Late last month, Chicago rapper and teaching artist Matt Muse launched the second annual Love & Nappyness Hair Care Drive. Muse and his volunteer team are collecting hair- and skin-care products for Chicagoans in need—shampoo, conditioner, moisturizer, aftershave, soap, deodorant, individually packaged razors, and the like. Last year, the drive distributed more than 500 items, and Muse hopes to double that this year. The six drop-off locations include both Trap House Chicago stores and the Silver Room, and you can donate money via Cash App ($MattMuse12), Venmo (@MattMuse12), or PayPal (MattMuseMGMT@gmail.com). The last day to give is Friday, December 18.
Self-described “abolitionist mutual aid project” Chicago Community Jail Support kicked off in May 2020 after the mass arrest of Black Lives Matter protesters, and the all-volunteer group still maintains a tent outside Cook County Jail to provide snacks, first aid, phone calls, and other help for the recently incarcerated, including rides home or emergency shelter. As the winter gets nastier, the organization hopes to buy a van to make it easier to keep up its work. Last Friday, a slew of local Gossip Wolf faves, including Ohmme, Half Gringa, Ratboys, Into It. Over It., and Angel Bat Dawid contributed to a 46-track benefit compilation for CCJS called Warm Violet. Both pressings of its double cassette edition sold out fairly quickly, but you can still buy a digital copy on the CCSJ Bandcamp page.
Kara Jackson served as Chicago youth poet laureate and national youth poet laureate in 2019, and Gossip Wolf has been hyped on her music since she dropped the EP A Song for Every Chamber of the Heart later that year—her striking acoustic guitar melodies and tender singing go straight for the gut. Last week, Jackson released Xmas Demos, a three-song EP of warmhearted holiday songs that celebrate the season while avoiding its cliches.  v
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