by Treasure Groh for REAL DETROIT WEEKLY
Grades scare people. School is a fact of life that none of us really ever gets used to, and the fact that we have to allow someone else to rate us is enough to make us cower in a corner. For Progress Report – the budding collaboration of D.Allie and Eddie Logix – their music is not graded on a curve; it’s not a reflection of what other artists are doing and it’s certainly not an attempt at swaggery.

Theirs is a project born in common interest. Eddie, a member of MidCoast Most, and D.Allie of United States of Mind were both parts of a whole and solo artists who often meshed in one way or another before. It was during Eddie’s production work on D.Allie’s album The Cooperative that it started solidifying into something a bit more substantial.

“While we were working on those tracks for his album, the idea came up to do a full project. At first I think it was just going to be an EP. The EP just came out being an album, which turned out to be an all-out collaborative,” says Eddie.

“It started as it was going to be a one-off, just be D.Allie and Eddie Logix, but the creativity of it and the collaboration was there. We came up with a group name and definitely the intention is to keep making the music we’re making right now. There’s no reason to stop,” finishes D.Allie.

Eddie and D.Allie’s separate hip-hop groups have worked together in the past, supporting each other like a family. The constant intertwining of each member makes for a solid sounding board for ideas and concept proposals.

“I think we have a niche that is different from something United States of Mind would do, and different from what MidCoast Most would do and something different from what I would as a solo artist … We’re all interchangeable pieces but we do have different mindsets and every combination is going to bring out a completely different collaboration,” says D.Allie.

In the case of D.Allie and Eddie, the collaboration has resulted in their debut album (made possible by their Kickstarter campaign), which will enjoy a release party on 3/25 at an unlikely location. “We wanted to give people a little bit different experience, especially at the Magic Bag, which has traditionally not been a hip-hop venue,” Eddie says.

Also untraditional is the fact that Progress Report is the only hip-hop act on the bill. Mayaeni, the talented and folky presence who also happens to be D.Allie’s sister, and Lord Scrummage, a Detroit-based electronic group, round out the night’s entertainment.

“But I think that’s a progression, too,” D.Allie say. “Of course hip-hop is where we’re from, but sometimes it’s nice to have a different feel from what you’re used to.”

Something different is what Progress Report hopes to give people. Honest, thought provoking and humble, their music speaks to a wide spectrum of people. Besides, reaching out to people is what it’s all about.

“I don’t think our mission is to be catch-all and convert everybody,” says D.Allie. “If you dig it, you dig it; if you don’t, move on. But we’d like to give you the opportunity for you to decide that you dig it.”

And in that effort to give people the chance to enjoy Progress Report’s music, how would the fellas grade themselves?

“I of course would like to say an A plus plus,” laughs Eddie. “But, we’re starting out. We’ve learned a lot through the process and I think we’ve been able to roll with the punches so … we’ve still got a long way to go.” | RDW

Progress Report album release party w/ Mayaeni & Lord Scrummage • 3/25, 8 p.m. • Magic Bag 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale • 248.544.3030 themagicbag.com; progressreportmusic.com $5 adv, $8 at the door