Davis the Dorchester Bully isn’t rapping too fast—you’re listening too slow. As the Chicagoan says on “Virginia,” a track from his new album with Detroit producer Foule Monk, “Life is as simple as it seems.” And so are his rhymes, even when he serves them up with moments of head-whipping banter. That collaborative album is […]
Tag: Why? Records
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Mister Goblin beefs up his heart-on-sleeve indie rock with Chicago collaborators
After D.C.-area rock group Two Inch Astronaut went on hiatus in 2018, Sam Goblin decamped for the midwest and began making music as Mister Goblin. He’s settled in Indiana, but to assemble his backing band he’s drawn from the deep well of talent in Chicago: the three-piece lineup on the April album Bunny (Exploding in […]
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Angela James’s big voice fills her new album with wide-screen melancholy
Gossip Wolf doesn’t parent any wee pups that need nighttime lullabies, but the gentle hush of the children’s music on Angela James’s 2019 album, Quiet Nights, is enrapturing no matter your age. On Friday, April 22, the local singer-songwriter releases her fourth LP, Now That I Have You, where she returns to making outstanding music […]
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Chicago hip-hop duo Udababy tap the energy of the Why? Records collective on their debut album
Judging from the energy of practically every Why? Records release, the four rappers who make up the underground Chicago hip-hop collective and label could easily spend the rest of their lives collaborating in different configurations on a half dozen albums per year. Udababy LP, the debut full-length from Why? duo Udababy, is no exception. Rappers […]
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Chicago’s independent musicians stepped up their activism in 2020
With concerts and tours on hold for most of the year, Chicago’s music scene doubled down on mutual aid and fundraising for community groups.
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Amira Jazeera’s dreamy pop makes a perfect quarantine soundtrack
Take it from her roommate, who hears every note.
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High Spirits make radiant trad metal for dark times
High Spirits make radiant trad metal for dark times, Why? Records rapper Davis drops the densely detailed Ebony Maw, and more.
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Why do indie musicians put up with penny payouts?
Streaming your favorite artists’ music is the least helpful way to support them. But they can’t abandon those platforms, because we won’t.
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Jazz guitarist Dave Miller drops an album of brainy feel-good grooves
Jazz guitarist Dave Miller drops an album of brainy feel-good grooves, Naked Raygun singer Jeff Pezzati makes his solo debut with a new EP, and more.
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Chicago rapper Joshua Virtue irreducibly defines pandemic life on Jackie’s House
Ever since COVID-19 seeped into every detail of our everyday lives, I’ve struggled to articulate the mental gymnastics I go through just to remember to brush my teeth twice a day. Thank goodness for Chicago rapper Joshua Virtue, who does it for me on his new solo album, Jackie’s House (Why?). On “Fenti Face,” Virtue […]
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Mute Duo release a taut, painterly album for pedal steel and drums
Mute Duo release a taut, painterly album for pedal steel and drums, young neo-classic rockers Rookie celebrate their debut, and more.
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Rapper Davis brings you into his corner of Chicago DIY with Green Parakeet Suite
Davis Blackwell began rapping in June 2018 and got involved in the Chicago music scene in no time. Shortly after he first picked up the mike, he formed the duo Udababy with Joshua Virtue; last year they cofounded local label and collective Why? Records with MCs Malci and Ruby Watson. Why? has become a force […]
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Matt Jencik’s new guitar record blurs waking life and dreams
Matt Jencik’s new guitar record blurs waking life and dreams, ESS hosts an Experimental Holiday Market at Twisted Hippo, and more.
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Chicago band Not Lovely have a ball twisting together jazz, rap, and prog on their debut album
Genre-bending jazz-rap troupe Not Lovely started almost on a dare. In summer 2015, vocalist and producer Jack Clements remixed Wilco’s “EKG,” rapped over it, and uploaded his version to the Soundcloud account of Auburn Hills, his studio hip-hop project with rapper-producer Alex Singleton—aka Why? Records cofounder Joshua Virtue. “EKG” eventually earned Clements and Virtue an […]
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Glam goofballs Lollygagger throw everything at the wall on their new video album
Glam goofballs Lollygagger throw everything at the wall on their new video album, rapper Solo Sam releases an EP with a companion cookbook, and more.