Chicago designer Sheila Rashid makes unisex clothes that give people the freedom to define themselves.
Category: The Block Beat
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The return of Katie Got Bandz
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.
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Omen gets back in the game
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.
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Lucy Stoole: a good look for Chicago
Chicago drag mom Lucy Stoole uses a favorite vintage store to make a point about showing up for your community.
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Cupcakke stays fly on a budget at the beauty supply in her old hood
Chicago rapper Cupcakke doesn’t have to splurge to create her outrageous personas: “Cheap shit with a rich spirit goes a long way.”
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Queen Key demands what she wants—and that matters
Queen Key’s outsize confidence sends a message of support to black women who know the odds are stacked against them.
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It’s G Herbo’s time to give back
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.
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Chicago rapper Taylor Bennett wants everywhere to be a place black people can be themselves
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.
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Reality TV star Phor leads a tour through the cradle of his creativity
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.
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The Vixen revisits the starting line of her personal drag race
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.
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Tink remembers the trial by fire that launched her career
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.
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How a south-side church taught rapper and activist Ric Wilson to fight back
Rapper and activist Ric Wilson grew up attending Fellowship Missionary Baptist, a south-side congregation that helped nurture the civil rights movement.
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Vic Mensa revisits his vanishing Hyde Park
Rising rapper Vic Mensa considers his old Hyde Park neighborhood home, even though gentrification has killed his favorite hangouts.