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Detroit hip-hop, as the rest of the country is finally catching on,
is its own little world of skills-first MCing and next-school
production. As an equally gifted MC and producer, Hush is both
skills-first MC and next school producer whose credits include work
on Eminem's seminal Slim Shady EP and as producer and rapper with
Da Ruckus, whose 1997 classic, "We Shine," is a landmark of
Detroit's rustbelt rap style.
Raised in Detroit, the son of a Detroit homicide detective no less ("My dad was always telling us untrue crime scene stories that he'd pull out at dinner") Hush was nurtured in the same mid '90s scene at Maurice Malone's Hip-Hop Shop that spawned Eminem and producer Jay Dee. Hush was inspired by the usual favorites, Big Daddy Kane and Ice-T. "Ice-T's 'Reckless" is what made me start writing raps," he says. But it was the long days of working shit jobs and hanging out with friends that gave Hush his signature dark comedy track-crafting style. Recently he quit his day job schlepping furniture at a Detroit area chain. "Every job has a rapper, ya know? I guess I was that rapper," he says. But he still managed to put out two albums with Da Ruckus, coming up with tracks like "150 MCs," the most clever and complete catalog of MC names ever put on wax, and a track that show's Hush's fourth dimensional knowledge of hip-hop history. Now a full-time rapper and producer, he misses the old days. "I remember I did a show at this club in, like '96. It was Slum Village, Paradime, Eminem, me, and there was, like 75 people there. That's the shit I remember." The obscurity of the Midwest scene gave Hush a dark sense of humor, as evidenced on his new album, a 12-track, darkly comic opus featuring guest appearances by Royce Da 5'9 (Eminem's partner in Bad Meets Evil) as well as Slum Village's T3, Kid Rock protégé Paradime, and Kon Artis from the D12 crew. Tracks range from the first single "Access Denied", featuring Paradime, to "Detroit Rock City," which he calls "Just some funny freestyle song" based around the Detroit-slang "squo", meaning "f'real". "Most of it's funny," says Hush of the album. "One day I'll be in a hardcore mood, like when Royce and I wrote 'Knuckle-Up'. Next thing you know I'm writing 'Summer Rappers', where I take the LFO song, and talk about how rap has changed." With his natural creativity and his dedication to his craft, Hush has developed a unique sound, and in the process has made a name for himself. Area Code Management and DTW Records are proud to share his talents with the world. |
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