Motown Heritage Club founders Harold Bowles and Bob Dennis personally teach a half dozen students how to become music producers every 6 months at RID.  In addition to the use of modern recording equipment and developing engineering skills that can be used in today's music styles, the lesson plan calls for learning the rich Motown production heritage and how it applies to success in today's music industry.

In January 2006, a student began his training who had the last name of Reeves, and the question came up quickly, "Any relation to the Motown superstar, Martha Reeves?" In addition to her stage performances, Ms. Reeves is currently a councilwoman elected to the Detroit City Council - very active in politics as well as music. The answer to the question was "Yes, Martha Reeves is my aunt."

But Kyle isn't into politics and his music interest has nothing to do with his aunt's music success.  According to Kyle, "she's my aunt, someone I see at Christmas and such."  Kyle hasn't even told her that he was training at RID in music production. 

Kyle started rapping at age four and started recording his music at age sixteen in a friend's basement, almost a decade ago.  He made music to make music, not to put out records.  He enrolled at RID to get better at mixing and mastering.  In addition to learning these skills, he found out that there was a lot more to learn, like reading music and taking care of music business.  He hears music differently now that he has training.  Before he could hear something wasn't right with some cuts, but now he knows specifically what isn't right.

Kyle is working with a group of 6 friends that he has been recording with for some time.  He's working on two projects (a group and solo project) that he wants to release on his own label, which he tentatively has named 4eva Grind Entertainment.  He wants his music heartfelt - "My heart in every verse and my soul in every line..." He feels when people look at an artist they want the artist to be "living what they're saying."  He feels that this was part of the success formula of music from the past.

Kyle feels that, in order to be successful he needs to continue to work at it, only harder.  He has a deep respect for the success of Motown in the sixties and the formulas that they used to attain hit after hit. Kyle is interested in developing a success formula that will work with today's music.  Kyle also realizes that he needs more training to attain this success. In order to achieve this, Kyle has joined the Motown Heritage Club and is becoming one of the organizing members of a new Motorcity label, called Next Step Ventures.

In the organizing stage, Next Step Ventures is a music label, distribution company and publishing company being started by Recording Institute Of Detroit students and graduates to apply what they have learned in school to real-life situations.  The grads and students are being mentored and helped by RID Execs and Motown Heritage Club members.  The organization phase is expected to be complete, and operations beginning by September 1, 2006.