Urban Diversity

“We're looking to build a door that will connect us with Gone Wired,” says Harris of the collaborative project. “After speaking with Kemal and realizing that not only was he located right in our backyard but also that we shared a very similar mission, it just made sense to help each other out.” {mosimage}


To help the two businesses raise money toward their new portal, Mailey agreed to donate $1.50 from the proceeds of each copy of “Life on the Corner” sold at Everybody Reads to the ongoing Portal Project fund.


“Urban Diversity is a lot like Everybody Reads in the sense that both entities are trying to reach out to an underserved community,” Harris says. “Much like the diverse clientele that we cater to here, they are also looking to help out those that have been maybe looked over and marginalized, emotionally or otherwise.”


Amid a hip-hop landscape that continues to fragment into styles and scenes, there remain a handful of rappers trying to bridge the gap between street mentality and social consciousness. Urban Diversity's work with Everybody Reads and other community businesses has highlighted Urban Diversity's arrival at the forefront of this movement locally.


Consisting of Mailey and Juntau517, Urban Diversity is hitting the scene with a noisy splash after building a prodigious backlog of more than 4,000 songs and a renewed drive to build its community.


“We've been writing and recording songs and releasing underground albums for a while now,” Mailey says. “We're just entering the next stage of our development.”


Previously treating its songs with the CD-R and mix tape format, “Life on the Corner” is the duo's first proper release with a barcode. Mailey also hopes to garner a deal for widespread distribution.


“I felt that 'Life on the Corner' needed to be heard,” says Mailey, who claims he got much of his inspiration for the album from his tumultuous childhood in Detroit. “I have to stress that it is a 'street' album in every sense of the word, but in a way that anyone can find something that resonates,” he says, pointing out that the group was able to detail the vivid imagery of inner city Detroit without using profanity. “These tracks can definitely be viewed as cautionary tales, but within the lyrics, I try to get to the bottom problem.”


What separates Urban Diversity from many of its peers who also address larger issues through art or music is that the group presents concrete solutions for these problems. “It's not only our responsibility to preach awareness, but it is absolutely necessary for communities to galvanize around each other and work together to keep interests and money within that community,” he says. “Communities need to start taking responsibility for themselves, or else life as we know is going to shatter.”


Never short on subject matter, Mailey says “Life on the Corner” is the tip of the iceberg for Urban Diversity. “It's one project amongst many others,” he says. “We have a series of projects under the title 'Security Breach' about nuclear war, a 17-CD series audio book on another running story line we've got called 'The Legacy of the Sun God.' We just got our business license and are looking into bringing these projects to life with everything from comic books to a line of toys that are in talks right now.”

By Cale Sauter
City Pulse
Lansing, Mi
http://www.lansingcitypulse.com/lansing/article-1894-opening-doors.html




- City Pulse- Lansing, MI

Unsigned bands out there: Common Ground Music Festival wants you. Yes, YOU.

The festival just announced its affiliation with Sonicbids, an online platform enabling musicians to directly connect with music promoters. So, if your band would love to play Common Ground this summer, apply online by submitting your music using a Sonicbids.com electronic press kit. In the end, the public will vote via www.commongroundfest.com on who should play. (Bands may still apply the old-fashioned way- by dropping off a hard-copy press kit and music sample to the festival office.)

Lansing-based Urban Diversity - which mixes rap, rock, metal and a plethora of other genres - was the first band to apply to play Common Ground 2009 via SonicBids.com.

"It's very user-friendly," lead vocalist and producer Kemal Mailey said. "What I really like is that it's more thorough than handing in a physical package. You can include your discography, full bio and have your videos displayed on screen with your music."

The application deadline is April 20. Lansing is full of great talent, so let's showcase it!

Published February 12, 2009
The Noise - The Lansing State Journal

- Lansing State Journal - The Noise