Las Vegas rapper-producer Hykeem Carter, aka Baby Keem, got his foot in the music industry’s door thanks to hip-hop powerhouse Top Dawg Entertainment, where he’s pitched in on writing and producing three of the label’s big recent releases: Kendrick Lamar’s Black Panther soundtrack, Jay Rock’s Redemption, and Schoolboy Q’s Crash Talk. Now living in Los […]
Tag: Top Dawg Entertainment
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.
Chicago rapper Supa Bwe laps the pack
Supa Bwe brought pop-punk melodies to hip-hop years before the current crop of Soundcloud rappers, and he’s still evolving on the new Finally Dead.
Rapper Kembe X returns to town behind the ferocious single ‘Squad Day’
In June rumors spread that Kembe X had signed with TDE—and even though he didn’t, you should still listen to his new album, Talk Back.
Robin Thicke’s morbidly fascinating Paula and 15 more record reviews
This month’s release roundup includes White Lung’s witchy two-minute mantras, Monarch’s crawling tectonic doom, and Sir Michael Rocks’s bleakly sunny party rap.
12 O’Clock Track: Ab-Soul gets his helping of soul from Chicago on ‘These Days’
The Top Dawg Entertainment rapper and Black Hippy member teams up with a couple Chicago outfits for a lovely new tune that’s heavy on soul.
Five honors students from Chicago rap’s freshman class
Five honors students from Chicago rap’s freshman class: Alex Wiley, Saba, Spenzo, Taylor Bennett, and ZMoney
Unlicensed to ill
Bootleg rap and R&B vinyl is thriving, even though most of the music is easy to buy or free to download.
Jean Deaux helps take local rap group the Village overseas with “Woozy”
Just a couple months after Village affiliate Isaiah Rashad signed a deal with Kendrick Lamar’s Top Dawg Entertainment local rapper-singer and Village member Jean Deaux appears on a tune from UK pop-rock band Glass Animals and makes the track her own.
12 O’Clock Track: “Teen Spirit” by Kendrick Lamar’s new labelmate SZA
Listen to the sultry ambience of new Top Dawg Entertainment signee SZA on “Teen Spirit.”