I met Maker in the late ’90s at a breakdancing battle, I think. I heard he made dope beats. Later, around 2003, a label I was a part of, Birthwrite Records, put out his album Honestly and my crew did a song for it. I met TREW a little bit later through marketing promotions, and then he booked me to perform at a couple of shows that he helped produce. Two of my favorites were Dre Day and the 2010 Little Brother show at the Double Door. That show was crazy; the audience was so live (Maker and TREW’s names are Marco Jacobo and Nigel Ridgeway, respectively).
Fast forward to 2023, and I heard rumors of a new record store coming to Washington Park by the Green Line. Soon after, I found out Miyagi Records was Maker and TREW’s shop—a definite win for the culture. Sometimes people open businesses and are not really a part of the scene they want to cater to. I have seen them both be a part of so many different events in different ways in the scenes here and other cities, from DJing to event curation.
Last year TREW reached out to have DJ K-Max (my partner in CTA Radio) and I do an in-store DJ set and a pop-up shop for my USUWE 93 brand. We took a few photos and I left with some nice records. I got to catch up on old times with Maker, and he told me about what’s to come at the store. Since then, they’ve had so many in-store performances, album listening parties, beat sets, workshops, and so much more. They have a local selection of vinyl to boot (I have a few records there), and they have a great staff, too.
They are definitely creating a space that people can be a part of, from buying records to putting independent releases on shelves, or just enjoying their events and the dope patio vibes. You never know who may pop through on any given day.
Miyagi Records, 307 E Garfield Blvd., Tuesday-Wednesday, 12pm-5pm, Thursday-Sunday, 12pm-7pm. (708) 586-9773. https://miyagirecords.com/.