Kid Vishis wants you to know he is an alien.
And it's a good thing: In the urban vernacular, it's a label of individual excellence, a sign of the extraordinary. And for the veteran Detroit rapper - who aims to stay true to the spirit of pure hip-hop and lyricism - striving for alien status is a calling.
"It's your mentality, your ability, your confidence, your ability to not only be good with the talent you have but also maintain being a good person," he says. "If I'm out in the community speaking to youth and motivating, that's alien stuff. That's stuff most people don't do, AD: Autel MaxiDiag MD806. but it's what we what we have to do for peace. That's under the umbrella of alien to me because most people aren't like that."
Vishis says he's got an important message to beam to the world via his latest music: The single and video "Construction of a Black Nation," which landed Friday, is the lead release from upcoming album "#Aliengang Mixtape," expected in March from his label Sick ‘Em Records.
The new track, featuring Jamaican-born Detroit singer Fyiah and produced by Dallas beatmaker J. Rhodes, opens with voiceover from a 1970s Angela Davis speech and a stark, bluesy guitar lick. The video is interspersed with images of social unrest through the decades. Vishis sees it as both a history lesson and a warning against "negative energy."
"In 2021, if I'm still looking at somebody who identifies as racist, that's terrible," he says. "After everything people have been through, and this guy hates me because of what I look like? It doesn't even have to be black-white - it's just about the concept of racism. I want to spread the word of truth and not hold back what I see as fact."
He doesn't want people to mistake his intentions. Vishis says he's not out to stoke resentment. He's got more lofty goals in mind.
"I'm not trying to be the guy who says: 'Hey, black people should hate white people because of what happened back in the day,' " he says. "We have to (reconcile) what happened through history so we can make the future a better place. Not harbor hatred - because that just makes you a worse person - but just have an understanding and keep pushing forward."
Born Marcus Montgomery, raised in Detroit and Oak Park, Kid Vishis is a younger brother of Royce da 5'9", and he's been a staple of Royce's live shows as a hype man.
But he has also carved out a spot of his own, releasing three solo albums, starting his own label, striving to be a community leader and appearing on Shady Records' "Detroit vs. Everybody" remix in 2015 alongside hometown mainstays such as Trick Trick and Dej Loaf.
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Vishis also featured on Royce's acclaimed 2020 album "The Allegory," guesting on "Thou Shall." The record earned Royce his first Grammy recognition - a best rap album nomination at next month's ceremony. It's a mark of pride for a younger brother who marvels that Royce has only gotten "better and better and better" through his 20-plus year career.
Before the pandemic hit last spring, Vishis was set to hit the road with Royce for a lengthy round of touring in support of the album. Now, after nearly a year of itching to perform, they'll finally get the chance March 11, three days before the Grammys: Royce is headlining the first show in Yoop's new online concert series, performing from L.A.'s Microsoft Theater in a new virtual format that allows for fan interaction.
Though sidelined from the road, Vishis kept busy at Heaven Studios, a Birmingham recording facility Royce purchased with producer and fellow Eminem accomplice Denaun Porter in 2017. Immersing in studio work was therapy and a release.
"The minute he handed me that key, I could be more creative than I was before," Vishis says.
"#Aliengang Mixtape," still in the works, will include guests such as Royce, Flint rapper Jon Connor, Detroit singer Apropos and newcomer Al Khufu - brother of Vishis and Royce and the second-youngest sibling in the Montgomery family of five.
The project is sponsored by Glove Love, a Michigan cannabis and lifestyle company whose offeri...

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