Detroiters are not only tough but also innovative, and the city's comeback is deeply dependent upon the work of its young, intrepid artistic community.
That's the message behind Ovation's ambitious new three-part documentary series "Motor City Rising," which debuts tonight and spotlights a number of local musicians, artists, designers and photographers younger than 40. Producers have been filming the show's subjects since May of last year.
This includes deaf rapper Sean Forbes, who founded the Deaf Professional Arts Network. If Forbes' name sounds familiar, it's because he rose to Internet fame a few years ago when he covered Eminem's hit song "Lose Yourself" using American Sign Language.
"I picked that song because I am a huge Eminem fan," Forbes, 30, says. "Just being from Detroit and getting to know him and getting permission from him to do it meant the world to me. It's an inspirational song and I was drawn to his struggle. He's a white rapper and I'm a deaf white rapper."
On "Motor City Rising," Forbes is shown working on his latest album with Joel Martin, the head of Eminem's publishing company and one of Forbes' biggest supporters.
"The deaf community really loves music, but they don't always understand what's going on in music," Forbes says. "That's why I'm doing this. I was meant to be an artist making music accessible for the deaf and hard of hearing. And I'm sharing that experience as a deaf rapper and a Detroiter.
"In Detroit, we never take 'no' for an answer."
From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2012 ... z1wXy1eZtb
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