I met Squeak in Saba’s grandparent’s basement. The walls were plastered with magazine covers, the space stuffed with recording equipment and video games. A memory not easily forgotten—I’ve probably told this story a thousand times, in writing and in person. It was 2016, a year after the first time I interviewed Saba and a couple […]
Tag: Saba
Posted inMusic
Alex Banin mixes pop with R&B—and memory with fantasy
Former college fencer Alex Banin uses her debut EP, Did I Imagine, to make peace with her old relationships.
Posted inMusic
TheMIND reclaims his mental real estate
On his first album in four years, Chicago singer theMIND digs in against the disenfranchisement of Black voices.
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
Chicago rapper 8MatikLogan hones a new pop edge that could make him a star
This summer Chicago rapper 8MatikLogan released “House of Pain,” a blazing, salacious single punctuated with tasteful claps. Its video is closing in on 400,000 YouTube views, and it could become an even bigger breakout success—which would be a long time coming for the MC. He started rapping in 2012 under the name Logan, and he’s […]
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Pivot Gang celebrate the life of a fallen member at the third annual John Walt Day
The members of west-side collective Pivot Gang have been calling themselves a boy band since long before Brockhampton was a twinkle in Kevin Abstract’s eye. Because Joseph Chilliams, Frsh Waters, MFn Melo, and Saba all rap, this self-description has caused some confusion, but as Pivot Gang see it, there’s not much to differentiate them from, […]
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Folk project DPCD celebrates a graceful, uncluttered new album
Folk project DPCD celebrates a graceful, uncluttered new album, the John Walt Foundation holds its annual Dinner With John fund-raiser, and more.
Posted inMusic
Who is Lollapalooza for?
Lollapalooza brought the big names on its 2019 lineup, but could it do more to engage the Chicago fans and artists who make this such a great city for music?
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
Lollapalooza announces its 2019 lineup
This year’s headliners include Ariana Grande, Childish Gambino, and Twenty One Pilots—but to get tickets, you have to pay a company owned by Live Nation, which remains an undefined part of the Lincoln Yards development.
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
The DJs of Windy City Soul Club celebrate ten years of getting asses moving
The DJs of Windy City Soul Club celebrate ten years of getting asses moving, Sunny Woodz throws a release party with a bonkers bill in West Chicago, and more.
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 inBlogs
Chicago rapper Noname opens all the doors on the new Room 25
Noname’s debut album mixes her serious social commentary with a new sensuality and humor.