Live music is back, though it looks different today than when it went away in March 2020. For 16 months we carried on without the collaborative magic of artist and audience. We’ve watched musicians find creative ways to keep gigging and be safe, whether delivering livestreams from their homes or playing on porches. Our favorite […]
Tag: Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash
Posted inMusic
Sunday’s storms actually improved Lyrical Lemonade’s Summer Smash
Lyrical Lemonade’s Summer Smash has grown into Chicago’s biggest rap festival in just its second year, but it needed a nudge from the elements to get its act together.
Posted inBlogs
Lyrical Lemonade’s first outdoor festival: scads of Soundcloud rap, thousands of teenagers, and hours of waiting for food
Three Reader writers hash out the highs and lows of the Summer Smash, which showcased a young rap scene that’s innovating a vital new sound but also celebrating alleged abusers.
Posted inMusic
Lyrical Lemonade’s hip-hop empire expands with its debut outdoor music festival, Summer Smash
Illinois native Cole Bennett launched the hip-hop blog Lyrical Lemonade in fall 2013, and it’s since become a blossoming entertainment empire that hosts shows (including July’s Hurt Everybody reunion) and operates its own clothing line. Bennett uses the LL logo—a lemonade carton—on every music video he directs, and since he’s become the most sought-after video […]
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.