We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Diarra Collazo. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Diarra below.
Diarra, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
When dealing with entertainment you never trully know if what you are presenting, will hit the mark. This is why i often advise clients if you are not doing this because you love it, the creation, the process get out now. Its the love for what you do that sustains you in this field.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
Growing up in the golden age of hip hop I knew it was for me. Before leaving high-school I was in a rap group as an emcee, transitioned into the dj for the group as well as being on the radio station as a personality at my school.
After graduation my group put out a record and was later pursued by a independent label out of Miami. It was there while visitng the label I became aware of a school that was focused on the music business.
Although the deal fell thru, and after a good run with the record I felt there was something more out there for me. I recalled the Art institute and did some research where I discovered they also had a campus in Atlanta GA which was becoming a hot bed for urban music.
I enrolled at the school and my my journey of taking this business seriously had begun. The Art Institute of Atalnta gave me a excellent foundation on how everything works separately and together. I had many experiences from working in world class recording and video facilities to setting up live sound in a venue with a truck to record the event live.
Upon graduation I returned to Pontiac a suburb of Detroit Michigan and opened my studio and a label. After being back home and taking notice on how the Atlanta scene was thriving I noticed what was missing in Detroit. Outlets. Atlanta had support for there local artist thru radio, something that really wasnt taking place in Detroit. I took experiences from my past and went to a local am station to purchase radio time so I could do my own show which became Local Luv with Uncle P.
We were well ahead of our time especially with the station being equipped for internet radio transmission. In a effort to gain more attention for the radio show we later purchased detroitrap.com which was the hub online for everything Detroit rap music.
This was the foundational move that made Uncle P a household name within the hip hop community with staple events like “The Monthly Mixer” “Producer Beat Battles” “Beat Retreat” “The Underground Hip Hop Awards as well as offering consultation services to artist and future label owners that were truly about moving forward with their careers from a business perspective.
My approach was very simple, quality over quantity. Hard work over short cuts, and integrity in everything we do. This helped me to have a long lasting career that usually eats professionals up in the first couple years of working.
Today along with consulting people who are entering the world of entertainment be it as a artist, promoter, manager, label owner I have moved over into the film industry with my newest company Lotus Blossom Films. Our first Co working experience releasing a movie called ” Porch Bandits” available on Tubi and Amazon in late July of 2026.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Life at times can throw a monkey wrench in your plans. I got married moved back to Atlanta so my wife could be closer to her family and Cancer hit us before we could even get settled. It was a long journey with us fighting 2 bouts over 2 years. I became detached from what I loved, I lost myself in the process.
The music game is a tuff business, and the level of unprofessional people in my field is abundant. I came to a point where I no longer felt I could thrive amongst the chaos. Still wanting to be creative I wanted a change, but wanted to be able to utilize my prior experience.
I landed in film with the dream of helping others tell their stories through documentaries. I called my wife my Lotus Blossom. It was only right to name my newest creation after her. Upon coming back to Detroit to care for mom, I lost her as well a year and a half later.
My music community held me up, and helped me get back active, in a comfortable way for me. I had to tend to real life and step away. Luckily I planted enough good seeds to make my return a good one.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
I am a creative, who helps people bring attention to their creative works. The most rewarding aspect of what I do is seeing the people I work with thrive. Watching them take a blueprint that was crafted based on what they say they want to get out of this. Then to watch and assist with the execution and then witness the results. Its why I do this. I feel one day one of the many that I have helped in some way come back and say “Uncle P” you planted the seed, I have a leadership position for you at the company. It would be a honor to work with you in this capacity.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Detroitrap.com
- Instagram: Detroitrap
- Facebook: Unclep313
- Linkedin: Diarra Collazo