Chicago rapper Dre Izaya is one hook away from the charts on I Fall Apart When They Leave

Englewood rapper Dre Izaya has recently emerged as part of a loose collective of pop, R&B, soul, and hip-hop artists associated with Loop Theory, a local indie artist-development and management company founded by producer Disrupt and rapper Navarro. (The agency also releases music by the artists on its roster.) Last year, Loop Theory put together a big rollout for the October debut of rapper Brittney Carter, As I Am, and with the arrival of Izaya’s new I Fall Apart When They Leave, the label is finishing a one-two punch. Izaya tops gleaming instrumentals with buttery half-sung verses, sometimes draping his voice with Auto-Tune to amplify its sumptuousness, as he does on the neon-colored “I Understand/Separate.” He raps with the cool poise of a star in the making, which helps sell some of the sleepier songs in I Fall Apart When They Leave—it feels like he’s just one inescapable hook away from becoming an unstoppable hit machine.   v