Located in the Midwestern US state of Michigan, Detroit is a city that famously went bankrupt and whose image in the mainstream media is almost entirely negative. However, perhaps akin to Newcastle in New South Wales, Detroit has lately been undergoing a community-driven transformation. Artists and activists of all genres are recasting the old image of Detroit as a decaying and violent city into a place that’s inclusive, dynamic and hopeful. This is something Guilty Simpson is very proud of.
“I want to represent Detroit in a positive way,” he says. “I want to embrace it. People in Detroit, sometimes they don’t feel like they have a voice. People don’t hear about Detroit other than crime. You hear about Detroit being bankrupt, you hear about crime and violence. I want to champion this city, I want people to hear my music and think, ‘That’s a cool guy. He’s not got disrespect, he’s not an angry guy’, and dispel those false associations people have with Detroit. I want to share that with the world, give it to the world.”
There’s a long way to go, however, and his new work tells it like it is – the positive and the negative, “We got caught at the rock bottom. Detroit’s Son, it’s personal in that I talk about certain topics, like police brutality. But a lot of people have invested a lot in Detroit – a lot of different people. There is a lot of diverse gentrification by all different people.”
Produced by Sydney beat maker Katalyst, Simpson wanted to highlight the city’s current revitalisation via art, street art, music, and the reclamation of public space and housing for art projects and environmental projects such as community gardens.
“A lot of people are coming here, living here,” he says. “I’m looking out my window and I can see the green projects, there are a lot of great things here. This city now is on the up and up. We have been able to show people how you can get a bad situation and change it.”
The projects are creating a definite sense of community, says Simpson. “A lot of different people all in one place are doing it together, everybody in one place, different people side by side. What’s important is that they’re doing it together. They share the same places, the same stories. They’re going through the bumps and bruises together and they stay determined. What’s very important is getting this through to people.”
Detroit’s Son also offers details of what Simpson gets up to on a day-to-day basis. “In Power Outage, I talk about how after the music is done I spend an intimate time with my wife. Quite a few different topics. [Bonus track] Liquor is about being intoxicated, about how much I enjoy that. Smoking… You put a bit of yourself in rap. It’s personal to me, the people around me – important for them and for me to make the music I do. I want to share it with the world. Rap can be all about fantasy and now I want to take time to be more socially conscious, more content driven.”
BY LIZA DEZFOULI
