The more poetic half of Dead Trash Mob Records' alternative hip hop duo The Greys and scholarly older brother to his precarious younger sibling Bagel Jesus, Trè Marsh, also known by the monikers Trè Ocho and Trè Guevara, is an emcee of a different feather. The 28-year-old Lenny Kravitz look-alike (when his hair is in au naturale mode, of course) is implementing a different strategy to stay ahead in the game: read up on the greats. I'm not only talking Biggie Smalls, Rakim, and Public Enemy, but literary greats like David Foster Wallace, Thomas Pynchon, and James Joyce. "A lot of the music that I do make is literary, and that’s only because as an emcee, you have to step away from what everybody's doing. If I have to separate myself individually from any other artist it's going to be the fact that I read a lot," he said while hanging out downtown with me at the Nickel City Records studio.

The former New York University attendee is a slamming sensei of sorts. His love for spoken word and zest for knowledge both musical and literary provides context, balance, and satirical stylings to an odd genre that The Greys have creatively carved into, trash hop, alternative rap. The musician thanks a mix of musical influences for contributing to his creative salivation. "It was wrong for me to listen to a lot of music growing up because my mom was very religious at one point and she heard a line from Michael Jackson saying, 'Even sell my soul to the devil' in regards to talking about a girl and she was like 'Hell nah!' It was really bad for me to listen to certain things and that made me want to listen to it even more...Like at one point, I was like nine or ten years old and I was big into The Smashing Pumpkins, which pretty much got me into rock."

On his latest solo album, Trècubessence (due for release in April but can be heard in pieces on Soundcloud), the savvy master of wordplay fiddles with the English language while we float into the stratosphere of his mind. He dreams up his perfect mate, a woman as dark, seductive, and dangerous as Morticia Addams in the gothic fairytale, "Filthy, Fishy Dreams of Persephone." He states his belief in not compromising himself for anyone else's tastes in "Arthur Miller," another personal favorite of mine. "Nothing that I do is really personal, but the feelings that I do have about things are relative. Everyone feels that when you're talking about people trying to crucify you, who literally in the game, doesn’t feel like they’re being crucified for how they feel or what they say," he says of the song. Each track so far being released on Trècubessence is a piece of lyrical madness. The emcee is the Phantom of the Opera behind his words, inventing the plot as he goes, taking the story through climactic twists and sinister turns until insanely lost in the drama. 

Whether his head's in the clouds, in a book, behind a camera (He's also an assistant manager at The Nickel City Blend project), or listening to Madonna behind his mother's back (Yes, he's down with Madonna), Trè Marsh is continuously learning, always astute, and forever the rebel.

The Greys awaken the spirit of Jimi Hendrix and channel the zainy persona of Tyler the Creator in their first full-length album off of Dead Trash Mob Records, Project Grey Matter, which was released this month after their first EP, All Grown Up, was met with much success in April. From the heavy guitar riff and steady snare beat in “Made in America,” to the dark, apocalyptic mood evoked in tracks like “Mob Mentality,” the 14-track album provides an eerily stimulating experience through grunge, alternative rock and paranormal hip hop sounds. 

Most of the album takes on a horror story-telling tone that thrills and chills the senses as it leaves the listener either on another planet or feeling trapped alone in a dark room only to confront their subconscious. The duo, consisting of Tonawanda-born emcee Ian Cochran (Sparkmatik) and Buffalo lyricist Tré Marsh (Tre Ocho), turn tracks like “The Project” into outlets for deeper discussion through subtle spoken word moments and tell-it-like-it-is lyricism. Bagel Jesus spices up the listening experience by building up the angst on "Trash-Hop." The dark and silly immaturity of "All Grown Up" offers some comic relief among a stressful work day. Weird and catchy, the album is a must-listen.

You may stream and purchase The Greys' Project Grey Matter on their bandcamp page.

Ask any Subway sandwich artist or cafeteria worker and they’ll most likely agree that the prepared foods industry will swallow your sanity after a while. Standing at a lunch counter for eight hours a day dealing with picky customer after picky customer rattling off endless orders isn’t an easy job; granted, it’s a living. But let's just say Manhattan Bagel worker Lelton Marsh functions on a little more than a paycheck. He’s taken his title as a bagel artisan to a godly level.

During the quiet walks back to the dumpster to throw out the day's leftovers behind his store on Main and Harlem, Lelton had a recurring thought: why waste good food when you can spread some love (and eight different flavors of cream cheese, for that matter) and brighten humanity? It was at that moment that Lelton felt the tug of the heavens on his heartstrings and seized the small but saintly mission that seemed to call upon him. World hunger one man cannot solve alone, but a bagel a day can at least light the way, he figured. So down the Elmwood strip he departed on his holy crusade to heal. Hungry? Take a bagel. Homeless? Take a bagel. Recently divorced? I can’t get you alimony, but I can sure deliver you my delicious concoction: the "jalapeno cheddar, asiago everywhere" bagel. And that was his attitude over the next few years as he continued doling out bagels to the neighborhoods of Buffalo. “Someone asked me, ‘Oh you work at a bakery? I said, ‘No, I just know a guy,'” he joked of his first time stepping onto the Metro with a bag of bagels by his side. He was soon thereafter dubbed “Bagel Jesus” at a frat party by a random partygoer. From there his popularity ignited. “Bouncers are starting to be okay with it, too. They’re like, 'Okay, that’s the guy with the bagels,'” he added. At the Bonnaroo Music festival last year he came prepared to feed the crowds. With what? Bagels, of course.

The tall and breezy bagel artisan with a mop full of goldilock-dipped dreads has undoubtedly cemented his reputation as one of Buffalo's most unusual and interesting locals by way of street fame. Bagels have been keeping his followers hungry for years, but soon, so will music. Lelton has an active role at Dead Trash Mob Records and in the production of the Nickel City Blend sessions with his brother, emcee and spoken word poet Tre Ochoa, and friend Ian Cochran, both of hip hop group The Greys. The self-proclaimed dabbling emcee admits he's not reluctant to rap a few bars, but that "writing and planning out an album is not my strong suit," which is why his team has his back in helping him produce his first album. It's a work in progress. So far, he's got the title down. It's called (what else?)Baked Goods, which will be released...whenever he feels like it. "I really give anyone a hard time who tries to make me act serious for 15 minutes," he offered self-deprecatingly. But Bagel Jesus can do what he wants. He's Mother Teresa status in the hood now for crying out loud, and that's just how a real breakfast saint rolls.

At the Nickel City Blend, the crowd size isn't the most important aspect. Beat beautification and promotion is the goal. Inside the brightly lit garage tucked away on Colvin Avenue you'll find a few seats, some professional camera equipment, and a padded wall sprinkled in sharpie graffiti to your right. To your left is a wall covered entirely in records. Sounds like the perfect backdrop for a Pitchfork TV-inspired hip hop documentary, doesn't it? All that's missing is the cast, and this Buffalo crew is anything but ordinary. As they filter in one by one, the blend's creators, Ian Cochran and Nicholas Anderson, hype everyone up for what they anticipate to be an epic sixth session.

Just as Pitchfork TV is dedicated to "documenting independent music as it happens," the Nickel City Blend sessions were created in an effort to not only showcase the duo's personal fortes(Ian with his sound engineering and Nick with his video editing), but to promote local music and bring more exposure to artists yearning to shine through interview-styled recordings and performances. "We had the idea to do interviews and other things and Nick was talking about the old BBC Sessions. Jimi Hendrix and a lot of other famous artists would come and do a studio recording. They would talk about their songs and play something out, just to get the live vibe," Ian said, who goes by the emcee name "sparKmatiK." The project began not too long ago with its first garage session in January. Since receiving a positive reception online and in the streets from local area artists, it was evident that word quickly got around. Nick didn't mind lending out his garage every couple Saturday nights, and Ian didn't mind networking and corralling what fine talent he could find in the city, and so the sessions became a ritual production. A handful of groups have already come through to record, such as Orginality Lies Within, The Greys (sparKmatiK and Tre Ochoa), Mic Excel and Legal the Lifesaver of Essential Vitamins Crew, KamiKaze LTD, and hip hop collective Blackbelt Jones (emcee Spec-ill K, beat master Cove Blackbelt and DJ Optimus Prime of EVC).

The blend session experience is like no other. Expect a heap of absurdities and a lot of laughter. But don't ask too many questions. Well, at least to certain people, anyway. The mysteriously magnetic emcee Spec-ill K made his presence known in his signature black ski mask, which he claims he won't take off for anybody, not even for the cops. "I'm an anti-establishment dude," he said while huddled around the backyard bonfire before the blend commenced. This much is clear. But don't let the blase attitude fool you; the man has a sensitive side. Spec-ill K performed two sets with Blackbelt Jones at this past session held in the beginning of April, one as himself and another as his second persona, "Melancholy," which happens to be the name of his next album, set for release in July. It's also named in memory of his deceased border collie Mickey, who he adored with endless devotion. The cast list, complete with entertaining stories, doesn't end there. You'll run into some even more perplexing but strangely fascinating Nickel City Blend frequenters, like emcee Lelton Marsh, christened "Bagel Jesus" by his hungry and holy disciples for his spiritual journeys up and down Elmwood and Ashland distributing bagels to the needy. "People flock to Bagel Jesus...It's the free bagels, probably," Ian laughed. "I got cream cheese sometimes too," Bagel Jesus added matter-of-factly.

Muhammad Furqan, better known as DJ Optimus Prime, came to do business as usual, but stopped by the fire for a few minutes to chat about the latest Blackbelt Jones album he's working on and how he juggles the standard 9 to 5 job (He works at Tops as a receiving accountant). He puts in at least 50 more hours a week into mixing and scratching tracks for countless artists. Tunnel vision could be detected in the eyes of Cove Blackbelt, who said a few soft-spoken "heys" and headed straight for the garage to set up. Alhough a man of few words, Cove does an excellent job of letting the music speak for itself, and it did just that Saturday night. Friends were welcomed with a "Crispy" introduction from Spec-ill K, followed by some Godzilla city reppin' in "Gojira," a little Kung Fu action in "Ginsu Technique," and a special shout out in "F*ck the World." Spec-ill K packed each verse with ballsy punchlines and riotous party mantras. DJ Optimus Prime brought impeccable turntablism as he always does, and Cove dropped some wickedly crafted, heavy underground beats.

For Nick, that's what the blend's all about. Bringing people together for the sake of making good music. "This originally started out as a mechanism to try to get his (Ian's group The Greys) music heard," Nick said, who recently shot a music video for metal group Low Road Revival. "We decided that we wanted to invite more people in and get more people heard." Nick and Ian haven't got any complaints so far, including from their neighbors. The plan is to continue to soak up the positive feedback and expand the blend into a bigger and better production within the next few months, starting with the seventh Nickel City Blend session on May 4th with Koolie High. Check out the Youtube channel before you come and get a taste of the blend. Come party with this cluster of crazy characters at 612 Colvin Avenue at 9:30 pm. It's free for all, but donations are welcome.