A docuseries on the life and legacy of Baytree Monkey**I know it seems like I'm a greedy, greedy girl to charge membership to a blog, but the blogging/emailing sites raised prices. I only need 6 more people to join to break even. Doug Wanoy will give you a $20 Starbucks gift card for joining if you are one of the first ten people.**  A figure shrouded in all black enters a dark room. He has a seat in a lone chair in the middle of the room. Camera pans out to reveal Wheeling, West Virginia’s renowned local rapper, Remy Markos. Interviewer (off camera): So, how do you want to do this? Remy Markos: I suppose we should start at the beginning. Various interviews with residents of Wheeling flash onto the screen in rapid succession. Young Boy 1: Baytree Monkey… Young Boy 2: Baytree Monkey… Young Girl 1: Baytree Money… Young Girl 2: Baytree Monkey… Young Boy 3: Everyone knew Baytree Monkey. Adult 1: My kids would talk about Baytree Monkey all the time. They only wanted to listen to his music. Young Girl 3: Baytree Monkey was a local legend. Young Girl 4: I don’t remember much of his music, but he was so petite. It was so cute to see this little boy rapping. Young Boy 4: He was the Polish version of Eminem. Adult 2: I was best friends with him.  The screen transitions to a man in his early 30’s working on a car in his garage. He wipes grease off his hands onto his forehead and sits down. Shelton: My name is Shelton. I’m 32 years old—new dad. I haven’t thought about Baytree Monkey in years. [Laughs] Now, that was a time. Kyle and I have been friends since birth. Our moms were best friends. Shelton: We were different. I was more outgoing. Kyle was quieter. Until you got to know him. I was at his house a lot. You know, his dad tried to kill me once. Interviewer: I read about that. Shelton: It was 2003. Kyle was always going through these phases. Like one day he would be interested in performing magic shows, and the next he would be doodling in some notebook. Sketches of like islands and cities or some shit like that. I could see him as a Gic, but he wanted to transition to rapping. Weird brain, man. But, I mean, he was my friend. He was fun to be around. Our other buddy, Derek, was there that day.
The camera shows an aerial view over Lake Norman. Geese flock to the shore. A lone man walks near the lake. Derek: I was his next-door neighbor. I was over at his house a lot. You know, his dad used to torture us kids. Interviewer: I read about that. Derek: I was shocked when he came up with the idea. I didn’t even know the dude could rap. But people didn’t tell Kyle no. You couldn’t crush his dreams like that. Someone so special needs that love. That support. They need to learn for themselves about failure. Kyle, though, was too small to fail. "No child left behind" is what we would say when we would all play ball in the yard. We'd give him some accommodations to help him score. But we were all pumped for him. We loved the idea. We egged him on. This was his annual goal, and we were all here to help him make progress on it. He had that "I eat piece" mentality. There's enough to go around for each individual, and he had the education to begin his program in rapping. That's how Baytree Monkey was formed. Interviewer: Where did he get the name, Baytree Monkey? Derek: You’re going to have to ask the dad.
The camera zooms in on a residence for individuals 55 and up in Durham, North Carolina. There are shots of the pickleball court, pool, and garden before settling on a man sitting in the indoor hot tub. Greg Bauer: I was in the hot tub today, and a lady came up to me and asked if I had taken a shower. I said no (because I knew what she was up to, and I always shower before hot tubbing). I said I just cleaned up in here with soap and shampoo in my bag. She got really mad and started to leave. I calmed down before she went to report me. I asked if she showered because something does smell. I said let’s start asking if the pool people showered before swimming. I was really messing with her, so I knew she felt embarrassed. I calmed her down, and we talked. From Ukraine. [True Story] Interviewer: Yep, you must be Greg Bauer. Or Doug Wanoy. Everyone in your family has an alter ego. I was warned about you. Anyway, thank you for telling me that story unprompted. Do you know about the name Baytree Monkey? Greg Bauer: Baytree Monkeytick was an online name I used for old online games and AOL forums in the early 2000s. In fact, I still use it. I also use it for fantasy football. Baytree is the street where we lived in Wheeling. Kyle dropped the ‘tick’ to be more marketable, according to him. Got to get rid of the tick. (Laughs loudly)  Shelton: So you heard about the name? (Chuckles). So yeah, dude starts writing lyrics and dropping tracks from his own home. I’m not going to lie, man, they were dope. Derek: What do the kids say now? Fire. They were fire. So, one day, we are just spitballing in the basement. Kyle, my bad, Baytree Monkey, as he wanted to be called back then, starts rhyming. He’s flowing. Had that beat going. That’s how his debut album, It All Comes Down, was born.  COMING SOON Episode 2: It All Comes Down
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