Hip-hop artist · Children's author

I'm Mr B.

I'm Blake Robert Mankin. I live in Scottsdale, Arizona. Nashville and Los Angeles are the years behind the songs.

My initials, backwards. That's Mr B.

@MrBinspire

Toured with DMX, Grammy voting member, 150+ shows, 120 songs, still independent.

Hear the songs Read the books
Mr B smiling in a bright patterned jacket, arms crossed, in front of a painted wall.
Mr B at golden hour, in a cream sweater, black sunglasses, and a gold chain.
Golden hour.

Still independent.

I write songs with groove, humor, and something to say. I write picture books you can read out loud. I like making things people can listen to, read, wear, and share a room for.

Tribal Hoose was the band in Nashville. I opened for Bone Thugs-n-Harmony and toured with DMX. I still own my masters.

The songs and the stories are the front of the house. Further down is the team I built so the label work would stop eating the music.

Mr B in clear glasses and a black jacket, standing in front of a teal and pink mural.
In front of a mural.
Mr B in a white hat and sunglasses, with a city behind him.
Out in LA.
Mr B on a rooftop in a denim shirt, hills and houses behind him.
Up in the Hollywood Hills.

Music

Hits Only album cover. Mr B laughing in a pink jacket against a teal wall, holding a blue cup.

Hits Only.

The 2026 album. Eight songs. Find a favorite and play it loud.

  1. 01 Wood Morning
  2. 02 Hits Only
  3. 03 Cash Cow
  4. 04 Who Run It?
  5. 05 Future Comin' Fast
  6. 06 Party Witchu
  7. 07 Shine Today
  8. 08 Respect On My Name
Play on Spotify Apple Music

Lyrics and the album page are on mrbinspire.com/music/hits-only. The rest of the shelf is on the music page.

A few songs to start with.

Cover art for Get Out Tha Bed, Mr B on stage with a band. Get Out Tha Bed Spotify · B Tha Change Cover art for Fire Squad, a black and white live shot of Mr B. Fire Squad Spotify Cover art for Mr B 4 Prezident, a live photo laid over a flag. Mr B 4 Prezident Spotify · B Tha Change
Still from the Elbow Room music video. Mr B by a pool in the Hollywood Hills, arms open. Elbow Room Music video on YouTube Ice Cream 4 Breakfast album cover. A younger Mr B holds two ice cream cones over his eyes. Ice Cream 4 Breakfast 2014 album · Spotify What Rhymes With Orange? album cover. Orange, a girl with a polka-dot bow, sings into a studio microphone. What Rhymes With Orange? 2026 album · eight songs

Apple Music artist page: Mr B. The picture book with the same name is in Books.

Hoose Moose and the Tiny Seed book cover. A brown moose in blue sunglasses holds a small green sprout.

Hoose Moose

A tiny seed.

Hoose Moose and the Tiny Seed. A small beginning, and what patience, care, and faith can grow.

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.

Buy the book hoose.com
Mr B on stage in a yellow Hoose Moose shirt, both hands up, singing into a microphone.
On stage, in a Hoose shirt.

Major Without A Label

The other half of the work

Your own manager.

You don't need to get signed to be major anymore. You need a team. For years I did every job myself, and most of it didn't get done.

So I built six teammates that each know one job, and one manager you can text like a person. They draft. Nothing goes out without your yes.

Manager Releases Content Day Ones Money Street Team

I built it for my own songs first. This page is the artist. The team lives on its own site.

See the team
Mr B working at a laptop covered in stickers, including a moose.
The merged manager character, cobalt blue with folded arms, black sunglasses, and a gold music-note chain.

Books

Read them out loud.

A little imagination goes a long way. Two picture books so far, made for a room full of kids.

Mr B holding several copies of What Rhymes With Orange?, wearing a black sweater with a bowl of oranges.
What Rhymes With Orange? book cover. Orange, a girl with long curly hair and a polka-dot bow, surrounded by fruit.

What Rhymes With Orange?

They said nothing rhymed with Orange's name. Her story asks a better question. What if being different is where the good stuff begins?

Buy on Amazon · Explore Orange's world

Hoose Moose and the Tiny Seed book cover.

Hoose Moose and the Tiny Seed

A tiny seed doesn't look like much. With patience, care, and faith, Hoose Moose discovers what a small beginning can become.

Buy on Amazon · More on Hoose Moose

Mr B with a group of students holding copies of What Rhymes With Orange? and Hoose Moose and the Tiny Seed.
Sharing What Rhymes With Orange? with young readers.

Bring the stories into the room.

I visit schools and libraries to read aloud, perform, and write with students. Rhythm, rhyme, and a book in their hands.

Ask about a visit

Press

A few real pieces.

Published stories. Follow them back to the source.

Belmont FEED · April 11, 2017

Being Mr. B

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

Chicken soup for the rapper's soul

An early profile from his Belmont years in Nashville, including the Wendy's Drive Thru Rap video and Ice Cream 4 Breakfast.

Contact

Let's make something happen.

Shows, school visits, readings, partnerships, and press. The note goes to the contact page I already use. No new form on this preview.

Contact Mr B
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