Local Artists Tribute Lorenzen Wright and Dirty Mike, Aim to Stop the Violence

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - After losing two friends to violence, Memphis rapper Ca$hflow Dolla turned to his music to flush out the pain.

"My first verse, the inspiration from that was from my friend Dirty Mike-had died not too long ago-was murdered here in Memphis. My second verse was for Lorenzen Wright, another friend of mine from Memphis-and he died because of more stupid acts," said rapper, Ca$hflow Dolla.

Putting his feelings to paper in the form of rap, Ca$hflow met up with guitarist Daniel Sage and producer T-Foxx at the Memphis Music Foundation. After sharing his desire to produce a song, the three men's styles, though different worked hand in hand.

It just came out natural. Even though I've never worked with hip hop or rap artists before," said Sage.

"It was fun because I'm different, he's different but it's like we're the same," Ca$hflow said.

In just two days the group had produced a song with what they feel is a powerful message.

"I'm just hoping this is something we can take and we can just stop the nonsense...the violence, the racial profiling between everybody. Just come together," T-Foxx said.

The song, called "Here I Stand" is a collaboration of hip hop and rock, a combination the three artists felt would catch the attention of the Memphis community.

"The history is so rich here that people would pay attention if something was different and it's really just about unity," said Sage.

Ca$hflow, Sage and T-Foxx say they'll most definitely work together again and are hoping other musicians will follow their lead, crossing over genre lines.

"Music is music and don't let anyone tell you that you should stay in your genre-that you should stay in your box because music is what really brings people together," said Sage.

The three artists are hoping Memphis radio stations will soon pick up their song and play it over the airwaves. To hear "Here I Stand" click on the link attached to this story.