Jamila Woods’s stunning solo debut, Heavn, offers a healing elixir of “black girl magic” to help us imagine a path through troubled times.
Tag: Chicago Hip-Hop
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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.
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Chicago singer the Mind makes romance sound huge and feel intimate on his debut mixtape
After adding his voice to music by the likes of Mick Jenkins, Chance the Rapper, and Joey Purp, the Mind steps out on his own with Summer Camp.
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The Beats & Bars after-school program makes great protest music that doesn’t need a news hook
Chicago magazine’s story on current Chicago protest music overlooks some of the best, including the EP Who They Wish I Was by the Beats & Bars after-school program.
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Chicago rapper Noname helps honor the life of Hadiya Pendleton tomorrow
Thursday’s Wear Orange Party for Peace includes a set by Noname, whose recent single is a tender celebration of life.
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The Palmer Squares defy the stereotyping of Chicago hip-hop with the new Planet of the Shapes
Local rappers Acumental and Terminal Knowledge, aka the Palmer Squares, don’t fit any prefab notion of a Chicago MC, but their new album is selling like hotcakes.
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Love illuminates Chance the Rapper’s highly anticipated new Coloring Book
Chatham superstar Chance the Rapper rhymes about family, religion, and Chicago throughout his brand-new mixtape, binding it all together with irrepressible love.
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As Beyoncé and Drake’s big albums rule pop, Chicago rapper Sterling Hayes gets intimate
Save Money rapper Sterling Hayes gets bleak on his debut mixtape, but his music isn’t without its highs.
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Chicago rapper Rich Jones on the fourth anniversary of his hip-hop showcase, All Smiles
Rich Jones launched the monthly hip-hop series All Smiles at Tonic Room in April 2012, and it’s since grown into a Lincoln Park oasis for the local scene.
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Twista digs up a Kanye-produced mixtape track in tribute to Prince
This morning west-side rap veteran Twista uploaded “I Can Make You Say,” which samples Prince’s “Do Me, Baby.”
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Chicago rap trio Sooper Swag Project get loopy on the new Badd Timing
Chicago’s Sooper Swag Project, which includes eccentric polymath Nnamdi Ogbonnaya, takes hip-hop where few other current artists try.
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Chicago rapper-producer Ibn Inglor drops the outsize “Pray for Health”
Ibn Inglor channels unflinching coldness into massive, masterful rap songs.
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Chicago rapper Sasha Go Hard sets an example of independence for her daughter
Sasha Go Hard’s new mixtape displays the fighting spirit that’s made her a force to be reckoned with—and gifts it to her young daughter.
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Chicago rapper Goody wrestles with hip-hop’s ‘backpacker/thug’ dichotomy on his debut mixtape
On the new 21 (to Anyone), Goody captures hard-to-define emotions and avoids pigeonholes.
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Hxlt’s hip-hop past lingers on his punk debut
This Friday, GOOD Music drops the first album the former Hollywood Holt is releasing in his postpunk incarnation Hxlt.