On their new EP, Happy Medium, everyman Chicago rap group Jyroscope reflect on navigating middle age in what remains of the middle class, while the production from fellow local Montana Macks evokes the halcyon hip-hop sounds of 90s crate diggers such as Pete Rock and DJ Premier. IB Fokuz and Collasoul Structure rap about balancing […]
Tag: Montana Macks
Posted inMusic
Decades of friendship enrich a new collaboration by rapper Rich Jones and producer Montana Macks
Rapper-singer Rich Jones and producer Montana Macks have been friends for nearly two decades, which surely helps explain how the Chicagoans’ new self-released album, How Do You Sleep at Night?, hits so smoothly. For the past few years, Jones has leaned into the downy plushness of his voice, more and more often rhyming in a […]
Posted inMusic
Rapper-producer Montana Macks drops a collection of soulful instrumentals
Montana Macks drops a collection of soulful instrumentals, Quiet Pterodactyl releases an all-star compilation to benefit Chicago music venues, and more.
Posted inMusic
The year in music: 2015
Seven Reader writers drill down into rap, jazz, punk, metal, and more—instead of just rearranging the same records on everyone else’s best-of list.
Posted inMusic
Chicago places in Chicago hip-hop
Rappers like to remind you where they’re from, often by peppering their lyrics with mentions of the spots they know best. Here are five of my favorite references to Chicago locations in local rap songs this year. Vic Spencer, “Sony Walkman,” The Cost of Victory Vic Spencer lets his familiarity with his gritty city surroundings […]
Posted inBlogs
Track premiere: Local rapper Rich Jones has that old-school ‘W.o.W.’
The Second City Citizens member teams up with Hurt Everybody’s Supa Bwe on this smoky old school track.