By Ashley Wohlgemuth

Contributing Reporter

Robb “Robo-Robb” Conrad Lauzon is a 24-year-old radio host, record label owner, writer and rapper who also happens to be a communications major at Oakland University.

Lauzon said he got involved in music during elementary school.

“When I was 8 I begged my dad to get me a trombone so I could play in the school band.

The music teacher kicked me out because I couldn’t learn to read the music. I played by reading slide positions,” he said.  

In 1992, Lauzon got in a horrible car accident that left him in a wheelchair. He couldn’t play sports, so he started writing poetry and short stories on the stoop outside the playground instead.  

“I eventually taught myself how to walk again and when I moved to Michigan from New Jersey, I tried to play the guitar but again I wasn’t good at that,” Lauzon said.  

When Lauzon was 14, he started to rap and write on a daily basis for almost five years. “I have shoe boxes of lyrics in my closet,” he said.

Lauzon’s different mentors have motivated him over the years.

“I was inspired by my dad because he always taught me to appreciate and ‘save the music,'” he said.

DJ Bullfrog was one of Flint’s first DJs, and also one of Lauzon’s mentors.  

When Lauzon was 17, DJ Bullfrog brought him into the studio to record his first single and he never looked back. “He took me under his wing when he retired,” Lauzon said.

In 2002, Lauzon took his graduation money and bought equipment to begin recording. In 2006, he officially launched the label for the release of “Soulbot,” his first recording. Since then, he said he has spent a lot of time marketing his label and the artists on the label.  

Hi-Hill is the subdivision in Lake Orion where Lauzon and T. McGee, another OU student and Lauzon’s co-host on his radio show, grew up. They decided to name their rap group in high school “Hi-Hill” and when the group stopped working together he instead named the record label “Hi-Hill Recordings.”

Odai Baylor, aka “Moonchild,” is Lauzon’s partner and producer.

Lauzon said he was inspired by Baylor’s idea for the name “Robo-Robb,” and that created a “robot” theme.

“Me and Moonchild’s educations have helped us tremendously in our endeavors.

Knowledge is power, and it is who you know plus the talent you have that will help us succeed,” Lauzon said.  

Lauzon has recorded five CDs and mixed tapes from 2006-08.  

The “Save the Music” EP was the first time Lauzon and Baylor were on an album together. They put together eight songs and passed the demo out for free at concerts.

The album is a story, about “Robo-Robb” and “Moonchild’s” attempt to save the music, “because music is in such a terrible state of decay. At the end of the album I get killed, leaving an absence for a few years in my career,” Lauzon said.

“The album basically starts after the ‘Save the Music’ war, which takes place years ahead of the time line we are painting with the current album ‘Save the Music.’ I get put back together after being destroyed and want to become human so I go through the seasons and falling in and out of love,” Lauzon said.

In August of 2008 the “Save the Music” LP was released. Lauzon and Baylor added another eight songs and remastered and rerecorded everything.

“Before this album ends, me and Moonchild are all ready to begin the war against the industry that is killing music,” Lauzon said.  “I would describe me and Moonchild’s music as ahead of its time. Most of the time when I perform people do not know what to make of it. A lot of people like to say I am a genius. I personally would not consider my writing a genius, but I do believe I get that because it is something they have never heard before,” Lauzon said.   

Lauzon has also been hosting a radio show at OU for about a year and a half called “Robo-Robb Radio Wednesday,” where they play all commercial R&B, Hip-Hop, and Electronic music, and interview people, talk politics, culture and current events. He also does “Robo-Robb Radio Saturdays” where he plays all local musicians of every genre and interviews up-and-coming artists.

Lauzon also started a magazine this year called “Invisible Subway.” He has yet to be able to find a place to distribute his magazine, but said he passes them out at shows and always has copies on him on campus.

“I started the magazine because I feel I can change the world. I feel if I work hard enough I can start to change people’s perceptions of the world and, in turn, they will assist me in changing the world,” he said.

For a year now, Lauzon has been involved with a “beat” battle. The battles have recently found a new location and even more support from one of Detroit’s hottest places, The Lager House in Corktown.  

Here, producers compete with either on-the-spot “beats,” or ones that they have pre-recorded. Judges determine the winner, and that person takes home a $50 prize.

“The place is packed to the brim every month with regular local celebrities coming out in support of the event, i.e. Street Justice, LA Peace of the Cardi Boys, Leaf Erickson, USM and many more.”  

After Lauzon graduates he would like to tour the country and live in various cities and establish a fan base throughout the United States.  

“I don’t have any desire to start a nine to five job when I graduate. I know I can make it with hard work so I will continue to pursue my dream on the road outside of Michigan,” Lauzon said.

Lauzon can be contacted at [email protected].