God, Jesus, my Moms and Pops, Big brother Akira, my big brother Saburo, Martin and Malcolm, Mohandas Gandhi, J Dilla, Slum Village, Lupe Fiasco, Common, Jon Blazini, Sol Uniq, Open Mic Affiliates, Native Immigrantz, PaulFlow, King David(from the Bible), Saul Williams, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Pablo Neruda, Kahlil Gibran, Joel Osteen, Langston Hughes, Bruce Lee, Marshallese culture, Black culture, Public Enemy, Black Panther Movement, Professor Semmes at EMU, Nas, Jay-Z, B.I.G., Kanye West, D.A. T.R.U.T.H., Chubb Rock, Black Milk, Digable Planets, DJ Illigan, Platinum Pied Pipers, Athletic Mic League, Subterraneous, NowOn, Funktell, Elzhi, Royce Da 5' 9, Black Thought, EMU's Poetry Society, Youth Speaks poets, Ypsi/A2/Detroit hip hop/poetry heads, Cross Movement, Fred Hammond, Tonex, LA Symphony, Tunnel Rats, Remnant Militia, Gospel Gangstaz(back in the day), Idol King, Commissioned, TD Jakes, Kirk Franklin, Hot Sauce, Outkast, Metallica, Death Cab for Cutie, Maroon 5, John Meyer, Busta Rhymes, Guru, Eminem, Ludacris, Babyface, Musiq, Bilal, Erykah, Jill, SoulQuarians, D'Angelo, John Coltrane, Bjork, Miles Davis, C. Parker, Santana, Bob Marley, Maya Angelou, Ill League, Little Brother, Strange Fruit, N.E.R.D., A Tribe Called Quest, Joe Buddens, The Roots, De La Soul, Clara Hill, Bugz in the Attic, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimi Hendrix, Victor Wooten, Victor Duplaix, family, love, happiness, frustration, life experiences...
"With the right push, he could easily become the next underground phenomenon."
-URB
"...boasts joints for the ladies, as well as depth"
-Okayplayer
"...has one of the most well-rounded albums I've ever heard from an independent artist."
-Detroit Fashion Pages
"He's bringin' real hip hop back!!"
-D.J. Mo Beatz (FM 98 WJLB-Detroit)
"Yoshi is a very gifted, talented artist who is going to make a mark in today's music industry. His unique style, rhythmic flow, and intelligent rhyme skills surpass most of today's MC's in the underground scene and even on the radio."
-D.J. Joey A (Former Bomb Squad Mixer Channel 95.5 Detroit)
"Yoshi is bringing that passion back to the rap game. From the party joints to the smoothed out, you can feel his soul on the records."
-D.J. Graffiti (Michigan Mixtape King)
"Yoshi is going to be that next dude. Every so often, we get a taste of what real hip-hop feels like. Yoshi is just that...Definately someone to watch out for."
-Winston Brown (Director of "How To Succeed In Urban Fashion" and "FashBiz 101")
"Yoshi is dope! A young man with an old soul when it comes to creating music. The future of Ann Arbor hip hop is in good hands."
-Buff1 of Athletic Mic League
"Musically, Michigan cannot be f%$ed with, and Yoshi is yet another reason why this notion is a fact."
-NowOn (L.A/Ann Arbor based hiphop group)
YOSHI BIO:
Forget everything you knew about Hip-Hop! Armed with a new arsenal of soulful Hip-Hop tracks, Ann Arbor's native son Yoshi is rewriting the rules of the game.
Yoshi (a.k.a. Kiyoshi Shelton) was born in Saginaw, MI before relocating to Ann Arbor where he built his reputation as one of Metro Detroit's most creative and talented artists. At14, he was putting pen to paper as a poet. At 17, he was winning hearts and minds at poetry slams around town. At 27, he continues to innovate as he establishes himself as Michigan's premier MC.
Through a number of mixtapes, EP's and full-length albums, Yoshi has established his unique sound, soul and style. Songs such as "Black Plague" feature old-school beats that bump against a sea of nu-skool synths while he spits a flow like a pre-acting career Mos Def. "Run Away," on the other hand, wears its Soul and R&B influences on its sleeve.
His latest single, "Magnetic," has been conquering the charts, not just in his home state but, across the world. Fans in Canada and even the Czech Republic can't get enough. It's this mass appeal that has landed him in URB Magazine's Top 1000, the Ann Arbor News, Kaboom Magazine, Hyphen Magazine and the Michigan Chronicle.
"Yoshi is a very gifted, talented artist who is going to make a mark in today's music industry," says DJ Joey A of 95.5 FM in Detroit. "His unique style, rhythmic flow, and intelligent rhyme skills surpass most of today's MC's in the underground scene and even on the radio."
2009 is set to be the year Yoshi breaks out into the mainstream and conquers Hip-Hop. Make sure you have a front row seat.
How many pages do I have you friended on lol. I'll put it over here too. The video was hot that I just saw. I watched it on FB. Are you on there cuz I'm like neverrrrrr on here? Glad to see everything is been well though :) I'm quite proud! Keep getting it in!
Live music!!!!!! This Thursday 6-18-09 LADIES FREE TILL 11:30 pm@ Studio 4 Reggae 314 s 4th ave Ann Arbor,MI call for info 734-686-4303 Guest appearance by King Jazzy DJ Rudy Rude bringing da hot flavor Drink specials-$3Mojitos /$3 Long Islands /$3 Kamikazes "Come get your Hustle on!!!!"
