On a gray December evening, onlookers filed into the Cedar Cultural Center as bursts of Afropop floated through the speakers. Just minutes before the show, the energy ran particularly taut — In the low light, children chased each other through rows of seating, the scrape of chairs across the hardwood floors echoing across the room. Audience members seemed largely familiar with each other, people of all ages embracing each other warmly. In the spirit of Kwanzaa, this December’s 

 had all the works, including a storytelling session, choreographed dances, musical performances, poetry recitations, and a massive drum circle.

Spearheaded by activist Kenna-Camara Cottman and hosted in conjunction with local arts group 

, the Griot Series draws inspiration from West African oral tradition, particularly the role of the “griot,” i.e. a highly respected storyteller, musician, and historian. As Cottman touched on in 

, “Because we have ancestry from West Africa, we carry that oral tradition into our Black American experience. There are many different manifestations [of this oral tradition], like drumming, dancing, singing, storytelling, and visual art.” The Griot Series gatherings embrace all such forms, and take each month to explore different facets of Black identity and culture, be it Afrofuturism, Juneteenth, or Kwanzaa.  

Spurred by a recent shift in leadership at the Cedar, Cottman had approached the venue last year with visions of a recurring cultural series. A longtime KFAI volunteer and collaborator, Cottman’s ties with the Cedar-Riverside area run deep, and Cottman had long hungered for a chance to build a safe, creative space. At the end of the day, Cottman’s primary goal is to “create more access and engagement for Black people to do Black things in Minneapolis.” 

“We’ve entrusted Kenna to curate the program to their vision,” Cedar booking director Mary Brabec shared over email. “[The Cedar Cultural Center] provides the stage, tech, box office, promotion, etc. [Kenna] brings the artists, vendors, storytellers, beauty. It was set up and intended to be a collaboration and celebration of community.”

At its core, the Griot Series is about Black liberation. “No matter what way we connect with our Blackness, we are struggling to be free in this world,” Cottman pointed out over the phone. “Our cultural arts, our healing practices, the creative ways we move through space … are all part of that liberation.” 

As such, an Afrocentric, abolitionist ethos permeates every part of these shows. Based on Kwanzaa’s principle of cooperative economics, each Griot Series includes an Ujamaa, i.e. an open marketplace featuring local creators. The 

 is a notable inclusion, and founder Dianna Myles felt both the school and the Griot Series were strongly aligned: “What we’re creating for the school is holistic education, with a lens of liberation… If Black spaces are not created intentionally, it’s just not gonna get done. This is the reason it seemed like a good fit, to connect with Kenna and the work they’re doing in Minneapolis. We wanted to table at these Griot events.” 

When it comes to organizing the events, Cottman eschews the title “curator,” purporting themselves as more of a “gatherer” of talent: “Everyone performing at the series is a griot in their own cultural traditions. I know these folks from cultivating relationships in the Twin Cities Black arts community since I was a teen. I have a unique connection with each artist.” Armed with lists of thematic ideas and potential performers, Cottman begins the painstaking process of assembling a Griot Series lineup roughly six weeks before each event.

Endearingly, many of the Griot Series performers are drawn from local youth groups, including 

. December’s Griot Series even featured Brother Lonzo as MC, who had promptly introduced himself as a seventh grader passionate about football, baseball, and basketball. “I do a lot of work with youth,” Cottman said. “I’ve been working with Brother Lonzo since I was his teacher in second or third grade… I also volunteer at Jerry Gamble’s, teaching people how to read. I like helping people learn what’s going on with themselves, you know, emotional awareness. So I just bring my work with youth wherever I go.”

, Cottman plans to center women, femme, and trans artists. Inspired by Danyel Smith’s 

, a meditation on the influence of Black women on American pop, Cottman has enlisted a host of talent, including Alicia Steele, DejaJoelle, Tearra Oso, and Yvette Griffea-Gray. 

“Art is a way of communicating without using colonized language,” Steele shared over a phone call. “As this event’s griot, I’ll be facilitating us through the evening, as well as do some storytelling. I’m encouraging folks to express themselves and move around in the space. For next Tuesday, you can expect some heartbeat rhythms, some curated love energy. Expect to have a free flowing and thorough time.” 

The next installment of the Griot Series will take place on Monday, Feb. 20. For more information, 

visit the Cedar Cultural Center’s website

{"type":"doc","content":[{"type":"paragraph","content":[{"text":"","type":"text"}]}]}

Fatima Rahman

Drawing inspiration from West African oral tradition, the Griot Series, led by Kenna-Camara Cottman, turns the Cedar Cultural Center into an exploration of different facets of Black identity and culture.


Person with beanie and glasses poses for portrait

DigieMade Photography.

The Griot Series Celebrates Black Liberation

Using his lived experience as inspiration, Obi Original pays homage to his influences while carving a new path for himself and Ozone Creations.


Awa Mally

Obi Original blends his influences into something new

Derrick Gichaba

View Derrick Gichaba’s photos of NAV and friends’ Valentine’s Day performance in Minneapolis.


Photos: NAV, SoFaygo, and RealestK at The Fillmore

Detroit rapper BabyTron brought his signature brand of creative scam-laden raps to downtown Minneapolis on Monday night.


Photos: BabyTron brings scam rap to Fine Line

For our first Valentine’s Day together, we made a playlist for you with some of our favorite love songs. Hope you like it.

Lauryn Hill’s soaring vocals on “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You,” Vistoso Bosses’ youthful exuberance on “Delirious,” Andre 3000’s shocking level of horniness on “Spread.” There are many expressions of love on the playlist. Check it out below!

Just as there are many expressions of love on the playlist. There are many expressions of love to celebrate today. Love of romantic partners, family, friends, and love of self. Carbon Sound loves you right back <3. 

Share the love with Carbon Sound’s Valentine’s Day playlist.


Natalia Toledo

❤️Valentine's Day ❤️

Carbon Sound Valentine's Day Playlist <3

, you can hear something new, almost six years since its release date. I remember listening to this album for the first time in my room, dancing and having so much fun. I refused to play anything else in the car for months after, my friends would request songs and I wouldn't play them unless it was off this album. I listened to “Relationship” with the windows down on summer nights and “Me Or Us” when I was emotional. I remember having the most fun to “Do U Love Me,” just dancing and laughing along to Thug’s “La la la la la la love me” refrain. Every song is quotable and unique. It still holds the whimsy and magic it had since the first listen. Even as I type this today, I can’t help but dance to each song. 

 soundtracked that summer of high school, coming at both an influential time in my life and for music as a whole. Beyond soundtracking that moment in my life, 

 went on to influence all of modern rap with its stripped back production, the acoustic guitar contrasted with trap drums and simplistic, spacey synths. 

 laid a foundation that Gunna and Lil Baby built upon with their early work and that other rappers are still building on today.

Thug opens the album with a folk-style acoustic guitar and backup vocals done by Millie Go Lightly, a then 23-year old singer from the UK. Thug explores similar themes to previous work with lyrics like “Smokin' backwoods and movin’ baggage/I was getting protected by my savages/Yellow school buses that's a Xanax/Causing me to sleep and I ain't plan it”, then adding in a new western-style ad-lib “yee-haw

 at the end. He continues with the western style later in the song with one of my favorite lines on the album “Country Billy made a couple milly”.Thug stays true to his distinct vocal style, with Millie Go Lightly’s breathy verses tying it together with the acoustic guitar.

This style of rap over acoustic guitar went on to be very popular. Many of rap's big songs in years to come featured an acoustic guitar. “Bank Account” by 21 Savage, “Yosemite” on 

 by Travis Scott, “Drip Too Hard” by Lil Baby and Gunna, to name a few. The influence is undeniable on the rest of YSL’s releases post-BTG. On Gunna’s 

, the song “Oh Okay” features Young Thug and Lil Baby against beautiful, melodic guitar and simplistic trap drums, my favorite song on the album.

Other than the instrumentation on BTG, Thug explores contrasting themes in each of his songs that show the highlights and lowlights of stardom. He explores what it means for his relationships and the dichotomy of love and lust that comes with it.  

In contrast to “Family Don’t Matter”, on the album’s penultimate song, “For Y’all”, Thug professes that everything he does is for his loved ones. Over mariachi trumpets, Thug raps, “Did everything for y'all to ball/ Tell y'all risked it all to see a smile on y'all/ I risked my future goals for all y'all.”  By the end of the album, he contrasts his earlier points by saying everything he does is for his loved ones.

Similarly, this contrast can be seen on Playboi Carti’s 2020 release, 

. He opens the album with “Rockstar Made” which describes the rockstar lifestyle he lives; shows, drugs, money, girls. He repeats the lyrics, “Never too much” frantically, showing the intensity of his lifestyle. He then contrasts this at the end of the album with his last song, “F33l Lik3 Dyin” where he describes that this rockstar lifestyle is what’s killing him, “And I know I’m dyin, this shit got me dyin, this shit got me dyin,” he repeats. Both Young Thug on BTG and Playboi Carti on WLR are exploring what this lifestyle is like in contrast with what it means for their relationships.

The other stark contrast on BTG is between the songs “Relationship” and “Feel It”, Young Thug goes from promiscuous and lustful on his collaboration with Future to passionate and emotional on his love ballad. Future opens “Relationship” by saying, “I’m in a relationship with all my bitches, I need to cut some of em’ off, I need help”. Young Thug comes in rapping about drugs, luxury cars, and lust, echoing Future with, “I built a relationship with all my bitches, ya.”

In contrast, Young Thug expresses his love and devotion on “Feel It”. Opening with a spaced out synth and lyrics like, “I don’t wanna buy your love I wanna feel it,” in comparison to “Relationship” where he had braggadocious lyrics about buying girls whatever they want. Continuing, Thug says, “Yeah, I never ever met a girl like you/ I’m lovin’ every single curve bout’ you/ ooh you know I would smoke the whole world bout’ you.” 

Another modern rap album we see this contrast on is Future’s, 

. It opens on “Never Stop'' talking about the emptiness that comes with fame, “Love is just a word, it don’t matter to me/ I got so rich nothing matters to me/ I’m living my second life it’s so amazing.” He then contrasts this on his final song on the album, “Tricks on Me”, with lyrics like, “I was lettin’ shit I can’t control destroy me/ I tried to treat that shit like it was a party.” Future, similar to Thug and Carti, reflects on the drawbacks of the rapper lifestyle.

 concludes with the song “Take Care”. The phrase “take care” feels like he is signing off in a letter, possibly alluding that this whole album is a love letter, to his loved ones, and to the people who adore him, the ‘Beautiful Thugger Girls’. 

Atlanta is seen as something of a holy ground for modern rap, birthing many of today’s biggest rappers and this popular sound, which was popularized by BTG and Young Thug. The most popular songs coming out of Atlanta feature the spaced-out acoustic production style that is thanks to Young Thug’s experimentation. The production and vocal delivery style seen in top songs by artists like Quavo, Young Nudy, Sahbabii, Playboi Carti, and Future and YSL members such as Gunna, Lil Baby, and Lil Keed is largely made possible by Young Thug’s experimentation.

YSL members, including Young Thug, are currently facing a 26-count RICO case in Atlanta. This case has reached national news and brought in the support from many famous musicians and fans to spread #FreeYSL on the internet. It has highlighted how important Young Thug is in our culture and how impactful his artistry has been. Thug spoke to fans via Instagram saying, “I always use my music as a form of artistic expression, and I see now that Black artists and rappers don’t have that freedom.” He has said that to him, this is all about mastering his craft.

Young Thug is incredibly influential, his influence is so widespread that it can be hard to pinpoint. It is undeniable that 

, in the style of the production, the variety of instruments, the simplicity of the melodies, and the delivery and content of the vocals, has made a huge impact on modern rap. Young Thug opened up an entirely new lane for rap, 

 is a testament to what Young Thug is all about; experimentation, artistry and inspiring the culture.

Joely Kelzer

Carbon Sound Correspondent Joely Kelzer takes a look back on one of her favorite albums, the innovative “Beautiful Thugger Girls” by Young Thug.


Man dressed in white with dreadlocks performs on stage 12

Bennett Raglin

Man dressed in white with dreadlocks performs on stage 2

"Beautiful Thugger Girls" changed my life

Each week, we add new music, older tracks, which are known as “Gold adds”, and tracks that might not fit our general format, but still deserve a place in rotation because they serve our mission of showing the depth, breadth, and influence of Black musical expression - These are known as “Variety adds.”

. If you make music and want it considered for rotation, 

 If you want to give feedback directly, reach out to me at jgreen@mpr.org.

Tune in to hear our host Sanni B. live on The Message from 10 AM to 1 PM Monday through Thursday!

Keep all these tracks in one place with the 

 Spotify playlist. This playlist is updated weekly with all the new adds. When that playlist is cycled with new tracks, the tracks live forever on the 

 playlist. That playlist contains all of the music that we've added since the week of July 11 in chronological order of when it was added. All of the tracks available on Spotify, at least.

SYM1 - “Perfect and Pretend” (Local!)

Julian Green built and manages the music library for Carbon Sound and oversees content creation.  


Julian Green

All of the tracks added to rotation on Carbon Sound the weeks of February 13, 2023.


Image for New on Carbon Sound Spotify playlist

New on Carbon Sound

Old on Carbon Sound

New Music on Carbon Sound - Week February 13, 2023

Starting from a basement in Madison, WI, the Cherry Pit has grown into an incubator for young Twin Cities artists.


Community grows from the Cherry Pit

Lil Yachty often worked better as an idea than a rapper. The late-decade morass of grifters like Lil Pump, amidst the self-serious reign of Future and Drake (eventual Yachty collaborators, for what it's worth), created a demand for something lighter, someone charismatic, a throwback to a time in the culture when characters like Biz Markie could score a hit or Kool Keith could sustain a career in one hyper-specific lane of rap fandom. Yachty fulfilled the role: His introduction to many was through a comedy skit soundtracked by his viral breakout "1 Night," which tapped into the song's deadpan delivery and was the perfect complement for its sleepy charm. The casual fan knows him best for a pair of collaborations in 2016: as one-half of the zeitgeist-defining single "Broccoli" with oddity D.R.A.M., or "iSpy," a top-five pop hit with backpack rapper Kyle. Yachty embodied the rapper as larger-than-life character — from his candy-colored braids to his winning smile — and while the songs themselves were interesting, you could be forgiven for wondering if there was anything substantial behind the fun, the grounds for the start of a long career. 

As if to supplement his résumé, Yachty seemed to emerge as a multimedia star. Perhaps you remember him in a Target commercial; heard him during the credits for the 

 reboot; spotted him on a cereal box; saw him co-starring in the ill-fated 2019 sequel to 

. TikTok microcelebrity followed. Then the sentences got more and more absurd: Chef Boyardee jingle with Donny Osmond; nine-minute video cosplaying as Oprah; lead actor in an UNO card game movie. Somewhere in a cross-section of pop-culture detritus and genuine hit-making talent is where Yachty resides. That he didn't fade away immediately is a testament to his charm as a cultural figure; Yachty satisfied a need, and in his refreshingly low-stakes appeal, you could imagine him as an MTV star in an alternate universe. Move the yardstick of cultural cachet from album sales to likes and he emerges as a generation-defining persona, if not musician.

Early success and exposure can threaten anyone's career, none so much as those connected to the precarious phenomenon of SoundCloud rap. Yachty's initial peak perhaps seeded his desire years later to sincerely pursue artistry with 

, an album fit for his peculiar trajectory, because throughout the checks from Sprite and scolding Ebro interviews he never stopped releasing music, seemingly to satisfy no one other than himself and the generation of misfits that he seemed to be speaking for.  

But to oversell him as a personality belittles his substantial catalog. Early mixtapes like 

, which prophetically brought rap tropes and pop sounds into harmony, were sustained by the teenage artist's commitment to selling the vibe of a track as he warbled its memorable hook. It was perhaps his insistence to demonstrate that he could rap, too, that most consistently pockmarked his output during this period. These misses were the necessary growing pains of a kid still finding his footing, and through time and persistence, a perceived weakness became a strength. Where his peers Lil Uzi Vert and Playboi Carti found new ways to express themselves in music, Yachty dug in his heels and became Quality Control's oddball representative, acquitting himself on guest appearances and graduating from punchline rapper to respectable vet culminating in the dense and rewarding 

 from 2020, Yachty's last official album.

Which is why the buzzy, viral "Poland" from the end of 2022 

— Yachty tapped back into the same lively tenor of his early breakthroughs. The vibrato was on ten, the beat menaced and hummed like a broken heater, he rapped about taking cough syrup in Poland, it was over in under two minutes and endlessly replayable. Yachty has already lived a full career arc in seven years — from the 2016 king of the teens, to budding superstar, to pitchman, to regional ambassador. But following "Poland" with self-aware attempts at similar virality would be a mistake, and you can't pivot your way to radio stardom after a hit like that, unless you're a marketing genius like Lil Nas X. How does he follow up his improbable second chance to grab the zeitgeist?

 is Lil Yachty's reinvention, a born-again Artist's Statement with no rapping. It's billed as psychedelic rock but has a decidedly accessible sound — the sun-kissed warmth of an agreeable Tame Impala song, with bounce-house rhythms and woozy guitars in the mode of Magdalena Bay and Mac DeMarco (both of whom guest on the album) — something that's not quite challenging but satisfying nonetheless. Contrast with 2021's 

, where Yachty performed as tour guide through Michigan rap: His presence was auxiliary by function on that tape, as he ceded the floor to Babyface Ray, Sada Baby and Rio Da Yung OG; it was tantalizing curation, if not a work of his own personal artistry. It's tempting to cast

 as another act of roleplay, but what holds this album together is Yachty's magnetic pull — Whether or not you're someone who voluntarily listens to the Urban Outfitters-approved slate of artists he's drawing upon, his star presence is what keeps you engaged here.

Yachty has been in the studio recording this album since 2021, and the effort is tangible. He didn't chase "Poland" with more goofy novelties, but he also didn't spit this record out in a month. Opener (and highlight) "The Black Seminole" alternates between Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix-lite references. It's definitely a gauntlet thrown even if halfway through you start to wonder where Yachty is. The album's production team mostly consists of Patrick Wemberly (formerly of Chairlift), Jacob Portrait (of Unknown Mortal Orchestra), Jeremiah Raisen (who's produced for Charli XCX, Sky Ferreira and Drake) and Yachty himself, who's established himself as a talented producer since his early days. (MGMT's Ben Goldwasser also contributed.) The group does a formidable job composing music that is dense and layered enough to register as formally unconventional, if not exactly boundary-pushing. Yachty frequently reaches for his "Poland"-inspired uber-vibrato, which adds a bewitching texture to the songs, placing him in the center of the track. Other moments that work: the spoken-word interlude "Failure," thanks to contemplative strumming from Alex G, and "The Ride," a warm slow-burn that coasts on a Jam City beat, giving the album a lustrous Night Slugs moment. "I've Officially Lost Vision" thrashes like Yves Tumor.

 push Yachty's knack for hooks and snaking melodies to the fore and rely less on studio fireworks — the laid-back groove of "Running Out of Time," the mournful post-punk of "Should I B?" and the slow burn of "Pretty," which features a bombastic turn from vocalist Foushee. That Yachty's vaunted indie collaborators were able to work in simpatico with him proves his left-of-center bonafides. It's a reminder that he's often lined his projects with successful non-rap songs, curios like "Love Me Forever" from 

a less startling turn than it may appear at first glance, and also underlines his recurring talent for making off-kilter pop music, a gift no matter the perceived genre. 

At a listening event for the record, Yachty stated: "I created [this] because I really wanted to be taken seriously as an artist. Not just some SoundCloud rapper, not some mumble rapper. Not some guy that just made one hit," seemingly aware of the culture war within his own genre and his place along the spectrum of low- to highbrow. To be sure, whether conscious of it or not, this kind of mentality is dismissive of rap music as an artform, and also undermines the good music Yachty has made in the past. Holing up in the studio to make digestibly "weird" indie-rock with a cast of talented white people isn't intrinsically more artistic or valid than viral hits or a one-off like "Poland." But this statement scans less as self-loathing and more as a renewed confidence, a tribute to the album's collective vision. And people like Joe Budden have been saying "I don't think Yachty 

" since he started. So what if he wants to break rank now?

Lil Yachty entered the cultural stage at 18, and has grown up in public. It adds up that, now 25, he would internalize all the scrutiny he's received and wish to cement his artistry after a few thankless years rewriting the rules for young, emerging rappers. 

 may not be the transcendent psychedelic rock album that he seeks, but it is reflective of an era of genreless "vibes" music. Many young listeners likely embraced Yachty and Tame Impala simultaneously; it tracks he would want to bring these sounds together in a genuine attempt to reach a wider audience. Nothing about this album is cynical, but it is opportunistic, a creation in line with both a shameless mixed-media existence and his everchanging pop alchemy. The "genre" tag in streaming metadata means less than it ever has. Credit to Yachty for putting that knowledge to use.   

Matthew Ramirez

The singsong rapper began as an oddity. His new "psych rock" album feels representative of his career arc.


Rich Fury

when bae asks what are we

Lil Yachty - the BLACK seminole. (Official Audio)

Lil Yachty's delightfully absurd path to 'Let's Start Here'

Known across the Twin Cities music scene as an impactful artist, mentor, writer, and collaborator, Mike Dreams left an impact on many. He died at the age of 34 on Tuesday evening, according to many online tributes. No cause of death was released.

Mike Dreams, originally born Michael Alexander Hannah, grew up in Brooklyn Park. He started rapping in high school, shortly after the murder of his brother in 2006. Then known as Young Son, he burst onto the scene in 2007 with the song “A Timeless Classic,” accompanied by a video set in downtown Minneapolis. He recollected humbler days of coming up from nothing, and wanting to also pass the knowledge and skills he gained onto others. Early influences he cited often were Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, B.O.B, and J. Cole, among many others, which could be heard in the music. 

Hannah began making his rounds at open mics for organizations such as Yo! The Movement, and Voices Merging, which continued in high school, and during college at Minneapolis Community & Technical College. He formed friendships with Leonard “Hypel” Searcy, and Anthony “AJ Soul” Johnson. “We began recording and making new tracks wherever we could set up a keyboard and computer,” Johnson recalls. “He spoke about not really striving to be famous, but simply wanting to do what he loved for a living. Even if that meant walking into a grocery store and hearing his music being played with nobody knowing who he is.”

In 2008, Hannah would meet another one of his close collaborators, Ashley DuBose. “My fiance  [hip-hop artist] Cameron Mann, who was my boyfriend at the time, hosted a birthday dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. Mike came to the dinner to meet Cameron for the first time, and they had connected over music. Cameron introduced us, and told Mike that I could sing.”

DuBose remembers the first time she saw Hannah perform at the Fine Line, when he was still known as Young Son. “I became an instant fan of his charisma and lyrical genius,” she says. Dreams and DuBose would join forces with Hypel, AJ Soul, Brandon Trevon, and Margeaux Davis as the collective Stories of Glory, performing at many venues across the Twin Cities.

He then made the decision to change his name to Mike Dreams, and released the album 

in early 2010, which was at the height of the blog era in hip-hop. Premiering on 2DopeBoyz.com and DJBooth.net, 

would featured the singles “Success Is…” and “Hip-Hope Anthem,” which struck a more hopeful, triumphant, and uplifting tone amidst the wave of self-deprecating and conscious hip-hop coming out of the Twin Cities. Dreams held a release party on February 10, 2010 at 7th Street Entry. The project gained widespread attention, and he was part of the lineup for Rhymesayers Entertainment’s 

Mike Dreams would partner with DJBooth.net once again to release his follow-up album, 

features his most-viewed video to date, “So Long” with Ryanne Noelle. That song, along with many others on the album, contained wider swings at capturing a more mainstream audience, which at the time, was unlike anything that had come out of the Twin Cities hip-hop scene.

, hosted by DJ Advance and released in July of 2012. The project had him working with an array of then-newcomers such as MaLLy, Bobby Raps, Just Wulf, and countless more on the posse cut “Crewed Up (The Next Generation).”

in August of 2012. Muja Messiah, K.Raydio, and more open up at the release party at 7th Street Entry.

was anchored by the singles “Everything’s Good” featuring Christina Sophia, and “Still Standing Here” with Ashley DuBose, both which lightly depicted Mike Dreams in a more honest and vulnerable light, sharing with friends and fans alike his struggles with alcoholism and mental health issues. One of the highlights on 

was the closing song, “The Rest of My Life,” featuring a collaboration with K.Raydio, who spent a lot of time with Dreams performing in alternative schools, treatment centers, and youth organizations.

“He loved inspiring other young people, and he was always trying to make youth feel a sense of purpose," K.Raydio remembers. “When we recorded, I got to see firsthand that Mike was an absolute perfectionist. He wanted everything to sound how it sounded in his head. He also wanted me to do my thing and didn't interfere at all with my creative process. Mike was one of the first rappers to ever ask me to write and sing on a song together.”

Dreams took a hiatus after the release of 

, but never stopped mentoring and doing features with countless other acts, like Ashley DuBose, LNJAY, Christina Sophia, and a young Dwynell Roland. Mike would provide Dwynell with a cameo appearance on the song “Summertime Chillin’” off Dwynell’s 

EP, and again on “What We Do,” on Dywnell’s debut album, 

released in December of 2016, started to delve into more of his mental health struggles and alcoholism head-on, offering a much-needed peek behind the curtain. Anchored by the single “Like It’s 1998” featuring Muja Messiah, the album also featured appearances with his longtime collaborator Ashley DuBose, who was fresh off her time as part of the season five cast of 

, as well as Asia Divine and Destiny Roberts. Dreams continued keeping his eyes out for talent to refresh his outlook on life and mental health, and reinvigorate his creative streak.

a short project that prepared listeners for his next full-length project, 

was a full-circle revival of the positivity anchoring his earlier work, and caught the ear of Carbon Sound host Sanni Brown. She remembered a younger Mike Dreams appearing on the St. Paul Neighborhood Network (SPNN) Candy Fresh show, when she was hosting. “You can hear it in his music,” she says. “

was so powerful, empowering, and positive. Listen to the ‘

… tried to be someone else but I'm still me; I was waiting on these people to feel me until I realized all that matters is that I feel free!’” Sean McPherson, musician and Brown’s former cohost on The Current’s The Message, also wrote a 

Over the timespan of Mike’s musical career, his collaborations and support of artists showed how he poured himself into every project he released. Additionally, the spirit he carried and the way he championed those very same artists in being and believing themselves is something that will stick with each of them. “He made me feel like I had something special, and that encouraged me to continue my musical pursuits,” DuBose says. “He changed my life and helped start my artist journey by giving me a platform on his projects and by introducing me to the producers that later helped me create my own projects. He made me feel like it was OK to be a dreamer.”

“Mike was genuine in his support of other artists, and had some of the best showmanship out of any emcee in Minnesota,” K.Raydio says. “Mike was a huge part of the big moments and memories that are part of Minneapolis music history. He was proud of his hometown, proud of his fellow artists, and always wanting people to pay attention to how talented Minnesota really is.”

There will be a funeral service for Mike Dreams on Tuesday, February 7, at Spiritual Life Church, 6865 Shingle Creek Parkway in Brooklyn Center. Viewing will take place at 11 a.m., and the funeral will be at 12 p.m.

Ali Elabbady

The artist, who died at the age of 34 on Tuesday, will be celebrated at a memorial service in Brooklyn Center.


A man stands outdoors with the Minneapolis skyline in view behind him

Stories

The Griot Series Celebrates Black Liberation

Obi Original blends his influences into something new

Photos: NAV, SoFaygo, and RealestK at The Fillmore

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Carbon Sound Valentine's Day Playlist <3

"Beautiful Thugger Girls" changed my life

New Music on Carbon Sound - Week February 13, 2023

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Community grows from the Cherry Pit

Lil Yachty's delightfully absurd path to 'Let's Start Here'

Prolific Twin Cities rapper Mike Dreams remembered by friends and collaborators

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