I’m thankful for the first full-length collaboration between Chicago rappers SD and Brian Fresco, the new Muddbruddas (Empire). Its mere existence takes a wrecking ball to the tired cliche that the local scene is split into two camps, “drill” and “alternative hip-hop,” that are isolated from each other’s sound and influence. When Chief Keef kicked […]
Tag: Brian Fresco
Posted inMusic
Chicago rapper Sterling Hayes travels down his own unusual path on Flirting With Death
Four years ago, Save Money rapper Sterling Hayes dropped his debut mixtape, Antidepressant, which foreshadowed the wave of Soundcloud rappers who’ve peppered their rhymes with intimate disclosures of their struggles with mental health issues. But that’s not to say that Hayes has much in common with those MCs, or with any scene around town either. […]
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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.
Posted inBlogs
Dividing Chicago hip-hop into ‘Chance and friends’ and ‘the drill scene’ insults its richness and variety
Stereogum’s recent survey of Chicago hip-hop gets a lot of things wrong, but it also serves as a reminder of how much there is to discover here.
Posted inBlogs
Save Money rapper Brian Fresco realizes his ambition with Casanova
Save Money Summer continues with the release of Brian Fresco’s Casanova, whose best moments don’t come from the collective’s best-known members.
Posted inMusic
How Chicago made Joey Purp
Joey Purp’s new iiiDrops comes from a perspective shaped by neighborhoods on both sides of Chicago’s racial and economic divides.
Posted inBlogs
Chicago rapper Brian Fresco extends Save Money and Tree’s winning streaks with SoulMoney
When local rapper-producer Tree and Save Money member Brian Fresco team up the results are unsurprisingly great.