Champtown

Brian Harmon (born January 20, 1973), better known by his stage name Champtown, is an American rapper, disc jockey, film director and teacher from Detroit, Michigan. Founder of the Straight Jacket independent record label, Champtown is known for helping establish the careers of a number of Detroit hip hop artists, including Kid Rock. He has also worked with Ice-T, Rev Run, Public Enemy and Uncle Kracker.

Biography Harmon grew up on Fairport Street in the East Side neighborhood of Detroit, and attended Detroit Boys and Girls Club with the drug dealers Best Friends. Attending the Boys and Girls Club, Harmon was the subject of much racism. In 2005, Harmon wrote the song "I Used to Think I Was Run" for Rev Run's solo album Distortion.

In 2009, Harmon joined the Institute of Production & Recording as a teacher. In 2011, Harmon began working on a documentary film, The Untold Story of Detroit Hip Hop. The film focuses on the city's hip hop music scene from 1982 to present, and highlights what Champtown considers to be underrepresented rappers such as Esham, Awesome Dre, Detroit's Most Wanted, Big Herk, Rock Bottom Entertainment, Street Lordz, Eastside Chedda Boyz, Royce da 5'9", Slum Village, Trick-Trick, Stretch Money, K Deezy, Verdict, J Dilla and Detroit Hit Squad, as well as chronicle the early days of pioneers such as Kid Rock, Insane Clown Posse and Eminem. Harmon has stated that he wanted to resolve his former issues with Eminem in order to keep his documentary historically accurate. A special sneak peek of the classic footage is available on allhiphop.com.

Style and influences

Harmon's influences include Run-DMC Label: Straight Jacket Records (SJ-007) Format: CD

Racial Profilin Released: February 1, 2016 Label: Straight Jacket Records • Footage Fa Days Format: MD

Extended plays 1991Call Me Joker Released: 1991 Label: Straight Jacket Records (SJ-001) Released: 1996 Label: Straight Jacket Records (SJ 003) Format: LP • CD