Photos by Dylan Barnedo Since its launch as a one-day festival in 2018, Lyrical Lemonade’s Summer Smash has grown into a three-day extravaganza that can go toe-to-toe with nationally recognized institutions. Pop-rap poster boy Post Malone, whose 2021 headlining set at Lollapalooza put him just below the Foo Fighters on the lineup poster, closed out […]
Tag: Summer Smash
Posted inMusic
The Reader’s guide to Chicago in Tune
The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events originally planned to celebrate the Year of Chicago Music in 2020. Then the pandemic diminished those festivities to the point that the city declared 2021 the Year of Chicago Music too. The ongoing surge of the Delta variant means the U.S. won’t be rid of the pandemic […]
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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 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 inBlogs
Queen Key at Summer Smash and more of the best things to do in Chicago this weekend
Crazy Rich Asians and more goings on 8/17-8/19.
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.