Having worked with J Dilla, Big Proof, Elzhi, Guilty Simpson, Black Milk, Phat Kat and a host of others House Shoes has been an integral part of the long burgeoning Motown resurgence. We caught up with House Shoes just before he embarked on his second tour of Australia.<\/strong><\/p>\n

How did you get into Hip Hop music?<\/strong>
\nWhen I was in the 5th grade, shit was still pretty lily white around the way… This kid moved in from nyc, Ron Garrison. His uncle was Father MC, and he has ALLLLL the tapes. Fat Boys, RUN DMC, Whodini, Ice-T, everything…. Soon as I heard that shit, everything else I had heard in my life was in the rear view. This was my shit.<\/p>\n

Why are you called House Shoes?<\/strong>
\nHahaha… I went to Eastern Michigan for a few months in 1993… Right before I left for school, my moms got me a fresh ass pair of house shoes. Clean. Black leather w red plaid on the inside. Mad comfortable. I wore em everywhere. Class, the cafeteria, hoopin, everywhere. Cats started calling me House Shoes.<\/p>\n

You were a resident DJ at St Andrews Hall in Detroit between 1994-2004 you must have experienced a lot of great performances what ones stood out?<\/strong>
\nThe most memorable to me was when Em had just got back from the first tour run for The Slim Shady LP. I just happened to be goin in on joints off the album when he came in the spot. He ran to the stage and picked me up and was carrying me back and forth on stage. It was great to see him geeked, especially w the struggle he had to be accepted in the city, and the work he put in to be recognized nationally by taking all his product out of Detroit stores and taking that shit on the road.<\/p>\n

What makes Detroit Hip Hop music different from the rest?<\/strong>
\nBecause we don’t give a fuck. We don’t try to make hits. We make classics. Its a heavy city, so when cats that do this shit for real get in the lab to put in work, they do themselves to the fullest. Its our way to escape.<\/p>\n

Before Detroit was put on the global map by the likes of Eminem, Slum Village etc who were the artists regarded as starting off the Detroit Hip Hop scene?<\/strong>
\nDetroit’s Most Wanted, K-Stone, B Def, Kaos and Mystro, Awesome Dre, Merciless Amir, Esham…. We had a gang of dope cats. I know i’m forgetting some.<\/p>\n

How did you get the title \u201cDetroit\u2019s Hip Hop Ambassador\u201d?<\/strong>
\nI’m always gonna rep the hometown. Especially since we have the best shit to offer in hip-hop. So if you are at a spot and I’m playing, its my job to teach y’all why I talk so much shit about how fresh the cats from home are.<\/p>\n

You have your own label House Shoes Recordings which has released classics from J Dilla and Phat Kat. Do you have any more releases planned?<\/strong>
\nYes. I’m working on a situation right now to hopefully be locked before the end of the summer. Much more to come.<\/p>\n

Your mix CD \u201cThe King James Version Vol.1\u201d features samples used by Dilla how hard was it putting together did you know all of them or did you have to go digging through the crates?<\/strong>
\nI knew a lot of joints, and definitely had more than enough to complete it, but i wanted the mix to be all vinyl, because anyone can download some mp3s and make a mix of Dilla samples. But, to dig up all the records is a whole other monster. I had a list of some more recent finds that i hadn’t yet found on vinyl, and dug em up. I had to have some new shit on their just for my own listening pleasure.<\/p>\n