Cover Stories
Musicians take on the NFTs craze, too
When our Founding Fathers drafted the Constitution, they could scarcely have foreseen the arrival of household assault weapons, Senate filibusters or, in all likelihood, Kings of Leon sending a cryptographic video into space and then auctioning off the iPhone it was played on. But all of these things have come to pass, one of the…
Expensive jpegs or artistic autonomy? Detroit artists explore NFTs
When prolific Detroit artist Sheefy McFly posted his series of NFTs for sale on OpenSea in December, it sold out in a matter of minutes. The five limited-edition digital drawings were really just characters from Super Mario Bros, The Simpsons, and Dragon Ball Z mashed together like a Frankenstein experiment, but they each sold for…
Best Pre-Workout for Men (2022) Review Top Supplement Brands
If you work out at all, whether you are a competitive athlete or you just want to keep yourself in shape, and you’ve been in the gym, you’ve no doubt heard people talking about pre-workout supplements. You’re intrigued. You’ve heard that these are supplements that can improve your athletic performance in a variety of ways…
Detroit’s Movement releases full lineup, including Flying Lotus, Skrillex, Carl Craig b2b James Murphy, and more
After several years away from Hart Plaza due to the pandemic, Detroit’s Movement music festival is set to return in 2022. And now the full lineup is finally here, with quite a few surprises. According to an announcement that fest organizers Paxahau released Wednesday, the full bill includes more than 110 acts. Those include big…
MC5’s Wayne Kramer announces new music, tour stop at Detroit’s El Club
Following the MC5’s recent nomination into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, guitarist Wayne Kramer has announced new music and a tour as part of a “reanimation” of the pioneering band, dubbed We Are All MC5. The eight-date trek starts on May 5 at Detroit’s El Club. Tickets go on sale on Friday, March…
Michigan coalition launches petition to add abortion rights to state constitution
A coalition of advocacy organizations launched a petition drive Tuesday to amend the Michigan Constitution to affirm reproductive rights, including abortion and birth control. The goal is to collect enough signatures to trigger a ballot initiative to “explicitly affirm Michiganders’ fundamental right to reductive freedom,” which includes “the right to make and carry out decisions…
Michigan has the third-largest cannabis industry in the country
A new report shows that Michigan has the third-highest number of cannabis-related jobs in the country. There are literally more people working in the weed industry than there are police and firefighters in the state — which makes sense, considering how there’s seemingly a new dispensary cropping up every week. The report shows there are…
Detroit emcee JunesFlow drops tribute to Detroit Jit dancing and ghettotech
Over the last 7 years or so, Detroit’s homegrown combination of Jit dancing and ghettotech music has been revitalized in attempts to introduce it to the city’s current youth culture, and also to make sure both art forms stay preserved. The two go hand in hand, as most Jitters dance to fast-paced ghettotech beats. Enter…
You can buy pot and pierogies at a Detroit dispensary’s Ukraine fundraiser this weekend
A number of Michigan businesses are showing solidarity with Ukraine by hosting solidarity dinners and removing Russian vodka from shelves. Now a Detroit cannabis company is chipping in by donating 100% of its sales to relief efforts in Ukraine this weekend. Luxury Loud, located at 2520 22nd St. in Detroit, will host a Pierogi and…
Black developers breathe new life into hulking, abandoned Fisher Body plant in Detroit
The hulking, abandoned Fisher Body No. 21 plant in Detroit has long been a symbol of the city’s industrial decline. If all goes as planned, that’s about to change. Dubbed the largest Black-led development in the city’s history, a recently announced $134 million project calls for transforming the decaying, six-story building into a large mixed-use…
A growing number of Michigan Starbucks workers are moving to unionize
Following the success of Starbucks workers in Buffalo, New York, forming the coffee chain’s first-ever union at a company-owned store in December, more and more workers at other locations across the country are moving to do the same. In Michigan, that number is growing. In January, workers at four Michigan Starbucks locations — two in…
Recreational dispensaries in Detroit? Council committee endorses new ordinance
The city of Detroit on Monday moved one step closer to allowing recreational marijuana dispensaries and other cannabis businesses to open. The Public Health and Safety Committee voted 2-1 to advance a proposed ordinance to the full City Council for a vote. The ordinance would enable the city to provide licenses for people to open…
The Lip Bar and Glam-Aholic Lifestyle do it for the ‘D Girls’ with Detroit Day collaboration
If you ever wanted to know what it means to be a D-girl, all you have to do is listen to Lola Damone’s verse on Drunken Master’s “50 Playaz Deep.” Detroit women are multi-layered hustlers with a look like sugar, but can cut you like cayenne. In honor of those women, Detroit’s favorite bosses Melissa…
In ‘The Worst Person in the World,’ romance is and isn’t easy
For a director obsessed with questions of fate, power, choice, and consequences, Joachim Trier’s largely realistic suite of work focused on the everyday might not seem like the most natural mode. But with the exception of 2017’s Thelma, the Norwegian director has routinely plied renderings of everyday life to explore these themes nonetheless. Across Trier’s…
The ‘Tied in 313 Day’ concert will celebrate Detroit hip-hop
The local and national enthusiasm for Detroit’s hip-hop scene has never been higher. It seems every week a new Motor City artist has an album rising up the Apple Music Top 100 chart or popping up on a track with a mainstream artist. Enter “The Tied In 313 Day Concert,” a celebration showcasing Detroit’s own…
State House legislation would create reparations fund for Black Michigan residents
Democratic state lawmakers are calling on the Legislature to approve a reparations fund for Black Michigan residents. The Racial Equity and Reparations Fund Act in the state House would provide $1.5 billion in federal money for grants, loans, investments, and other assistance for businesses and economic developments that “promote the African-American community” in Michigan. A…
A failed MAGA Mixer, a TikTok famous bakery, and Detroit techno in Gotham: The top ten Metro Times headlines of the week
This week our readers were most interested in a Lansing brewery realizing that maybe it didn’t want to host a “MAGA Mixer.” A few of our readers were interested in learning about a Michigan cookie-centered bakery whose sweet treats have TikTok in a chokehold . Our readers continue to be invested in the updates about…
‘To Make is To Stay’ showcases Arab artists and the desire to be understood in a beautiful way
Two young women in hijabs pose underneath a photo of a girl with a neon sign that says eib glowing across her face. The Arabic word doesn’t translate exactly, but the closest English counterpart is “shame.” Techno music pumps steadily in the background as the girl in the photo sits behind the loss of innocence that’s…
Detroit farming groups receive nearly $1 million to help fund youth gardening programs
Detroit has always been a hub for urban gardening, and a sizable grant will allow two agricultural organizations to spread the gospel of growing your own food even further. Keep Growing Detroit and Detroit Black Community Food Security Network (DBCFSN) collectively received $900,000 from Rite Aid Healthy Futures. The money will be used over two…
Task force created to combat COVID-19 racial disparities in Michigan finds success, but many challenges lie ahead
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, a disturbing trend emerged that worried health officials: the virus was killing an alarming number of Black residents in Michigan. As a result, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer assembled the Michigan Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities to examine the inequalities and develop a plan to reduce them. Chaired by…
Audit quashes conspiracy theories about widespread election fraud in Michigan
The Michigan Office of the Auditor General debunked conspiracy theories about widespread election fraud, concluding in a report released Friday that local and state officials conducted accurate audits of the election that found little to no irregularities. The office found no evidence of fraud and said the post-election audits were sufficient, with some exceptions, contradicting…
Nessel asks state Supreme Court to expand protections for LGBTQ
The state’s highest court has a decision to make that could affect hundreds of thousands of Michiganders — does the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) ban discrimination on sexual orientation? The Michigan Supreme Court held oral arguments Wednesday for the landmark Rouch World LLC et al v Michigan Department of Civil Rights et al case. Attorney…
Hamtramck cop charged with taking bribes as part of widening public corruption probe
The ongoing FBI investigation into the towing industry in metro Detroit led to bribery charges Thursday against a former Hamtramck cop. Mike Stout, 60, is the sixth person to be charged in connection with the probe dubbed, Operation Northern Hook, which is also targeting Detroit council members’ ties to the towing industry. So far, criminal…
Tea Burn Reviews – Customer Reviews On Tea Burn Weight Loss Exposed
Hello readers! In this Tea Burn review, you will find out whether the recently launched Tea Burn formula is a safe and effective remedy to your overweight problems or not! Healthy weight management is not easy as it sounds, I understand. And given that you are here, I assume that you must have already had…
Trump-loving, COVID-denying, Russia-defending conspiracy theorist wins special Michigan House election
A Trump loyalist and conspiracy theorist who defended Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, said COVID-19 is no worse than the flu, and wants to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Michigan is one step closer to being an elected state representative. On Tuesday, Robert Regan won the special primary election for the 74th state House District…
Detroit’s Black Women Rock is back with a Betty Davis Tribute this March
“Rocka rolla woman for a rocka rolla man. You can take her if you want her if you think you can,” Judas Priest once said. Psych — even if you think you can, the ladies of Black Women Rock are ready to kick your ass if you try. After a nearly two-year hiatus, the Black…
Michigan AG joins nationwide investigation into TikTok’s impact on mental health of young people
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office announced it joined a nationwide investigation into the TikTok app “for providing and promoting its social media platform to children and young adults even though social media use is associated with physical and mental health harms to young people,” according to a statement sent Thursday. “Recent reports on social…
‘Wonderfully preserved’ 130-year-old shipwreck found in Lake Superior
A Michigan shipwreck society found the remains of the Atlanta, a 172-foot schooner-barge that sank in Lake Superior on May 4, 1891. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society says it found the wreck 35 miles off the coast of Deer Park, Michigan, 650 feet below the surface of the water. Due to the frigid temperatures…
Nonprofit to fundraise for Main Art Theatre revival with ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ screening
Royal Oak’s Main Art Theatre left a hole in the hearts of film enthusiasts when it closed abruptly in April 2021. Where else could freaks and geeks gather for midnight showings of cult classics on the big screen? Well, now there is a grassroots organization that’s dedicated to getting the longstanding theatre re-opened. Friends of…
Blake’s Hard Cider expands west with acquisition of Oregon-based cider company
Blake’s Hard Cider is heading out west. The Michigan-based cider company announced on social media that it would be taking on the operating assets of Oregon-based cider company Avid Hard Cider Co. The two companies will form a new entity, Avid Cider Co., LLC, which will acquire existing taproom leases, production facilities, recipes, equipment, and…
Lansing brewery suddenly realizes it shouldn’t host ‘MAGA Mixer’
Public outcry has prompted a Lansing brewery to cancel a fundraising event it was hosting for supporters of former President Donald Trump. The “MAGA Mixer” was planned for March 26 at the Lansing Brewing Company at 518 E. Shiawasee St. The organizers – Republicans for National Renewal and Grand Opportunity USA (GOUSA) – were raising…
Detroit Symphony Orchestra honors Black composers with Classical Roots
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra will host its 21st annual Classical Roots Concerts and Celebration Gala on Friday and Saturday. The yearly program honors African-American composers, musicians, educators, and leaders, and raises funds for the DSO’s African American music and musician development program. This year’s program celebrates DSO director Dr. Glenda Price and late conductor and…
Detroit Shipping Co. sister project announces initial restaurants for Lansing food hall
Details for the Lansing Shuffle Food Hall & Social Club, a project led by the people behind the Detroit Shipping Co., are firming up. The project announced its initial three restaurants on Wednesday, with more to follow. The restaurants are the first to be announced for the upcoming food hall and entertainment venue, which is…
They are absolutely bumping Detroit techno in the nightclub in ‘The Batman’
The Batman, the latest film installment featuring the popular DC Comics superhero, gets a wide release on Friday. We caught a preview screening on Tuesday and we are pleased to report that there is a nightclub depicted in the film, and they are 100% absolutely bumping Detroit techno in it. The club in question is…
Blondie is playing in Detroit for the first time in nearly 10 years
One way or another, we knew Blondie would make their way back to Detroit eventually. The legendary Rock and Roll Hall of Famers just announced their 2022 “Against the Odds” tour with a pitstop at the Fox Theatre on Aug. 26. Tickets go on sale on Friday at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster and start at…
Rep. Tlaib rallies behind working families in response to Biden’s State of the Union
U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib delivered an impassioned response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, calling on Democrats to unite behind progressive legislation to help the struggling working class. Speaking on behalf of the independent Working Families Party, a grassroots progressive political organization, Tlaib, D-Detroit, described herself as a mother of…
The brisket is bangin’ at Arkins Sweet BBQ Pit in Southfield
Generally speaking, you aren’t going to find much brisket in Detroit’s barbecue pits. Here, ribs and rib tips are king, and for beef and brisket you got to head north of Eight Mile. But even then, finding brisket worth mentioning is a bit of a challenge. Oakland County isn’t Amarillo, so it was with low…
Savage Love: Polyamorous paradise
I’m a 34-year-old straight cis male. About eighteen months ago I met a lovely human that I’m crazy about. When we started dating, she said she needed us to be poly and I agreed. It was a first for both of us! I’d always been interested — my parents are queer and have been poly…
Free Will Astrology (March 2-8)
ARIES (March 21-April 19): “I not only bow to the inevitable,” wrote Aries author Thornton Wilder. “I am fortified by it.” Wow. That was a brazen declaration. Did he sincerely mean it? He declared that he grew stronger through surrender, that he derived energy by willingly giving in to the epic trends of his destiny.…
Fascism comes to America, draped in red, white, and blue
Mitch McConnell knows how to win the midterm: Oppose everything Joe Biden does, blame him for anything that goes wrong, but never lay out an agenda that turns the election into a choice rather than a referendum. Last week, however, Sen. Rick Scott — a billionaire Medicare scammer who scammed Floridians into narrowly electing him…
Four ways corporate greed is driving inflation
Like many Americans, I’ve been thinking a lot about inflation — what causes it, why we’re experiencing it right now, and how it’ll affect my family. So I decided to cut into it, breaking down how it works and offering up an epidemiologist’s perspective in a two-part series. In part one, I broke down how…
Autorama and more things to do in metro Detroit this week
Select events happening in metro Detroit this week. Submit your events to metrotimes.com/calendar. Be sure to check venue websites for COVID-19 policies. Corktown Music Festival Friday, March 4 and Saturday, March 5: The annual Hamtramck Music Festival won’t return to its typical time in early March this year. Instead, some HMF organizers have decided to…
