Cover Story
After 15 years of Shady Records, Marshall Mathers and crew talk hip-hop, lessons learned, and new Detroit
Marshall Mathers III is, arguably, the greatest American wordsmith of the 20th century. He is easily the greatest of the first 15 years of the new millennium. He bends words to rhyme with each other when they shouldn’t. He takes truths that are horrifying, and with his uniquely Michigan sense of humor, finds the funny…
It’s Small Business Saturday
Guys, it’s Small Business Saturday, which means you should be spending your hard-earned dollar at your neighborhood boutique rather than Target (hey, we love Target, too). To help you out, we’ve got a couple resources that we’re putting here, directly at your finger tips. The first is this post about local retailers. And the second…
As they face Ohio State, the Michigan Wolverines are a pathetic fiasco
The Michigan-Ohio State football game — to be played this Saturday (Nov. 29) in Columbus, Ohio — is an annual peak moment for sports fans in the Detroit area, most of Michigan, all of Ohio, much of the Great Lakes and Midwest region, and, sometimes, the entire nation. This autumn, a Wolverines upset would be…
Happy Thanksgiving from Metro Times!
Thank you, Dear Readers, for supporting us through thick and thin! We we are grateful! We wish you and your families and loved ones a happy day—now and always.
Event highlights need for efficient public transit in Metro Detroit
Until 1956, Metro Detroit maintained a world-class streetcar system. Then, on April 8 of that year, the last train would roll down Woodward Avenue; soon after the system’s tracks were ripped up in 1956. Some transit advocates consider that as destructive as Detroit’s 1967 riots. Last month, about three-hundred people gathered inside the banquet room…
Rally planned for 4:30 p.m. at Hart Plaza in Detroit following Ferguson decision
Last night, a small group of about 15 gathered in front of the federal courthouse in downtown Detroit following a grand jury’s decision not to indict a white police officer who shot and killed unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Members of the groups the Michigan Emergency Committee Against War & Injustice, the Moratorium…
Michigan lands on list of 5 worst states for LGBT people
Michigan has cemented itself on a list of the five worst states for LGBT people, alongside the likes of Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas. The list comes courtesy of Rolling Stone, which cites the recent decision by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold Michigan’s gay marriage ban. The decision is likely to force a…
Michigan bill would raise speed limit to 80 mph on freeways
The Michigan Legislature has considered the idea of raising the speed limit on certain roads throughout the year, but now with Lansing’s lame-duck session in full-effect, that could soon become a reality. Last week, State. Rep. Brad Jacobsen (R-Oxford) introduced a bill that would increase the speed limit on some of the state’s freeways by…
We’re not sure if this town is big enough for that factory-sized techno club
You’ve probably already heard about one Dimitri Hegemann, the “techno entrepreneur” who transformed a Berlin department store into a now-legendary nightclub, with his sights now set on doing the same in Detroit’s old Fisher Body 21 plant. It’s a romantic idea, filled with peace, love, and techno — exactly the kind of thing that people love to…
UPDATE: Dej Loaf makes national television debut on ‘The Tonight Show’ with Jimmy Fallon
[UPDATE 9:08 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 25014: Watch the clip of the performance, which is Dej Loaf’s national television debut, below.] Dej Loaf, the reluctant hip-hop star, will be the musical guest on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon this evening, Monday, Nov. 24. The episode airs at 11:35 p.m. EST. (It’s the second Detroit performer on…
Ugly sweater shops open at metro Detroit malls just in time for Black Friday
‘Tis the season—ugly sweater season, that is— and two metro Detroit malls have opened up ugly sweater kiosks, just in time for the Black Friday rush. UglyChristmasSweater.com has established seasonal residence at Great Lakes Crossing in Auburn Hills and at Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi, so folks looking to snag the latest ugly sweater fads shan’t have…
ACLU asks appeals court to reinstate ICP lawsuit over gang classification
Last week, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) asked a federal appellate court to reinstate its lawsuit against the U.S. Justice Department and the FBI, which seeks to remove Juggalos, the rap duo’s fans, from a list describing them as a gang. In a 44-page brief filed with the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals,…
Judge Mathis and LA Clippers’ Jamal Crawford will be handing out turkeys to local students tomorrow
Tomorrow, at the Mathis Community Center, Detroit’s Judge Greg Mathis (You may know him from the Judge Mathis show on WKBD) will be giving away Thanksgiving turkeys to teenagers to take home to their families. On top of the turkey handouts, Judge Mathis will also welcome Jamal Crawford, the L.A. Clippers’ all-star guard, who will be passing out…
Eminem ice cream flavor debuts today in New York
In celebration of Eminem’s latest album, SHADYXV, which MT wrote about at length last week, an ice cream shop in New York City is unveiling a new flavor to coincide with today’s release. Mikey Likes It Ice Cream, an East Village shop that bills itself as the world’s first pop culture-inspired premium ice cream brand, boasting…
Detroit People Mover offering free rides on Thanksgiving
Who doesn’t like free? If you have plans to run in the annual Turkey Trot, watch Detroit’s Thanksgiving Day parade, enjoy the Detroit Lions win(!), or just want to ride in an endless loop above Detroit’s Central Business District, please take note: You can ride the Detroit People Mover for free on Thanksgiving. Thanks to…
Meet the Gold family from ‘Hardcore Pawn’ at a holiday fundraiser
Are you a hardcore fan of the reality TV show Hardcore Pawn? Then you won’t want to miss this opportunity to meet the Gold family, the show’s stars and owners of pawnshop American Jewelry and Loan, at a holiday fundraiser next month. The Golds will be on hand to take photos with fans, and for a…
15 years of Shady Records, in photos
Shady Records supplied MT with a number of photos of their artists over the course of 15 years. Check out the photos here, and read our exclusive interview with Shady co-founders Marshall Mathers and Paul Rosenberg here.
ESPN reports on Detroit scalpers
ESPN is all over Detroit scalpers today—those working hard selling their free Bills-Jets tickets: Minutes after the Lions made free tickets available for Monday night’s rescheduled game between the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets, fans were being turned away from the box office at Ford Field… Scalpers quickly moved to sell the tickets on…
Here are two things you should read this Sunday
It’s Sunday, and the weather is garbage, so chances are you’ll stay inside today. Take some time today to read something fulfilling and enjoyable. Here are three suggestions to get you started. “Can Whole Foods Change the Way Poor People Eat?” by Tracie McMillan — Slate/FERN Whole Foods made a splash when it decided to…
Three ways to legally drink underage in Michigan
Whether you’re a “cool” parent — and to be honest, “cool” parents are actually the worst — or just a kid looking to get a little buzz on, Michigan law stipulates three occasions under which folks not yet 21 can legally consume alcohol in the state. 1. For religious purposes: Sip on some wine or…
Meet Alex from Target next Saturday
Alex, this kid who works at Target, got super famous earlier this month for, erm, working at Target. Apparently a couple of teenage girls thought he was cute, and suddenly his picture was all over the Twitter sphere. Literally, it was trending worldwide. Now, this kid is ridiculously famous. And honestly, we’re still kind of…
Watch Patti Smith interview David Lynch (and vice versa)
“The Godmother of Punk” met “the first popular Surrealist” when Patti Smith and David Lynch recently interviewed each other for the a segment on BBC Newsnight’s ‘Encounters’ series. Among the topics discussed was anti-Putin punk rock guerilla protest group Pussy Riot, who Smith met at Chicago’s Riot Fest back in September. “One of the things they…
R&R Saloon abruptly closes, Macho City moves to Menjo’s for now
Detroit gay bar the R&R Saloon has abruptly closed, according to a Facebook post by Michael Trombley last night, who was supposed to DJ there as part of Macho City on Saturday, Nov. 29. Trombley says this Saturday, Nov. 22, will be the final day the bar is open. Trombley also says within minutes of…
Detroit bankruptcy judge denies petition to reconsider water moratorium
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes reaffirmed a decision he made to allow Detroit’s water department to continue its aggressive shut-off campaign, saying he doesn’t have the authority to stop the city from cutting off the tap. In September, Rhodes denied a request to halt the water shut-offs brought forth in a lawsuit filed by a…
Here’s everything you need to know about downtown Detroit’s tree-lighting event tonight
More than 25,000 people are expected to converge upon Campus Martius in downtown Detroit this evening for the city’s 11th annual tree-lighting ceremony. It’s freezing, sure, and traffic will be stuffy, but the event features a packed schedule of entertainment, including: a performance from Jena Irene, a runner up on “American Idol;” a skating performance…
Audio: Bruce Springsteen plays Detroit’s Masonic Temple, 1978
It’s really freakin’ cold outside today, so we suggest warming up with a hot cup of cocoa or spiked beverage of your choice, and some throwback tunes from Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s 1978 concert at Detroit’s Masonic Temple. The full show clocks in at just over three hours and includes an enormously comprehensive…
Check out Kid Rock’s new Niagara-inspired bass drum
Earlier, we reported that Kid Rock cut a check for $20,000 to author Rob St. Mary to help realize his planned Orbit Magazine anthology, to be released on Wayne State University Press next fall. St. Mary had set up a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for the project with various prizes for different donation levels — including Niagara’s…
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. to return to the Crofoot this weekend
Home may be where the heart is, but according to Dan Zott of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., it’s also where the party is. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., which is made up of Zott and fellow Metro Detroiter, Josh Epstein, is currently on the final leg of a 22-show tour, which will end this weekend with…
Juan Atkins returns with new Model 500 music
Detroit techno pioneer Juan Atkins has announced his first new record as Model 500 in 16 years, according to Resident Advisor. The third album under the Model 500 name, it will be released on Atkins’ own Metroplex Records label in January 2015. In 1981, Atkins and one Richard Davis co-founded the seminal electro group Cybotron…
Is Whole Foods accomplishing their goal of combatting elitism, racism, and obesity in Detroit?
In April of 2012, when Walter Robb, the co-CEO of Whole Foods, spoke to the Milken Institute Global Conference, he made some rather ambitious statements on the company’s goal with its new Detroit location. “We’ve tried to put the community first in this effort,” Robb said. “I know that we’re learning as much as we’re…
Senate report: Goldman Sachs boosted aluminum costs by manipulating the market
A two-year investigation released this week by a U.S. Senate committee accuses two large Wall Street banks of manipulating markets for basic commodities, a point that has ties to Metro Detroit. Starting in 2010, Goldman Sachs purchased a company, Metro International Trading Services, that owned a boatload of warehouses around the world that stored metals,…
Portland Juggalos accused of protesting gentrification with ‘vulgar’ flyers
Threatening flyers posted in business windows and a rash of car break-ins in a trendy Portland, Ore. neighborhood are leading some to the conclusion that local Juggalos are protesting gentrification, Portland’s KOIN reports. Flyers reading “You have been targeted by the Juggalo Family to get the [censored] out. Vacate or [censored] our [censored],” have been…
ICYMI: Watch ‘Daily Show’ correspondent completely nail the Detroit water shut-offs debate
In case you missed it — The Daily Show correspondent Jessica Williams traveled to Detroit in Monday’s episode to cover the Detroit water shut-offs, and of course, handled the issue with the show’s typical brand of snark. “Once again, poor people were just blaming the victim — innocent 18-hole golf courses who desperately need their…
Duggan to announce launch of Detroit side-lot program
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan will announce this afternoon an expansion of a program that would allow residents to purchase thousands of vacant side lots across the city from the Detroit Land Bank Authority. During the press conference, scheduled for 1 p.m., Duggan will reveal details of “side lot sales fairs” in District’s 6 and 7,…
Michigan’s no-helmet law for motorcyclists has brought more deaths
Since Republican Gov. Rick Snyder decided to sign into a law that repealed Michigan’s required motorcycle helmet law, 25 percent of riders choose to cruise without one, according to Bridge magazine. That, almost entirely expected, has brought about more issues. From Bridge: The annual cost of that freedom: roughly two dozen more deaths, scores of…
Michiganders drink a lot of booze
At least that’s the conclusion of the folks at Thrillist, who recently ranked America’s booziest states from 50 to one by comparing 10 distinct criterion — from per-capita craft breweries to last-call hours. How did Michigan fair, you ask? Quite respectably, indeed. 17. Michigan Standout stat: 109 wineries and vineyards Solid stats all around, but MI pulled its high…
Mimi’s Bistro is on pointe
The Pointes seem to have more than their fair share of quaint breakfast and lunch spots; one more to add to their ranks is Mimi’s Bistro on Jefferson in Grosse Pointe Park, just a few blocks east of the Detroit border. The charming eatery opened this summer, with a menu influenced by owner Melanie Schridde’s…
Hot Shotz: The Emory’s Mike Pierce pours us up a Sedgewick
Mike Pierce didn’t expect his career to be in a bar. He left the club scene for a short, six-year purgatory in a corporate cubicle before returning to the hospitality industry three years ago, this time for good. When he started at the Emory, the Ferndale bar was just five years old. He was bartending…
Politics and Prejudices: Why Snyder lost
Had he stepped down after one term, our nerd governor would’ve looked like a true statesman. Yes, you read that right. Rick Snyder, more than likely, made a dreadful mistake when he decided to run for a second term. Now he will pay for it. Mitt Romney isn’t someone Snyder feels very close to, as far…
Photographer Kenny ‘Karpov’ Corbin takes a closer look at a Detroit neighborhood
Southwest Detroit’s neighborhood of Delray has been in the news a lot lately, due to a long-rumored new bridge to Canada that appears to be finally starting to materialize. When the bridge is built, though, ramps and a planned welcome center will radically change the landscape of the sleepy, post-industrial neighborhood. So photographer Kenny “Karpov”…
DJ Dez and DJ Butter collab for groundbreaking album
DJ Dez and DJ Butter are posted up in front of Bert’s Market Place talking Detroit hip-hop. They laugh like they’re at a family barbecue and politick barbershop-style as they bring up everybody from Esham to Eminem. The two are riding high on the acclaim from their album, A Piece of the Action. Butter, who’s…
Conspiracy-theory aphorisms abound with Jr. Bobs’ Recording Co.
It’s tough writing an overtly political record in 2014. You’re simultaneously preaching to the converted and alienating half of your audience — or you would be, if they were listening. But when they see an album cover with the old folded-$20-bill-looking-like-the-twin-towers-exploding trick, and a title like “Inside Job,” they don’t even bother. So that leaves…
‘American Idol’ Jena Irene is coming home
The voice that lit up millions of TV screens this year will help light Detroit’s holiday tree Friday night. Jena Asciutto — you may know her as Jena Irene — the pride of Farmington Hills and runner-up this season on American Idol, headlines the 11th annual Detroit Tree Lighting Ceremony presented by DTE Energy Foundation…
Burger Quest: Plaka Café’s burgers are the baseline of what a burger should be
There are great burgers, there are bad burgers, and both are memorable. But what about a merely “good” burger? They are forgotten. They get a lack of respect. Everybody can remember that awful burger they got that one time, usually from a place that didn’t specialize in burgers, such as a pizzeria or an ethnic…
Face Time: Dimitri Mugianis on speed-balling, ibogaine, and healing
In the underground world of heroin, there is a legend of an African root called iboga, or ibogaine, that can cure addiction. Those in the depths of heroin use, often as a last resort, seek out the root, which can be dangerous to use. Some go to Mexico or to Europe to take it, as…
WALK fashion show is back for its 10th edition
When you think of fashion, runways, and up-and-coming designers, you probably don’t think of Detroit. New York Fashion Week probably comes to mind, maybe even Paris or Milan, but not Detroit. This season Project Runway featured its first ever Detroit-based contestant (we interviewed Char Glover last week), and the narrative about fashion in Detroit is…
Higher Ground: The Pot Racket
Let’s play a little numbers game today. This is not the kind of numbers they played in an illegal lottery that flourished for decades before states started taking over the gambling business. Back in the 1940s, my uncle was a numbers runner who walked down alleys collecting nickel and dime bets in an illegal lottery…
How Eli Majid turned his studies in botany into a successful tea business
Our metropolitan region has been brimming over with news of new craft food and drink producers. From artisanal marshmallows to craft pickles to small-batch spirits, we’re seeing an explosion of talent, with dozens of new, shelf-stable products ending up on area shelves. Much of that energy has welled up in Detroit, where cheap real estate…
All Dolled Up: Telly Mallory loves a good deal
Telly Mallory loves fashion, but more than fashion, she loves finding a good deal. She’s a bargain shopper who can frequently be spotted at resale shops like the Salvation Army, Plato’s Closet, and locally owned vintage boutiques. She not only buys into the notion that everything old is new again, she also digs deep for…
A plea to the restaurateur: Customers should be able to get answers about what’s on the plate
I remember the first time I learned that food wasn’t what I thought it was. It was about 10 years ago, and I had been doing some reporting on the way the products in the supermarket weren’t what they said they were. I figured that was the case somewhere else, but certainly not at my…
Savage Love: Sticking Points
Q: I am a 30-year-old trans guy, on T since college, happy and comfortable with my sexuality. However, I can’t find any helpful health info on a fetish I’ve developed: I insert needles directly into my clit, maybe an inch and a half in. I’m not talking through it, like a piercing, but into it,…
Ask a Juggalo: Are Juggalos disrespectful toward women?
A newer ICP fan from Brazil writes: As a Juggalo, how do you feel about the claims that most Juggalos are disrespectful toward women? A: It’s totally opposite in my experience. Any Juggalos I’ve come in contact with over my 20 years have been more respectful to women, I think. I go back to saying…
Family-owned Michi-Gun draws customers from far and wide
Shopkeep Richard Barch tells us his parents, Robert and Shirley Barch, opened this gun store in 1975 (he says it was his mom who came up with the cute name), and says the family-owned and -operated aspect means you get customer service here that you won’t get anywhere else. “We only sell stuff that we’re…
Dej Loaf, the reluctant hip-hop star
“Deja, it’s easy,” her producer says. “You did it before.” “Nothing’s easy,” she sighs. The sound engineer queues up the beat to “Try Me” for the hundredth time tonight, and Deja “Dej Loaf” Trimble begins to re-record the song that catapulted her to almost instant success on YouTube. It’s 9 o’clock on a Wednesday in…
Horoscopes (November 19 – 25)
Horoscopes Cal Garrison: ARIES (March 21-April 20): You’re going through one of those re-runs that’s either going to go right over your head or force you to look at the last thing you want to see. Avoidance, or any attempt to gloss this over, will get you nowhere. On so many other fronts, things are…
Playlist: Select cuts from the Macho City DJs
[Update 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 20: Macho City has been moved to Menjo’s at 928 W. McNichols Rd., Detroit. An earlier version of this story stated that it would be held at the R & R Saloon.] After a bit of a hiatus, the popular disco-infused DJ night Macho City will return on Saturday, Nov.…
Retail Detail: Sporty Volquartsen Rimfire Rifles on display at Michi-Gun
Out of all the firearms on display at Michi-Gun (and there were plenty), we were drawn to a glass case loaded with these sporty-looking rifles. With their colorful finishes and flashy finish on their barrels, we’re told that these guns are a favorite of competition speed shooters — though they can be used for hunting,…
Four things going on in Detroit dining this week
Feeling chili? — When the weather turns cold, it must activate some sort of a switch in our chili gene. People just start going bonkers for the official state food of Texas. For evidence, look no further than Royal Oak this weekend, where the Fifth Annual South Oakland Chili Cook-Off will take place. Not only…
DDays: Gossip on Patti Smith, Showtime, and Quicken Loans’ ‘Willy Wonka’
… And the Chocolate Factory We hear that… Bruce Schwartz, aka Quicken Loans’ very own “Willy Wonka,” has a special, off-menu drink named after him at the Roasting Plant in Campus Martius. Affectionately titled the “Bruce Almighty,” it’s a super-charged coffee (that’s 30% more beans, brah) with a double shot of espresso. And Wonka drinks…
At the Untitled Bottega, everything is a canvas for Traeron Vawters
The all-denim “Canadian tuxedo” look normally doesn’t turn too many heads, but in artist Traeron “Trae Isaac” Vawters’s case, it does. Covered in a rainbow of paint splotches, Vawters’s getup is mostly utilitarian — he just uses it as a smock. But it also doubles as a conversation-starter when he wears it outside of his…
Detroit-area destinations for the biggest bar night of the year
Bronx Bar | 4476 2nd Ave., Detroit; 313-832-8464: Bronx has the works: a well-rounded jukebox, cheap brunch, an expansive Bloody Mary bar, and no TVs. It may be jam-packed during the weekend, but it’s sure to be packed to the rafters on that big Wednesday night. Cass Cafe | 4620 Cass Ave., Detroit; 313-831-1400; casscafe.com:…
The Park Players offer a uniquely Detroit take on Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice’
Like the Disney adaptation, the Park Players’ take on the Lewis Carroll classic gleefully reworks its source material with an abandon that would make an absurdist like Carroll himself smile. Based primarily on Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, the sequel to Carroll’s popular Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, this version gleefully folds in…
Shop Talk: A chat with Voodoo Choppers’ Eric Gorges
Eric Gorges has seen some ups and downs. In the early 2000s, customers waited two years for the craftsman to create them a custom bike out of his Auburn Hills shop, Voodoo Choppers. He was making so many media appearances, he had to tell his publicist to stop booking him. He wanted to take some…
Feedback: Readers responses on ‘diet racism,’ metro Detroit borders
SHUT UP, DETROIT, I’M TRYING TO HELP YOU! We hosted a big old-fashioned argument in the form of a bunch of defensive, clueless, insensitive posts on our website and our Facebook page in response to our blog posting about a rant by David Phillips. But there were some exceptions. A poster named Wendy Beth-yo wrote:…
Raise the Bar: Three Blind Mice
It’s been about a year since Three Blind Mice opened its heavy wooden door in downtown Mount Clemens; in fact, it just celebrated its first birthday last week. The beer- and whiskey-focused pub varies greatly from the rest of the bars and restaurants that line the city’s main drag. It stands out from the crowd,…
Drink Up
Old Forester Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Did you know that originally Old Forester was called Old Forrester after Dr. William Forrester and was used for medicinal purposes in the late 1800s? Well, there’s your history lesson for the day. The whiskey brand has come a long way since those days before the 20th Century, making…
How to count those alcoholic calories
An interesting piece appeared on the Vox website last week. It explored the question of why alcoholic beverages aren’t labeled with nutritional information. It points out that, ever since 1990, the government has required that foods and drinks come with nutritional labels breaking down what’s in them. In fact, it goes to ridiculous extremes, considering…
