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Home » Music » The Block Beat

Category: The Block Beat

Posted inMusic

Sheila Rashid makes possibilities you can wear

by The TRiiBE September 18, 2019August 18, 2021

Chicago designer Sheila Rashid makes unisex clothes that give people the freedom to define themselves.

Posted inMusic

The return of Katie Got Bandz

by The TRiiBE July 31, 2019August 18, 2021

Four long years after her last mixtape, drill queen Katie Got Bandz drops Rebirth—and revisits the site of the Bronzeville projects that taught her to persevere.

Posted inMusic

Omen gets back in the game

by The TRiiBE July 3, 2019August 18, 2021

After years away from the game, Chicago rapper and producer Omen returns to Dreamville Records’ active list—and to the south-side park where he learned to play.

Posted inMusic

Lucy Stoole: a good look for Chicago

by The TRiiBE June 12, 2019August 18, 2021

Chicago drag mom Lucy Stoole uses a favorite vintage store to make a point about showing up for your community.

Posted inMusic

Cupcakke stays fly on a budget at the beauty supply in her old hood

by The TRiiBE October 31, 2018August 18, 2021

Chicago rapper Cupcakke doesn’t have to splurge to create her outrageous personas: “Cheap shit with a rich spirit goes a long way.”

Posted inMusic

Queen Key demands what she wants—and that matters

by The TRiiBE October 17, 2018August 18, 2021

Queen Key’s outsize confidence sends a message of support to black women who know the odds are stacked against them.

Posted inMusic

It’s G Herbo’s time to give back

by The TRiiBE September 26, 2018August 18, 2021

Lately it seems like G Herbo can’t even play a show in Chicago, but the city’s favorite street rapper has found another way to give back: he’s joined a project to turn part of a shuttered south-side school into a media lab and music incubator.

Posted inMusic

Chicago rapper Taylor Bennett wants everywhere to be a place black people can be themselves

by The TRiiBE July 31, 2018August 18, 2021

When Chicago rapper Taylor Bennett was a teenager, one of his havens was Navy Pier. And this weekend, he’ll make himself at home onstage at Lollapalooza.

Posted inMusic

Reality TV star Phor leads a tour through the cradle of his creativity

by The TRiiBE June 27, 2018August 18, 2021

Phor has gone from painting on Nikes and writing verses in his grandma’s basement to tattooing on Black Ink Crew: Chicago and working with superproducer London on da Track.

Posted inMusic

The Vixen revisits the starting line of her personal drag race

by The TRiiBE, Tiffany Walden and Morgan Elise Johnson May 17, 2018August 18, 2021

The Vixen didn’t win over RuPaul, but she’s carrying on the fight for inclusivity that she began at the south side’s venerable Jeffery Pub.

Posted inMusic

Tink remembers the trial by fire that launched her career

by The TRiiBE, Tiffany Walden and Morgan Elise Johnson April 12, 2018August 18, 2021

The crowds at Adrianna’s wouldn’t rock for just anybody, but as a Calumet City teenager Tink won them over with a mix of drill rap and R&B.

Posted inMusic

How a south-side church taught rapper and activist Ric Wilson to fight back

by The TRiiBE, Tiffany Walden and Morgan Elise Johnson March 22, 2018August 18, 2021

Rapper and activist Ric Wilson grew up attending Fellowship Missionary Baptist, a south-side congregation that helped nurture the civil rights movement.

Posted inMusic

Vic Mensa revisits his vanishing Hyde Park

by The TRiiBE, Tiffany Walden and Morgan Elise Johnson February 14, 2018August 18, 2021

Rising rapper Vic Mensa considers his old Hyde Park neighborhood home, even though gentrification has killed his favorite hangouts.

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