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Detroit rapper Baby Money talks music, 12th Street, Quality Control, and taking care of his family
Baby Money is sitting at a large wooden table inside of a high rise clubhouse in downtown Detroit, overlooking the Detroit River. He’s talking to his manager Darylynn Mumphord, his friend A1, and a couple of others about the frustrating logistics of hopping on and off planes from doing shows and interviews over the last…
Where to ring in 2023 on New Year’s Eve in metro Detroit
Whether you’re looking to have a memorable last meal to ring in 2023 in metro Detroit or get completely wasted, we’ve got the deets. Some of these New Year’s Eve events require advance tickets or reservations, so plan accordingly. This list will be updated as more events are announced. Know about a party or dinner…
Winter Blast will return to Royal Oak in February 2023
One thing Michiganders know how to do well is make the most of every season. Just because the weather gets colder doesn’t mean we have to stay indoors. The organizers of the Winter Blast in Royal Oak know this all too well as they have announced the winter festival’s return this winter. The outdoor festival…
Detroit brunch spot Karl’s closes doors ‘for now’
So much for brunch at Karl’s. The popular throwback diner inside Detroit’s Siren Hotel has closed its doors. Karl’s had been operating inside the hotel for three years and was known for its retro vibes, including a vintage Wurlitzer jukebox. It was founded by two-time James Beard Award semifinalist Kate Williams. Williams also ran Corktown…
Waajeed says his new album ‘is undoubtedly best experienced while driving,’ and more Detroit music news
Got a Detroit music tip? Send it to music@metrotimes.com. Waajeed drops new album: Master sampler and soulful techno musician Waajeed has released his latest full-length, this time on the legendary German techno label Tresor. Memoirs of Hi-Tech Jazz is “inspired by revolutionary efforts against oppressive hegemonies in Detroit,” according to the album’s Bandcamp page. Waajeed…
Dearborn man charged for ‘anti-semitic’ rant outside synagogue Temple Beth El
A Dearborn man was charged with two counts of ethnic intimidation after police say he harassed and threatened Jewish families outside of a Bloomfield Township synagogue and preschool on Friday. Hassan Yehia Chokr, 35, was arrested a day after his tirade outside Temple Beth El, where parents were dropping off their children for day care.…
‘Burn X’ follows a decade of struggle for Detroit firefighters
One function of filmmaking is archival: the medium always serves to record, whether through documentary or narrative, the feeling, style, and atmosphere emanating from a particular time. Following a decade from the release of 2012’s Burn, which aptly captured the notoriously overextended Detroit Fire Department in the years before the city declared bankruptcy, co-directors Tom…
House of Dank to open eighth cannabis retail location in Grand Rapids
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich – The Detroit based cannabis retailer is celebrating its opening day this Friday, December 9th at 3510 E. Mall Drive in Southeast, Grand Rapids. H.O.D. Grand Rapids will be a recreational location catering to anyone 21 years and older with a valid picture ID. House of Dank is excited to be adding…
Measly increase set for minimum wage in Michigan unless courts side with workers
Michigan’s minimum hourly wage is set to increase 23 cents on Jan. 1, far less than voters were promised in 2018. The current hourly minimum wage of $9.87 is set to increase to $10.10 an hour in the new year. For tipped employees, the rate increases to just $3.84 an hour. But if lobbyists and…
Universal Music Group partners with Motown Museum for career development program
Music industry giant Universal Music Group (UMG) has announced it is expanding its early career development program, Bonus Tracks, to Atlanta and Detroit. Bonus Tracks is a multi-week after-school program that gives 11th and 12th grade students an immersive opportunity to learn more about the music industry. Related “It is critically important for UMG to…
You can get a free jar of joints for donating winter coats for kids
Michigan dispensary chain Puff Cannabis is giving out free joints for a good cause. Starting Monday, the company will give a jar of its “Baby Jeeter” pre-rolls to customers who donate coats and jackets for children ages 3 to 12 as part of its “Jackets for Joints” campaign. All of the chain’s locations are participating…
New Order Coffee reopens with new location and owner
After closing during the pandemic, New Order Coffee Cafe has made its return to metro Detroit by way of St. Clair Shores. New Order Coffee’s “cereal milk lattes,” cold brews, and electric-roasted coffee are being served at a new location at 25107 Jefferson St. The company originally opened stores in Detroit in 2017 and in…
Activists: DTE plan won’t meet Michigan renewable-energy goals
Michigan regulators have set long-term emission-reduction targets for the state’s power utilities, but clean-energy advocates are concerned that one company — DTE Energy — is not on track to meet its goals. The state’s Healthy Climate Plan calls for achieving economy-wide carbon neutrality by 2050, with interim goals for reducing greenhouse gases. James Gignac —…
Detroit’s Baobab Fare just got a food truck, and we’re stoked
Baobab Fare owners Nadia Nijimbere and Hamissi Mamba aren’t playing around. Since opening in 2021, the New Center spot serving East African fare has been named one of America’s best new restaurants and made it to the James Beard Award semifinals list for best chef. Plus their coffee, Ji (passion fruit juice), and Pili (hot…
Electric Forest announces its initial 2023 lineup — and it’s packed
It might be a little chilly outside now, but Electric Forest has us dreaming of summer as the festival has announced its initial 2023 lineup. This year saw the return of the festival in Sherwood Forest after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the 2023 performers include Zeds Dead, Sofi Tucker,…
Cydney Camp debuts series of portraits and still life paintings in latest exhibit ‘Passages’
When God or whoever is out there made Detroiters, they sprinkled ingenuity on top of heaping amounts of creativity, grit, and talent. Our city is abundant with artists who fuel the city’s creative undertow, from painters to poets and performance artists and everything in between. This revitalized Metro Times feature will highlight a different artist…
These 74 cops in Wayne County have been deemed untrustworthy to testify in court
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy on Friday released a list of 74 current and former police officers in Wayne County who have been deemed untrustworthy to testify in court cases. The names are part of what’s called the Brady-Giglio list, named after a pair of U.S. Supreme Court rulings that require police departments and prosecutors…
Detroit’s historic Westin Book Cadillac to get $20 million renovation
Fifteen years after it reopened, Detroit’s extravagant Westin Book Cadillac Hotel is slated for a makeover. The hotel says the 31-story tower will undergo a $20 million renovation starting in January 2023 under Chicago-based Gettys Group. The transformation is expected to be completed in early summer 2023, and the hotel will remain open throughout the…
Michigan is getting another new Cookies dispensary
Cannabis company Cookies has announced another Michigan dispensary. Now, the brand founded by California rapper Berner has opened a new location in Jackson. “Michigan cannabis consumers are educated connoisseurs just like Californians,” said Berner in a press release. “I’m a big fan of the vibes and distinctive cannabis culture in Michigan, and I’m looking forward…
A note from Abdul El-Sayed: I’m going back to public service
Today, I went back to public service. I’m honored to be joining the Department of Health, Human, and Veterans Services at Wayne County — where I’ll be serving as director starting in March 2023 (pending Commission approval). But beginning today, I am serving as a consultant to the CEO’s office — taking the time to…
Iconic Eastern Market store to reopen this weekend
The candy and nut superstore Rocky’s in the Historic Eastern Market in Detroit is reopening Saturday after closing its doors over the summer. Rocky’s closed after a broken sump pump caused three-and-a-half feet of flooding in the store’s hydronic elevator, Patricia Russo, whose family owns Rocky’s, told Metro Times in September. Russo had hoped to…
The Red Hook to officially move into Midtown’s former Great Lakes Coffee space
Our dreams came true! After teasing a Noel Night pop-up in Midtown’s former Great Lakes Coffee Company space, local chain The Red Hook says it plans to permanently move into the building in 2023. It will be the company’s fourth location in metro Detroit. In an email, owner Sandi Heaselgrave says the location at 3965…
Metro Times seeks pitches for stories on race and justice in Detroit
Metro Times has once again partnered with the Detroit Equity Action Lab at Wayne State University Law School’s Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights to support freelance journalists and cover marginalized communities. This time, we’re seeking pitches for stories about race and justice in Detroit. We’re looking for ideas for stories that take the…
Detroit is getting a direct flight to Iceland
Iceland’s hot springs, Northern Lights, and rugged waterfalls are calling Detroit’s name. Starting May 18, 2023, Icelandair will offer a direct flight from the Detroit Metropolitan Airport to Keflavík International Airport in Reykjavik. The non-stop flights will leave from DTW four times a week at 8:30 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays through Oct. 30,…
Mount Clemens boy charged with bringing knife, ‘hit list’ to school
A 10-year-old Mount Clemens boy is accused of bringing to school a knife and a “hit list” containing the names of children who bullied him. The Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office said the juvenile asked a fellow student at Prevail Academy in Mount Clemens to hold down another boy while he stabbed him with the knife.…
Schools see apprenticeship programs as alternatives to college prep
With the cost of a four-year college education approaching six figures at some institutions, many students are looking at apprenticeships to train for a career. A program in the Kalamazoo Public Schools is aimed at putting students on an alternative track toward well-paying jobs which do not require traditional degrees. The program, Career Launch Kalamazoo,…
Report urges water-affordability strategy to help low-income Michiganders
Residential water rates in Michigan are soaring, with an estimated one out of ten households without access to or unable to afford clean water. A coalition of activists and conservation groups is proposing that state officials adopt a water-affordability strategy that supports low-income Michiganders and does not harm residents who can afford their utilities. An…
What rooting against Ohio State taught me about negative partisanship
On Saturday, 17 million people tuned in to watch Michigan absolutely stomp Ohio State in “the Horseshoe,” the decidedly smaller and less impressive stadium in which Ohio State dabbles at football. It was a decisive 45-23 victory for the Wolverines, in which three big passes complemented Michigan’s potent ground games to secure victory for the…
Royal Oak newcomer Saab Sis Thai is a family affair
After one visit, a Royal Oakian who lives nearby immediately switched his takeout loyalty from a longstanding Thai restaurant to Saab Sis Thai. Open since January and owned by sisters Rihana and Fang Yenpanya, the place is winning converts in the crowded Royal Oak restaurant market with its spicy takes on familiar favorites. Thai restaurants…
Lawsuit seeks to shoot down Detroit’s contracts with ShotSpotter surveillance tech
A group of Detroiters sued the city of Detroit on Wednesday, alleging that it violated an ordinance by improperly approving contracts for ShotSpotter, a controversial technology that critics say is unproven, invasive, and racially discriminatory. The lawsuit filed in Wayne County Circuit Court argues that the city violated its own ordinance by failing to be…
Waterford finally has a cannabis dispensary
Waterford Township finally joined the weed party when its first cannabis dispensary opened last week. Planet59, named after its location off the M-59 highway, is a mom-and-pop provisioning center at 4641 Highland Rd. Since Waterford only allows medical cannabis, you will need a medical card if you plan on getting your weed here. “We’re making…
Homeless cats and dogs to get new shelter in Detroit
Construction of a new $6.6 million animal control headquarters and shelter in Detroit will begin in January, city officials announced Wednesday. The 30,000-square-foot shelter with offices and a veterinary clinic will be located at Ferry and Russell near Wayne County’s new criminal justice complex. The fury guests are expected to be welcomed into the facility…
Michigan surpasses 40,000 COVID deaths
Michigan is reporting 8,831 new COVID-19 cases, according to a weekly report the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services released Tuesday. That’s a slight drop from the last report, when the state said there were 8,933 new cases for the week. A total of 2,938,443 Michiganders have tested positive for COVID-19 since the start…
Free Will Astrology (Nov. 30-Dec. 6)
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Journalist Hadley Freeman interviewed Aries actor William Shatner when he was 90. She was surprised to find that the man who played Star Trek’s Captain Kirk looked 30 years younger than his actual age. “How do you account for your robustness?” she asked him. “I ride a lot of horses, and…
