Towkio is Drifting: Chicago’s New Juke Hope | July 11, 2014 |
Tosten Burks doesn’t really like potato salad. And now, this week’s friendly reminder that whether or not you dig what fame and Los Angeles hath wrought Chance the Rapper, the rest of SAVEMONEY continues to kill it. Eschewing the Social Experiment’s analog pop blues that recall the early teen melodicism of Kids These Days (surprise, […]
The Blue Sky Prayers of Chicago’s Max Wonders | April 1, 2014 |
Max Bell never listened to Wilco Occasionally I fear the canonical line has been replaced by the quotable. The former resurfaces as reverent homage in future rappers’s rhymes. The latter usually fits neatly into your tweet and quickly moves to the bottom of the timeline. That said, it’s always comforting to know some still believe […]
Kyle Ellison needs Cigarillos from the corner store. It’s sometimes hard to tell whether Atlanta’s latest crop of eccentrics are bored or exhilarated by rap. Half of the time it sounds as though the city’s young rappers might actually pass out from excitement, either buzzing off of some loopy synth beat or a lean-induced sugar […]
MobbDeen: Lil Herb & Lil Bibby in Fazoland | March 4, 2014 |
Deen drinks with Scarface every weekend. Messrs Herb & Bibby first came to my attention circa 2012 when I came across their remake of Project Pat’s classic, “My Hood.” A remake isn’t necessarily the most efficient way to gain attention in 2014 and the same was true back in 2012 when we all thought the […]
The Alternative Trap of Chicago’s Lucki Eck$ | March 3, 2014 |
Eric Thurm is not like a desk in math class. Lucki Eck$ mostly raps about dealing drugs, which would be tired if it weren’t for his lyrical dexterity and hypnotic, sensitive delivery. The Chicago 17 year-old’s first mixtape, Alternative Trap, showcased his gift for storytelling and unusual, vivid imagery (standout “Count On Me” has the […]
The Blogger, the Engineer, and the Future of Chicago Hip-Hop | January 29, 2014 |
Tosten Burks deserves a day off. The Blogger and the Engineer The living room is not a living room – overstuffed couches swapped for 50 thousand dollars worth of studio equipment, tile floor crowded with new friends and old. A funky smoke lingers. They line up for the dining room that is not a dining […]
Tree: Soul Trap On Ice | January 28, 2014 |
Max Bell is made of limestone. Ascendant Chicago rapper/producer Tree’s claim that he “invented soul trap” isn’t entirely accurate. Soul trap was around before Pimp C had a pocket full of stones. There just wasn’t a name for it. Goodie Mob and Witchdoctor’s first albums are so full of soul and blues, both lyrically and […]
Twista’s Return: Double-Time Basics | January 10, 2014 |
Kyle Ellison has an extensive knowledge of rap songs that feature violins. It’s hard to ignore the underlying tragedy of a rapper whose best music was made in the ’90s releasing a project called Back to Basics. Generally, the explicit avowal of a return to form is a sign of creative bankruptcy. The artist has spent a few […]
150 Degrees of Lil Herb | November 14, 2013 |
Lil Herb and Lil Bibby have been bubbling for a while now in the Chiraq guns flashing, rap-as-inferno lane, but I have never written about them due to negative association stemming from my aversion to all Bibby’s dating back to Mike (and maybe Henry). I’ve been watching a lot of NWA and Eazy E lately […]
Mick Jenkins, Martyr | November 12, 2013 |
Tosten Burks is beatified. One of Chicago’s best young lyricists this side of the tweakers, twists 2013’s most iconic sample into lamentations of lifestyle, praying he’s not too preachy but preaching nonetheless. To the boys carrying guns to the beat, to the girls leaving their cherry stems in the street: everyone’s hanging too high to […]