LANSING, Mich. — Eric Rutledge is still dealing with the pain of not having his best friend Kaz here.
Curshawn Terrell, also known as Kaz, was a well-known music producer who was shot and killed inside his Lansing Township studio on New Year’s Eve 2022.
“This brotha loved everybody,” Rutledge said. “This brotha wouldn’t squash a bug on the concrete. This brotha just loved, loved, loved, loved.”
Kaz was just 40 years old when he died, but he accomplished so much from producing all over the country to working with major artists.
However, no matter where he traveled, Rutledge said Kaz always brought some of that success back to the 517.
“He said, 'I want to blow up this city, we got so much talent, I want this people to know what Lansing got,'” Rutledge said.
And because of that love for Lansing, Rutledge said it's important to keep Kaz's legacy alive.
Rutledge recently released a movie in honor of Kaz, it’s called "For the Love of Cash."
“The movie is about a young man coming home from jail, trying to get into music and trying to get his life together, and he also falls in love,” Rutledge said.
The movie was all shot in Lansing, and Kaz was not only a producer on it, but he also makes an appearance in it along with other well-known music artists in Lansing.
Right now, the movie can be viewed on YouTube, but pretty soon, it will be on a bigger platform.
And while Rutledge tries to get through the grief of losing a friend, he finds comfort in knowing one thing.
“I know he’s proud of me,” he said.
