A Detroit hitmaker's renaissance
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RJ Rice and his group, RJ's Latest Arrival, are making a comeback after their hit, "Shackles," played during a "BMF" episode this year. Rice is center in the vintage photo and far right in the new version. Photos courtesy of Rice
Studio wizard RJ Rice worked behind the scenes with some of the biggest names in Detroit music — from Aaliyah to J Dilla and Eminem's manager Paul Rosenberg.
Driving the news: Rice is making new music while continuing to manage Slum Village, the city's seminal rap group, which is releasing a new album this summer under his oversight.
- The Detroit-themed TV series "BMF" also recently resurrected Rice's megahit, 1984's "Shackles," in season 2's third episode.
- The song's reprisal inspired Rice to reunite with his RJ's Latest Arrival bandmates and release their first single in more than 30 years this month.
Why it matters: During Black Music Month, we're highlighting Rice's role across decades as a Detroit music luminary whose contributions are often overlooked by fans and even some industry insiders.
- He was a bridge between Motown's soulful sound in the '60s and the city's electronic future, working with hip-hop, R&B and alternative rock artists.
What they're saying: "During a time when Detroit was producing very little R&B on the national stage, 'Shackles' was a key exception," Dan Charnas, author of the J Dilla biography "Dilla Time," tells Axios.
- "[Rice] maintained a virtual space for Detroit on the airwaves, and made a very real space for a future generation of Detroiters in his home and in his studio."
Catch up fast: Born and raised in Detroit, Rice formed the dance-funk group RJ's Latest Arrival with his wife, DeDe, in the late 1970s.
- The group took a break after it peaked with "Shackles." He became more of an entrepreneur, working with artists in his Southfield studio.
State of play: Rice regaled us with tales from his past in a recent interview.
- It was in Southfield, he says, where Rice introduced Aaliyah to the producer Timbaland. The pairing found huge success with hits like "One In a Million" and "Are You That Somebody."
Between the lines: Rice's studio work landed him a partnership in the early '90s with Detroit Pistons legend John Salley, who started a music label for local artists.
- One of those artists was a young James Yancey, the late musical genius better known as J Dilla.
- Rice helped Dilla learn how to make beats. The results sounded a little strange at first — a common first reaction to Dilla's innovative sound — but it soon clicked.
- "When he played 'Get Dis Money,' I knew then," Rice tells Axios. "I said, 'This is the best beat I ever heard in my life.'"
What's next: The untitled forthcoming Slum Village album is expected to be released in August.
Worthy of your time: "How the NBA’s John Salley gave Detroit hip-hop producer J Dilla his first big break"