The 10

" After hearing " The Message" by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, I was hooked." The 10 explaining how he fell in love with hip hop."

 
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The love affair began in the early 80's.  Listening to people that looked like him talking about the things he saw and experienced daily is what attracted him.  The attraction became an obsession.  Hip hop became a way of life.  The rugged beats and rhymes of groundbreaking releases like Boogie Down Productions' "Criminal Minded" and Ice T's "Rhyme Pays" inspired him to get in the studio and try his hand at producing and writing rhymes.  He was already fascinated with the nimble word play of urban poets, but when he heard rhymes describing the harsh realities of urban America, he just had to use the mic to let the world know about what's happening in his neck of the woods. 

He immediately immersed himself deep into the culture, devouring anything hip hop he could get his hands on.  It was not an easy task since hip hop was not yet the worldwide phenomenon it is today.  In those days it was just a New York thing.  He studied the lyrical styles and cadences of groundbreaking MC's Kool Keith, Kool G Rap, Rakim and others religiously, until one day he felt he was ready.  A fierce battle rapper was born.  For the next few years he could be seen engaging in lyrical warfare whenever and wherever he could find it until he had proved himself to be one of the best.

After conquering the battle scene, he was ready to make the transition from battle rapper to hit maker.  He landed at local recording company Lo Key Productions where he was one of the first Detroit hip hop artists to make a splash on local radio.  He perfected the art of performance through trial and error over the course of  the hundreds of shows he performed.  Soon after he would be asked to perform as the opening act of shows whose headliners included some of the biggest names in the game including Run DMC, Tupac and Busta Rhymes. 

His early work under the name of Mac-10 is still in demand abroad in countries like England, Italy and Spain.  His single "Soul on a Roll" is considered a classic there, epitomizing the "Golden Age" of hip hop when break beats reigned and creativity was a requirement instead of an option. 

As Mac-10, he and his contemporaries laid the foundation upon which Detroit hip hop was built.  Years before Detroit's legendary Hip Hop Shop was ever conceived, The 10's (then Mac-10) video was in regular rotation on Detroit's dance and video shows and even got a few spins on BET.  When there were no open mics or clubs that would play more than a couple rap records, The 10 was helping produce and performed on nationally distributed releases.  Before every rapper had a clothing line and a brand of liquor, The 10 was making television commercials for multimillion dollar alcoholic beverage manufacturers. 

His hunger to be the best drove him creatively, but he found the over all lack of opportunity in Detroit to be rather discouraging.  After months of deep reflection, he decided to put away his microphone.  He continued to write rhymes and even purchased studio equipment to use as a hobby, but he had no further intention of pursuing a career as an MC. 

While familiarizing himself  with the MPC 3000 and writing rhymes in his spare time, he realized that he was truly a microphone fiend.  He just could not walk away from the game.  Not only was he addicted to the mic, he realized how much he loved being involved on the business end of things also.  He decided to form a company to begin to recording and promoting his music. 

He released his singles, "Angel of Death" and "Murder with a Microphone" through his company Power Move Productions.  The response was overwhelming.  People were really feeling the music.  He was determined to stop just being a great artist.  With his company, he expanded his operations to include event and product promotion, marketing and journalism.  He promoted parties and concerts at the area's premiere venues.  He built his website, Pmove.net and showcased his talents with music and the written word.  He started his internet radio broadcast, Pmove Radio, to provide exposure to other underground and unsigned artists.  Recently, he linked up with Streetz Magazine to write about the streets of Detroit and hold the magazine down in the area. 

What started out as a love of the music has grown into a mission.  This mission is to get as much quality talent and product the necessary exposure so that consumers can have choices and talented people can have opportunities.