Thursday, January 22, 2004

Attorney, Promoter. Producer. Turntablist. Wack M.C. Is there anything DJ Graffiti can't do? You can hear him ply his DJ skills Saturday night at the Blind Pig on a bill with Funktelligence and Ordinary Peoples.

Graffiti (aka Martin Smith) is CEO of his own Bling Free record label and an alum of the University of Michigan Business School and the U-M Law School.

A jazz percussionist by trade, he's performed at the Montreaux Detroit Jazz Festival. By building on a foundation of classical music training, he has developed skills in many areas of hip-hop music. Beyond that, he says he's a man with a plan.

"I have a vision in my head of where I see hip-hop going," he writes on his website, www. raptureenterprises.com/djgraffiti. Right now most of the major influences on the hip-hop generation are fed corporately and from the outside.

"Ultimately I envision a hip-hop community that is extremely self-sufficient... a force to be reckoned with because we will have a united front of individuals who were born in the hip-hop culture: hip-hop lawyers, hip-hop doctors, hip-hop owners, all working together with the common thread being a love of hip-hop."

Known internationally for his music mix tapes, he's on a mission to bring music made in Michigan to the rest of the world. Check out his work on his latest compilation, "Bling Free Volume 3."

DJ Graffiti appears with Funktelligence and Ordinary Peoples at 8 p.m. (doors) Saturday at the Blind Pig, 208 S. First St. Cover: ages 21 and older, $6; ages 18-20, $9. Information: (734) 996-8555.