Stony Island Park native Recoechi’s assertive bars carry a positive message.
Tag: Chief Keef
Posted inMusic
No More Heroes are building the future of Chicago rap
Azeez Alaka and Brandon Holmes run a music and video production company with a pipeline to the majors and a headquarters shaping up in Little Village.
Posted inBest of Chicago
Last year would’ve been a great one for bangers in Chicago clubs
The pandemic kept us from celebrating the likes of Lil Durk and King Von the way they should’ve been—on a sweaty dance floor.
Posted inMusic
Chicago drill star in the making King Von dropped his third album a week before his untimely death
In the early hours of Friday, November 6, 26-year-old Chicago rapper Dayvon Bennett, better known as King Von, was shot and killed outside an Atlanta nightclub. Von emerged a couple years ago as part of a newer generation of locals refashioning drill’s austere, hard-edged aesthetic in their own image. He imbued his tough-as-nails verses with […]
Posted inMusic
Chicago rappers SD and Brian Fresco combine their distinctive styles for the whimsically joyful Muddbruddas
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 […]
Posted inMusic
The best Chicago albums of the 2010s: the critics’ ballots
Here’s where to see who voted for what and how the points got divvied up.
Posted inMusic
The best Chicago albums of the 2010s
The Reader polled dozens of critics to arrive at an absolutely indisputable ranked list of several hundred records that will definitely not start any arguments.
Posted inMusic
Mick Jenkins fills the short Circus EP with considered, complex verses
With his 2014 breakout release, The Water[s], Chicago rapper Mick Jenkins demonstrated that his complex vision and deep lyrics benefit from the large canvas of a full-length record. That said, he cooks on EPs too. At the top of January, he dropped The Circus (Free Nation/Cinematic Music Group), which despite running less than 20 minutes […]
Posted inMusic
Chicago rapper Juice Wrld died just as his career was beginning
The MC born Jarad Higgins became a commercial juggernaut in less than two years, and passed away just days after turning 21.
Posted inMusic
Gifts to teach hip-hop heads their history
Each of these reissues helps unfold a different chapter in the rich narrative of the Chicago hip-hop scene.
Posted inMusic
Fighting for Chicago’s place in hip-hop history
Darrell “Artistic” Roberts of Chi-ROCK Nation has worked to document Chicago hip-hop culture for more than three decades—and now he’s finally publishing a book.
Posted inMusic
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.
Posted inMusic
The best overlooked Chicago hip-hop of 2018
Chicago’s hip-hop scene overflows with such variety and abundance that it’s impossible to show enough love to every great release—but that’s no reason not to try.
Posted inMusic
First-wave drill producer LeekeLeek dies at 27
First-wave drill producer LeekeLeek dies at 27, veteran Chicago rapper Longshot celebrates his collaboration with Lazerbeak, and more.
Posted inBlogs
Vlogger ZackTV devoted his life to making Chicago’s fractious rap scene into one community
Zack Stoner, who was shot to death, documented every unseen corner of Chicago hip-hop.