“I have a pinned tweet on my page that says, ‘“I fucked someone to that playlist you made” is the highest compliment you can give me.’”
Tag: Fake Shore Drive
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
Kaina gives her soulful R&B the intimacy of real and chosen family
On her debut album, Chicago singer-songwriter Kaina takes strength from her favorite people: her friends and collaborators, her childhood mentors, her immigrant parents.
Posted inMusic
How did the ‘industry plant’ take root?
The ‘industry plant’ is hip-hop’s favorite conspiracy theory, used to discredit breakout successes—and it’s spreading to other genres, where it’s no more plausible.
Posted inMusic
Brittney Carter discovers Chicago hip-hop—and vice versa
Brittney Carter thought she was just writing poems. Her classmates at Young Chicago Authors heard a great rapper in the making—and the rest of the city’s scene is starting to agree.
Posted inMusic
Chicago rap crew Pivot Gang honor a fallen comrade
Pivot Gang cofounder John Walt is memorialized in Saba’s Care for Me—and by an arts nonprofit that bears his name, which holds its flagship concert fund-raiser this weekend.
Posted inMusic
Chicago rapper Queen Key is gonna need a bigger crown
With this summer’s Eat My Pussy, Chicago rapper Queen Key proves herself a star in the making, ready to carve out a larger role for women in the city’s hip-hop scene.
Posted inBlogs
Tracking the astronomical rise of Chicagoland rapper Juice Wrld
Juice Wrld has only played a couple shows and has at best two Soundcloud hits—but he just signed a deal with Interscope reportedly worth $3 million.
Posted inBlogs
Fake Shore Drive founder Andrew Barber on ten years of blogging and the evolution of the Chicago hip-hop scene
Fake Shore Drive has grown alongside Chicago rap, becoming an institution in its own right—and it celebrates its tenth anniversary by reuniting Big Tymers for a show at the Portage.
Posted inMusic
Crucial Chicago hip-hop site Fake Shore Drive celebrates its tenth anniversary by reuniting New Orleans rap heroes Big Tymers
In February, when Chance the Rapper won his first Grammy (Best Rap Performance for “No Problem”), the first thing he uttered when he accepted the award was “Yo, Andrew Barber.” The story behind that shout-out starts a decade ago: At a time when few outlets cared about Chicago’s rap exports (beyond maybe Kanye West), Barber […]
Posted inMusic
Chicago blog Lyrical Lemonade shares its juice with rising rappers
By showing love to potential stars as well as certified sensations, hip-hop outlet Lyrical Lemonade has built a community alongside its brand.
Posted inBlogs
Chicago producer Mulatto Beats does the best work on his new album with his old friend Qari
Mulatto Beats and Qari began collaborating six years and two hip-hop groups ago, and they show how well they get each other on “Good to Lose.”
Posted inBlogs
Vic Mensa narrows his focus on crossover pop with The Manuscript
After foregrounding his radical politics with last year’s “16 Shots,” Vic Mensa emphasizes the pop aspects of his rap songs on a new EP.
Posted inMusic
The year Chicago hip-hop beat the haters
For ages, Chicago rappers tore each other down, as though the city could produce only one star at a time—but in 2016 the whole scene seemed to grasp the value of community.
Posted inMusic
Kweku Collins celebrates a great freshman year at Closed Sessions
Thoughtful young Evanston rapper and producer Kweku Collins celebrates a great freshman year at Closed Sessions with the release of his first album.