Hip-hop artist · Children's author · AI educator
I'm Blake Robert Mankin. Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, with roots in Nashville and Los Angeles.
My initials, backwards. That's Mr B.
Toured with DMX, Grammy voting member, 150+ shows, 120 songs, still independent.
I write songs with groove, humor, and something to say, and picture books you can read out loud. Tribal Hoose was the band in Nashville. I opened for Bone Thugs-n-Harmony and toured with DMX. I still own my masters.
I studied at Belmont University. Ice Cream 4 Breakfast came out in 2014, while I was there. By 2017, Mr. B's Rap App was in classrooms: a beat, a list of rhymes, and a kid willing to try a verse. Teachers used it for vocabulary. I guest-taught, then substitute taught. The rhyme that would not sit still became Orange.
What Rhymes With Orange? is now a picture book and an eight-song children's album. I also teach artists how to put AI to work on the jobs around the music. That team is further down the page.
Music
Released July 23, 2026. Eight songs, about twenty minutes. Find a favorite and play it loud.
Wood Morning
01 · Hits Only
Pick a row to play the full song here. Spotify and Apple Music open the album there. Lyrics are on mrbinspire.com/music/hits-only.
The children's album with the book title is a different release: August 21, 2026, eight songs. Earlier records, track lists, and the streaming links are on the music page. Apple Music artist page: Mr B.
Hoose Moose
Hoose Moose and the Tiny Seed. A small beginning, and what patience, care, and faith can grow.
Paperback from Hoose Books, July 15, 2026. Twenty-eight pages. ISBN 9781970258004. By Hoose Moose and Mr B, in the Hoose Moose Wisdom Series, for ages 2 to 6.
The moose shows up in the picture book, on stage, and on the shirts. The shop is at hoose.com. New drops land there when they are ready.
A longer cartoon world is still a plan. There is no game to play yet.
Major Without A Label
AI educator
I teach independent artists to run the label work with AI. You don't need to get signed to be major anymore. You need a team. I built this one for my own songs first, after years of doing every job myself.
You text a manager like a person. Six teammates each know one job. They draft. Nothing goes out without your yes. It runs on your own Grok Bot plan. ChatGPT is optional. Tuesdays at 5 PM Arizona time, I hold an open Q&A. The manager registered about 40 of my songs that needed to be registered.
Shows for Artists is the booking desk I built for independent musicians. I talked about that work on AIBiZ, June 21, 2026.
Books
Two picture books so far. Orange finds her own rhyme. Hoose Moose starts with a seed. The editions are on the books page.
They said nothing rhymed with Orange's name. Her story asks a better question. What if being different is where the good stuff begins? Illustrated by Henrique C. Rampazzo.
Paperback · May 1, 2024 · 25 pages · ISBN 9798323823253
A tiny seed doesn't look like much. With patience, care, and faith, Hoose Moose discovers what a small beginning can become.
Paperback · July 15, 2026 · 28 pages · ISBN 9781970258004
I visit schools and libraries to read aloud, perform, and write with students. Rhythm, rhyme, and a book in their hands. One school day reached more than 100 children. In September 2026 I was with Dripping Springs ISD students who had recorded on the Orange album.
Press
Published stories. Follow them back to the source.
Hays Free Press · October 14, 2026
Brittany Kelley on the Austin sessions for What Rhymes With Orange?. Dripping Springs ISD students wrote and recorded at 512 Studio and Spitshine Studios, then brought the songs back to school.
Belmont FEED · April 11, 2017
A visit to the Hoose in Nashville, when Tribal Hoose was the band and classroom visits were just getting started.
Belmont Vision · August 27, 2014
An early profile from his Belmont years in Nashville. He talks about touring with DMX and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, and about Ice Cream 4 Breakfast.
AIBiZ · June 21, 2026
Forty-four minutes on building with AI, including Shows for Artists, the booking desk for independent musicians.
Contact
Shows, school visits, readings, partnerships, and press. The note goes to the contact page I already use.
