Brian Love, also known by his stage name SMOKEMB, is the 21st Century equivalent of an organ grinder. In 19th century Europe and America, musicians travelled from town to town, cranking a barrel organ strapped to their chest. While these “organ grinders” played, a trained monkey, sometimes wearing a costume, would work the crowd, soliciting spectators to drop a coin in their adorable little hat or tin cup.
Love does much the same thing, except he and his business partner, a rooster named 46 Sanders, crank Lil Baby, Jay-Z or 50 Cent instead of a calliope tune and solicits donations by Venmo and CashApp.
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In 2019, Love was working for a construction company when the owner passed away, so he thought it might be a good time to promote his music – he’s recorded rap songs like “Streets Don’t Play Around.” Not sure what direction his life was taking, he decided to wander around Seven Mile Fair when he stumbled across a booth selling livestock. Love says he’s “an animal person” and spotted a rooster he thought might be the icebreaker his hip hop career needed.
“I took a chance, I said, ‘how much?’ The guy said, ‘12 bucks,’” Love explained. “I told myself, ‘if you can’t afford 12 bucks to invest in yourself for something you say you love, you got to quit,’ I bought him and the rest is history.”
Love named the rooster 46 Sanders, the number referencing his neighborhood – 46th and Center streets, the last part of the name invoking the figure all chickens fear – Colonel Sanders. Concerned for his new friend’s comfort in all types of weather, Love did some wardrobe shopping.
“We’re going to shout out Target and we’re going to shout out Carter’s, I cut up baby clothes, and it fits him like a glove,” Love said.
He modifies dog jackets, baby jeans, shirts and leggings, to fit 46 Sanders comfortably and the rooster even shows off a chain as a bit of bling. Love thought people might give him a tip if they could pose with 46 Sanders for an interesting social media pic and he was right.
“After that I made it a full-fledged hustle, a main gig,” said Love. “It was working out and I was building my own name, so I adapted to this a lot more.”
Like the organ grinders of old, he decided to take his act on the road.
“Chicago, Indiana, Memphis, Atlanta, Miami, Texas, Arkansas, California and Vegas,” Love lists off. “It’s the same no matter where I go, man, if you bring him out and people get a hold of him, they love him immediately, they come up to me and want a picture.”
Returning to Milwaukee, Love and 46 Sanders have recently made appearances in the Third Ward, outside the State Fair grounds, Jazz in the Park, and other spots around town. The interest has been varied– one clip on the 46 Sanders Instagram page shows a group of children on the sidewalk clamoring to have their picture taken with the plucky bird. Others show everyone from police officers to bar patrons getting their photo taken with the rooster sitting on their shoulder.
Another video on Instagram shows a more mature audience with Love performing a hip hop song and dance with some fans performing with him and an occasional crow from 46 Sanders (making him a featured artist on the song), along with a couple of shots of the fowl perched on top of women’s buttocks.
“He’s a spoiled rooster, he loves it,” Love says of his lifestyle while he holds 46 Sanders snuggled into the crook of his arm, noting he’ll often fall asleep there. “He knows he’s in a safe place.”
Love says he’ll be in Milwaukee a bit longer, then he and 46 Sanders will either head west to California or east to New York, he’s not sure – he’ll let the wind decide which way he and his feathered sidekick go next.
