Under the blue glow of the stage, Stoop Lee and Curtis Roach were just getting the party started.
During a recent concert at Midtown’s Magic Stick–a haven for Detroit’s misfits and indie music artists–the rapper/singers and friends vibed to Lee’s live band The Culdesac as they performed their song, “Hooptie Doo.”
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Then he decided it was time for a little audience participation.
“Put your mother (expletive) hands up!” Roach yelled as he and Lee started waving their hands in the air.
The audience obeyed, a wave of energy rushing through the crowd as people threw their hands up, and bobbed their heads to the beat.
Detroit natives Lee and Roach are making their mark on the city’s music scene and in some ways, on the national scene. Lee, whose real name is Ade Olaniran, released his latest EP Red Version Tape last week, mixing his brand of hip-hop with indie rock and electro pop. He’s also making the rounds with concerts and performances at El Club, Sanctuary Detroit and WDET-FM.
Meanwhile, Roach is pulling double duty as a content creator with 2.2 million TikTok followers and 63,000 Instagram followers. The 24-year-old went viral in 2020 with the pandemic anthem “Bored in the House” with rapper Tyga. The video has 53 million views on TikTok and has made appearances in the video game NBA 2K20 and the soundtrack for film “Bodies Bodies Bodies.”
Lee said he met Roach and the other artists featured in the Magic Stick show, Ally Evenson and Na Bonsai, just from being out in the music scene.
“Curtis and I, we used to be at the same open mics back in 2014,” he told BridgeDetroit after the concert. “He’s a good guy.”
Learning to do his own thing
Lee, 30, said he’s wanted to be a musician since he was a kid. In high school, the west sider played the trombone in the school band and eventually learned how to play the drums. During his freshman year at Oakland Community College, Lee became inspired by the “blog era” of hip-hop that was becoming popular in the early 2010s and started making his own music. He played shows throughout college, getting involved in Lansing’s music scene after transferring to Michigan State University.
Since 2018, the independent artist has been back in Detroit hustling. Lee released his first album, “Episode 1: Oknan” that same year and “Episode 2: Meiji” in 2019.
He’s also hosted large-scale events, like when Lee teamed up with Chicago record label Audiotree to host a concert at Hamtramck’s Sanctuary Detroit in 2022 and the Cartoons and Stereo festival, an ode to the city’s music and skateboarding scene, that same year.
But for right now, Lee, a big fan of 90s and early 2000s cartoons and video games, is focused on “Red Version Tape,” the third of his Pokémon-themed EPs. Lee said he got the inspiration for the six-song collection of dreamy indie pop and rock while shooting a Cadillac commercial in Los Angeles.
“A friend of mine introduced me to this producer… and we got into the studio together and started cooking up a cohesive sound,” he said. “And I wanted to do a tape where I was focused more on the indie rock genre because it’s very inspiring to me.”
Performing at the Magic Stick was a full circle moment for Lee, who used to see artists like Vic Mensa and Thundercat play at the venue.
“If you’re doing your own thing and if it’s really good…it will get you a long way in the city.” he said.
No longer ‘bored in the house’
For Roach, music has been a part of him since he was a baby.
“By the time I could walk, I was already trying to practice dance moves,” he said.
Growing up on the west side, he listened to rappers like J Dilla, Slum Village, A Tribe Called Quest and Kanye West. But the person who showed Roach a life making music was possible was his cousin, rapper John Johnson, who goes by the name Jay Squared.
“He really set the tone for me as far as what a local rapper could be like,” he said. “I thought you had to be famous to get in the rap business, so that was my first introduction.”
Roach released his first album, “Lellow” in 2010 and followed it up with “The Joy Tape” in 2021. Since his viral hit four years ago, Roach said life has been a “crazy, beautiful roller coaster.”
“It’s just been a dope journey to see what doors opened up for me,” he said. “And also just opened up doors for my other music for people to come along for the ride, which I’m very thankful for.”
Roach said he hopes to release new music this spring and wants to make his movie debut soon.
And he’ll continue creating content for TikTok, even if it’s in danger of being banned nationwide.
“I hope it (the ban) doesn’t happen,” Roach said. “It shouldn’t be the biggest worry for the government. I mean, there’s people starving, there’s genocides going on and so many other things that we could be worried about. It’s like my main thing that puts money on the table.”
Roach and Lee, who still live in Detroit, said the city is one of the greatest cities for art. Roch said there’s an organic scene where people support each other and the crowds want to see greatness.
“That’s what I like about the crowds, they’re gonna want more from you,” he said. “It molded me into a great artist. There’s no bullshit allowed.”
Lee added he also feels supported in the scene. He said people are looking for different kinds of hip-hop today, which he, Roach and the younger generation are bringing.
“Of course, not everybody loves it, but I try to focus on the love,” he said.