Lately this wolf has been bumping Pocket Full of Pesos by Molemen rapper Scheme and producer DJ Scend. It’s inspired by old-school hip-hop mixtapes: Scend blends the instrumentals into one long track, and Scheme not only raps to beats from other artists (including Diplo-approved Oakland act Los Rakas) but also adds spoken-word interludes, opening up about his creative process and trying to convince Scend to go on a late-night taco run. It’s also the first full-length where Scheme raps in Spanish as well as English. “It’s who I am,” he says. “I always say hip-hop culture raised me and my Mexican-ÂAmerican culture raised me.” Scheme tells Gossip Wolf he plans to release an album of English and Spanish raps called Pesos Turn to Dollars next summer.
Chicago singer-songwriter Derek Nelson has a plaintive voice and favors laid-back tunes, but don’t mistake that for a lack of ambition: he’s playing a double release party on Fri 12/20 at Lincoln Hall! Gossip Wolf is most excited about his new band, Martin Van Ruin, and their debut LP, Every Man a King; their lineup features members of Planetsexploder, Jenny Dragon, and Nelson’s old group the Musicians. The tracks on Bandcamp, including the driving “God and Love and Gin,” show off seriously epic folk-pop chops. Nelson opens the four-band bill with songs from his new solo EP, Missouri.
This wolf is charmed to pieces by Chicago garage-pop outfit the Lemons, who make sun-soaked, hooky throwback jams about seaweed, ice cream, and doing the twist—and whose debut, Hello, We’re the Lemons, recently came out on Tripp Tapes. The Lemons play Fri 12/20 with White Mystery, Twin Peaks, Yawn, Mama, and the Rubs; Bric-a-Brac Records has advance tickets, and you can e-mail lemonsthe@gmail.com to get the details. The next day the Lemons will perform at a Chic-a-Go-Go taping; e-mail info@roctober.com for info.
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