Producing Dreams

So my friend called me the other day and said turn to MTV....Mike Winans is on "Making the Band". I turned it on and said 'thats not Mike' because of his shaved head I didn't immediately recognize him. I looked closer and yes it was Mike from high school. He left when we were in the 10th grade at King to go on the road with his group Phase II, made up of him and his cousins. Its always good to see Detroit home grown talent make it big. Not like it was a surprise seeing how Mike came from a gospel music legacy. Ummm maybe you know them.....the Winans family. Right! His cousin Mario Winans has long produced some of P. Diddy's greatest music hits for Bad Boy Records. So it was a no-brainer. Hell it pays to have family in the biz. Its was good seeing Mike in the studio produce tracks for the guys of Making the Band. I absolutely have no interest in Danity Kane or the new boy band members, but it was just good seeing Mike do his thing.

This got me to thinking about my own dreams. Yes, I am always dreaming...hint, hint the name DinaDREAM. See my dream is to marry a God-fearing (most important) producer/songwriter so I can help him create in the studio. NO not Mike Winans. Stay with me people. Your laughing....but I am serious. As a successful team, I want to be the radio-personality and he the producing hitmaker. I want the house here in Gross Pointe by the water AND in Atlanta with a Range Rover in the driveway. Atlanta is where we will raise the kids and we will come home to Gross Pointe in the summer to visit. I know a couple from Detroit in their mid-30's, who actually made this a reality. She started out in hair school and he started out making beats in his basement with a friend. They are now married with three kids. She has her own salon on Atlanta's famous Auburn Ave and opening a clothing boutique soon.

He along with his writing partner now produce for Keyshia Cole, Jennifer Lopez and Usher. We visited there home in Atlanta and I had to pick my face up from their living room floor when I walked in. The Range Rover and Escalade in the driveway only made the home shine more. He invited us to see the now million dollar studio it took him 7 years to complete in southwest ATL. They have had struggles for sure. According to my cousin she once filed for divorce.

My cousin and I attended the surprise birthday party she threw for him at the Body Tap gentlemen's club in Atlanta. I had a ball! As money was flying everywhere I looked over at them as she was seating on his lap by the stage. He was holding her and they were looking at each other and kissing like they were the only people in the room. They almost made me cry. I love seeing black love. I thought about them the entire way home that night in ATL. Just like Jay & Bey, they truly inspired me. So I will hold on to my dream of finding my hitmaker damn it, so we can create baby-making music together....lol! Remember you should always hold onto producing your dreams too!

Photo:christianmusic.com

Mike Winans pictured to the far left