Name tag in The Zone Real Detroit Weekly 4Play (September 2, 2009)

The Zone
by Origix
Name tag was born into the game with a long line of musicians in his blood, growing up around hip-hop and the mic is nothing new to him.

Tag is most know for his various features on his cousin Black Milk’s recordings, but Tag has been taking the family business into his own hands; proving time after time on record and the stage that he has his own identity.
Already working on his new LP, The Name is Tag, he feels more comfortable now as a young artist.

“I understand that in order to appeal to the masses you have to make music that appeals to the masses, but also to be sure about your own product first,” he said.

You cant really put Tag’s sound in a box, he can conform to the underground beat and rhymes scene or the young crowd of swag tracks — in the end it is all about lyrics with him!

“I have more supporters overseas than I do in the U.S. The night before the free download for Classic Cadence 2 dropped at thenameistag.blogspot.com, I was getting inboxs from supporters from all over the world, you name it,” Name tag says. | RDW

Marc Byrd in The Zone Real Detroit 4Play (August 26, 2009)

The Zone
by Origix

Sometimes, it's hard to describe a producer’s sound but Marc Byrd can be explained as "street harmony" — the sound of the world tuned to coincide with the rhythm of soul. Over ten years in the making, this once broke emcee and college student, who could not afford to buy beats, was told by a friend to simply do his own production — so he did. Byrd says, “I do music because it makes me content ... I do have goals and aspirations that I want to achieve through music. Creating music is something that I love to do ... even if I never receive another cent from it I’m going to continue to make this good music.”

The way he has built his name in Detroit is by participating in beat battles and you can bet his street harmony bangers have destroyed the competition on many occasions. “The most important battle that I’ve had was a packed night in November of 2008 at the Monthly Mixer. It was the perfect night to show people what I actually had and it paid off,” states Byrd.

With the goal of earning respect and your time, Marc Byrd is a worthwhile rapper and should not be slept on. Look for his latest project with Stryfe entitled The Last Resorts. Visit myspace.com/mbyrd. | RDW

The Zone Radio with Origix & DC airs Saturdays, 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. 89.3 fm, stream at whfr.fm, Visit myspace.com/thezoneradio and 2Raw4fm.com

Remember The Zone Radio w/Origix & DC our on Saturday Nights 8pm-12am (est) 89,3 WHFR.FM Detroit- Stream Audio World wide @ www.Whfr.fm

Remember The Zone Radio w/Origix & DC our on Saturday Nights 8pm-12am (est) 89,3 WHFR.FM Detroit- Stream Audio World wide @ www.Whfr.fm

4Play (June 10, 2009)

There’s an old saying, made famous in the movie The Warriors — C.Y.D.I. “Can you dig it?!” Yes, you can, because “Detroit CYDI” Illingsworth, Rufio Jones and Sean Uppercut, have been down since the lunch room day’s making good hip-hop at Renaissance high school. Emcee/Producer Illingsworth explains what exactly they do by saying, “We really just rhyme about whatever we feel, this allows us to enjoy what we’re doing because we’re not worrying about some kind of unnecessary standard. We just do what we do and have fun with it.” CYDI are also known as part of the collective Axis of Greatness, featuring members like Nic Notion, Marc Byrd, Stryfe and Jason Matthews. The group consists of emcees, filmmakers, photographers and producers that create music. Hear them on Marc Byrd’s The Calling and Stryfe’s City of God. Download their current album The Rhyming Dictionary for free at detroitcydi.com. See them at the Bullfrog on Thursday, June 11.

Breaking news on Michigan’s own Globetrotter Dante LaSalle: Before Dante leaves for a European tour with New York’s DJ Truemaster and DJ Playground, he will finish his release Back in Blue / the FixTape 3, which will drop this July. Don’t miss him live tonight, Wednesday, June 10, at the Magic Stick as he shares the stage with Mr Lif. For more info visit at DanteLaSalle.com..RDW