Chicago singer and producer Zarif Wilder, aka theMIND, has lent his gilded vocals and carefully crafted instrumentals to more hip-hop and R&B releases than I could possibly list here. He’s worked with practically every important rapper to emerge from the city in the past decade, including the three in the supergroup Ghetto Sage: Smino, Noname, […]
Tag: Chicago R&B
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Sharp Chicago rapper F.A.B.L.E. tries on different stylistic hats with Green Room
Emerging Chicago rapper Christopher Horace charmed me a couple years ago with the first EP he released as F.A.B.L.E., (IX) The Hermit. His downy voice makes his playful raps sound more intimate than he can spell out with words, lending them the air of a confession shared between friends–and his gentle performances fit into his […]
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Chicago R&B singer Ravyn Lenae makes a play for stardom on Hypnos
In 2015, when Chicago R&B wunderkind Ravyn Lenae was just 16, she self-released a sophisticated, vigorous EP called Moon Shoes, singing about romance and longing with the grace and lucidity of an artist who understood herself. Now 23, Lenae has grown considerably from that already auspicious start. On her new debut full-length, Hypnos (Atlantic), her […]
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Elton Aura specializes in hypersmooth hip-hop that’ll stick in your head
Vocalist and producer Elton Aura is part of a network of Chicago artists who’ve modified hip-hop by splicing the grounded mood and melodicism of old-school R&B into its DNA. For nearly ten years now, one of Aura’s frequent artistic partners has been producer Phoelix, who’s brought a smooth sensibility to collaborations with three of the […]