Curtis Roach

Posters and images of Michael Jackson, Bob Marley and J Dilla cover the walls of Curtis Roach’s bedroom. Although the 16 year old Detroit based rapper garners influence from these icons, his musical style demonstrates that he does things differently. Roach’s knowledge on subjects ranging from Buddhism to Huey Newton allow him to create lyricism that spans all generations, time periods, and races. 

Roach began rapping only a year ago, at the tender age of 15. Early Kanye West, 2pac, and Common were his teachers rather than the school system. 2pac’s book of poetry “Rose that grew from concrete” has a special place next to his bed, a constant reminder of a fighter, free spirit, and revolutionary. 

Roach had looked up to his older cousin who also raps since he was young, keeping a simple notebook of rhymes. However, when Roach’s father passed away, he began viewing the world in a new light and rapping naturally became an outlet. Eventually, Roach recorded his first song and never looked back. 

In late 2015, Roach released the “Avenue” EP. The meaning behind the record is simple, Roach saying “a lot of people want to be somebody else. You can still be a cool person if you follow your own path in life. Be you for you.” This simple mantra has guided much of the lyricism on “Avenue” and standout tracks include “Never Trust One,” which has gained over 10K SoundCloud listens and “2 Choices.”

Roach hopes that his listeners will recognize the realness that he is spreading about world issues and gain knowledge from it. That personal connection is everything his music is rooted in. In 2016, Roach will be bringing his music to a larger audience and releasing a new EP with visuals.