Stretch Money

Detroit radio breakthrough

Stretch Money is a hip-hop MC from Detroit. He broke through in 2006 with “It Takes Money to Make Money,” a single produced by Helluva that Detroit’s HOT 107.5 and WJLB 97.9 played heavily and that Metro Times later described as a Detroit anthem. The single anchored his debut album, released on CD in September 2006 by Hot Lava Records as Take Money To Make Money. Helluva and Recachello were among its guests.

Boom-bap and a break

His 2012 album 25 Miles Per Hour was built on a boom-bap sound. He returned in 2017 with Time is Money, ending a five-year gap between releases with a more mature approach and more refined production. In 2017 he also performed at the UHHA Summer Showcase in Redford, and he took part in HOT 107.5’s Friday Night Cypher in March 2019. Metro Times counted five more albums from him between 2018 and 2023.

Bill & Isiah

He met the Detroit MC Valid through their mutual friend Supa Emcee. After Valid asked him onto a remix of “ULUV,” the two recorded the 2023 album Bill & Isiah. It is named after the Detroit Pistons’ Bill Laimbeer and Isiah Thomas and draws on the style of the Pistons’ “Bad Boys” era. The album is laid out like a basketball game, with quarters and a halftime show, and was produced by JMAC, Dub Musik, Pig Pen, Eddie Logix, Chuck Cross Slot-A and Canasta under DJ Head’s supervision. Videos for “Sentimental” and “Commentate” were released with it, and the album came out on red vinyl and on cassette.