"Magic" Juan Atkins, also known as "the Godfather of Techno," has done quite a bit for the Motor City, a place that's well known for its musical traditions. In the eighties, he and his friends Kevin Saunderson and Derrick May, also known as “The Belleville Three,” along with Eddie "Flashin'" Fowlkes, created techno, which eventually became an international music genre. Atkins’ band Cybotron finessed a style with elements of rock and electro in it. These musical advances helped bring cultural and artistic recognition to "the D." Atkins continued jamming on under the alias Model 500, putting out a string of techno tracks that rocked folks like me in my teenage years. Atkins did this through his label Metroplex Records, which he founded.

In the nineties, Atkins and his associates collaborated to bring "Deep Space" to Detroit's FM airwaves. The night-time radio show brought the sounds of artists such as Kraftwerk, May, and Atkins himself into the homes of Detroiters. The web site www.deepspaceradio.com is an internet radio station where techno luminaries spin jams online to this day.

Back in 2005, rapper Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott released the double-platinum selling cut "Lose Control," which liberally samples the Cybotron track "Clear." This was a wise decision -- she shed light on the work of my hometown hero and rocked out at the same time.