Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on the Ann Arbor District Library’s Pulp blog.

“One Track Mind” features a Washtenaw County artist or band discussing one song from their latest release.

Standout Track: No. 2, “Stand Up!”, from 3Steez aka Trés Styles. The Athletic Mic League MC’s latest album, The Lover & The Fighter: Ninja, is the first of three planned releases featuring a martial arts theme. The boom-bap hip-hop album revisits 3Steez’s past, including his time living in New York. On “Stand Up!”, 3Steez includes lyrical references to Athletic Mic League, Ann Arbor, Detroit, and other Michigan shout-outs. “I’m in New York talking about being from Michigan. I’m in ninja mode, killing everything as a member of my crew, representing Michigan everywhere I [go]. When I got home, I felt like that song needed to exist and be heard. I’d been in New York so long people thought I was from there—which made sense—but as a member of AML, I had to make sure Michigan was still being put on the map.”

Musical Motivation: “Stand Up!” features production by Athletic Mic League’s 14KT and includes a sample of the Grey & Hanks song, “Since I Found You.” “I originally did the song on a completely different beat, but he used that for a Kanye remix, so he sent me this beat instead. It ended up having more grit for the message I wanted to convey. I loved that it starts with a soulful love song and then drops straight into killer ninja mode—it was perfect.”

3Steez also brings infectious hooks to “Stand Up!”. “I’ve always been the guy in the group who loves coming up with hooks and chants. Sometimes I even write a hook before I write a verse. This hook was inspired by live shows, which were a virtual part of the Athletic Mic League formula. We took pride in our stage performances and always built in call-and-response hooks to move the crowd as emcees, so I pictured rocking a show when I wrote this one.”

Works of Art: Ypsilanti artist/muralist Curtis Wallace created the single artwork for “Stand Up!”, along with the album cover for The Lover & The Fighter: Ninja. “It was awesome working with him on this, and he did the album covers for all three projects in the trilogy. It’s really cool having friends who are the best in their fields. He listened to the whole album, watched the films that inspired it, and heard me out before he created the pieces. The [single] cover [art] shows me commanding the crowd at a recent show, uses traditional colors that capture the spirit of what I’m going for, and has the sun rising like a new day. For me, since this is my first official solo release, and it took a long time to get here, it’s a big deal.”