the second, Knock at the Cabin from M. Night Shyamalan and adapted from a book by Paul Tremblay,…
Young dolphin’s skull found in luggage at Detroit Metropolitan Airport
Authorities made a bizarre discovery while routinely inspecting luggage at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Inside the unattended bag was a young dolphin’s skull, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a news release Friday. The luggage was separated from its owner on an international flight. During a routine X-ray screening, authorities notice what…
Here are the Knight Foundation Detroit arts grantees for 2023
Several Detroit arts organizations are getting a boost for new projects. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has granted a total of $23 million to 10 Detroit organizations. Awardees for this round are the Arab-American National Museum, BULK Space, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, CultureSource, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Detroit…
VIDEO RECIPE: GENTLEMAN JACK VALENTINE’S CAKE w/Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur Icing
Looking to mix things up a little on Valentine’s Day? Grab your Valentine and whip up a Gentleman Jack Valentine’s Cake with Chambord Icing! As the first double-mellowed Tennessee Whiskey out there, exceptionally smooth Gentleman Jack makes for a pretty good cocktail…and an exceptionally decadent and delicious Valentine’s Day treat! There is nothing more romantic…
Rick Haglund: Why repealing Right to Work is unlikely to hurt Michigan’s economy
On a bitter December day in 2012, the Michigan Legislature passed legislation — disguised as a measure to give workers more “freedom” — that in reality was designed to strip the financial and political power of labor unions. Thousands of union members and their supporters protested at the Capitol, but to no avail. Republican lawmakers…
Detroit’s ‘BLAC’ magazine accused of nonpayment, ghosting since 2020 acquisition
BLAC Detroit magazine’s website and social media pages have gone cold. Outside of the occasional reshare on the publication’s Instagram story, there hasn’t been any new content produced in the past week. The desertion of the online publication and social channels follows the abrupt firing of the publication’s editor-in-chief, Darralynn Hutson. An industry veteran, Hutson…
Ethics complaint alleges improper hiring of Detroit paratransit leader
An ethics complaint alleges a top transportation official in Detroit violated the city’s charter by hiring an under-qualified candidate to manage paratransit services without going through the proper channels. Detroit resident Gregory Lynn, who also applied for the position of executive manager of paratransit services, raised several issues in a complaint to the City of…
Detroit Council President Sheffield to advocate duty-to-intervene ordinance following Tyre Nichols death
Following the brutal death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield plans to support an ordinance that would require police officers to intervene if another officer is using excessive force. In the next couple of weeks, Sheffield’s office tells Metro Times that the council president plans to discuss introducing Cariol’s Law,…
Detroit’s Corktown has a new adult-use dispensary
Now that Detroit finally allowed licensed recreational cannabis sales last month, its Corktown neighborhood has a new adult-use dispensary. Liberty Cannabis, located at 2540 Rosa Parks Blvd., has now been officially licensed for adult-use sales. That means anyone age 21 and older with a valid ID can purchase cannabis there. Previously, Liberty Cannabis served medical…
You can meet Motown’s Spider Webb in Detroit this month
Motown drummer Kenneth “Spider Webb” Rice is the subject of a recently released documentary that looks back on a six-decade career. Webb was scheduled to appear for a meet-and-greet session at the Motown Museum’s Greektown pop-up shop last month, but the event was canceled due to a snowstorm. Fortunately for Webb-heads, the date has been…
Cannabis delivery drivers in Michigan are getting robbed a lot
An alarming number of cannabis delivery drivers are getting assaulted in Michigan, state regulators warned. In a six-week period between December and January, 13 delivery drivers were robbed, according to the Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA). In some of the cases, armed robbers assaulted the drivers and stole their cars. The robberies took place in…
You should see ‘Gem of the Ocean’ at the Detroit Repertory Theatre
In the center of the world lies a city made entirely of bones. Here, you can get your soul washed, as long as you’re willing to confront your past and admit your wrongdoings. It’s 1904 in Philadelphia in August Wilson’s Black American classic play Gem of the Ocean, where a young man named Citizen Barlow…
Detroit’s QLine is testing $5 park-and-ride pilot program
Dealing with parking in downtown Detroit can be a pain. This month, Detroit’s QLine streetcar is launching a new $5 weekend park-and-ride pilot program so people can park their cars north of the Midtown area and use the streetcar to head downtown. During weekends throughout February, QLine riders can park at the Wayne State Parking…
Don’t mind the construction, the Motown Museum is reopening for tours
Detroit’s Motown Museum has been getting an extreme makeover over the past few years. Now it’s set to reopen for full immersive tours, starting Wednesday, Feb. 22. Guests will be treated to curated exhibits including the actual apartment Berry Gordy Jr. lived in with his family during the label’s early days, original recording equipment, and…
FBI arrests Wayne County cousins for joining violent mob during Jan. 6 insurrection
Two Wayne County cousins were arrested Wednesday on charges of storming the U.S. Capitol and clashing with federal law enforcement during the Jan. 6 insurrection. Kyle Mlynarek, 27, of Redford, and Ronald Balhorn, 53, of Garden City, face numerous charges, including interfering with law enforcement and disorderly conduct. They are the 22nd and 23rd Michigan…
Indie horror flick ‘Skinamarink’ is a surreal hit, experienced through the eyes of children
Inspired by childhood fright, experimental horror film Skinamarink reminds us why we fear the dark. Shot on a relative shoestring $15,000 budget, the film was an unlikely favorite at Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival, and despite being leaked online, it has grossed more than $1.5 million during its limited theatrical release. Critics and viewers have…
‘Pawn Stars’ will film upcoming season in Detroit and Ann Arbor
Pawn Stars, a popular History Channel reality show centered around on some very large men behind a counter telling customers how cool and rare a family heirloom is, only to lowball them into an oblivion because “Hey, that’s the best best I can do,” is coming to Detroit. “Rick, Corey and Chumlee are crossing the…
Royal Oak’s Bohemia carves a niche among metro Detroit’s Middle Eastern fare
Bohemia, which since May has operated in the same Royal Oak building and under the same ownership as Pearl’s Deep Dive and Pinky’s Rooftop, is a riot of décor, with lots of greenery, a brass swan, a shelf-full of eclectic rhinos, Thai wood carvings covering one wall, and a vertiginous tower of black-and-white squares. Among…
Whitmer signs bill to move Michigan’s presidential primary to February
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a bill that would advance the date of Michigan’s 2023 presidential primary to the fourth Tuesday in February. For decades, the state’s presidential primary has been held on the second Tuesday of March. If all goes as planned, Michigan would become fifth in the presidential primary order, behind South Carolina on…
Detroit’s historic GAR Building to become steakhouse and event space
Detroit’s Grand Army of the Republic Building has a buyer. West Bloomfield-based management company Barbat Holdings has purchased the historic GAR Building, according to a Wednesday announcement. The company plans to turn the castle-like building at 1942 Grand River Ave. into a steakhouse and event space that will span the building’s five floors. It’s slated…
Say My Name: Beyoncé mixes up St. Louis, MI, with St. Louis, MO
Beyoncé announced her “Renaissance World Tour” on her Instagram page this morning. The tour coincides with the release of Beyoncé’s seventh studio album, Renaissance, which has been nominated for nine Grammys. It will mark her first worldwide tour since “On The Run II” in 2018, when Beyoncé performed with her husband, Jay Z. But it…
Michigan couple lost grandma’s car after rioting at U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, FBI says
A Michigan couple charged with participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol was forced to take a bus home from Washington, D.C., because they lost a car owned by one of their grandmothers. Isaac Thomas, 20, of Flint, is accused of striking multiple officers with the pole of a blue Trump…
Thousands of tropical butterflies are coming to Meijer Gardens
More than 7,500 tropical butterflies will freely flutter about the five-story, 15,000-square-foot Lena Meijer Tropical Conservatory at the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids next month. The annual Fred & Dorothy Fichter Butterflies Are Blooming exhibition is set to open March 1. Organizers say it’s the largest temporary tropical butterfly exhibition in…
Beyoncé is bringing ‘Renaissance’ to Detroit
Who run the world? Beyoncé. Beyoncé announced Wednesday that she’s taking her highly acclaimed Renaissance album on a worldwide tour that will stop in Detroit on July 26 at Ford Field. We can and will get it tatted if we want to but can’t promise that we won’t hurt nobody. The “Renaissance World Tour” kicks…
The Oscars missed most of 2022’s best movies
With film exhibition, production, and distribution still reeling from the effects of the pandemic and a mess of durably ingrained habits, 2022 saw more pieces of the infrastructure we’d long enjoyed — and known to be fragile — continue to collapse. This was felt acutely on a local level, with Hamtramck’s Film Lab indefinitely shuttered…
Detroit acts the White Stripes, the Spinners nominated for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has announced its 2023 nominees, and once again the Motor City is well represented. Rock band the White Stripes and R&B vocal group the Spinners are among this year’s class. The acts join the likes of Rage Against the Machine, Kate Bush, Joy Division-New Order, Sheryl Crow, Soundgarden,…
Free Will Astrology (Feb. 1-7)
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Theoretically, you could offer to help a person who doesn’t like you. You could bring a gourmet vegan meal to a meat-eater or pay a compliment to a bigot. I suppose you could even sing beautiful love songs to annoyed passersby or recite passages from great literature to an eight-year-old immersed…
