April 30, 2013 was a sunny day, one of the first nice days we’d had to that point in Chicago and appropriately so. Chance The Rapper, Chicago’s prodigal son in the post-Derrick Rose world, was set to release his largest project to date and it seemed as if there was no one in his hometown who wasn’t aware. Living with “Brain Cells”, “Good Ass Intro” and “Cocoa Butter Kisses” producer Peter CottonTale at the time, I had certainly heard my share of the tracks on the project, understood it was to be something special. Pulling up to the clothing boutique Jugrnaut in the city’s South Loop though, the line was mind-blowing, five wide and around the block anxiously waiting for a chance to, see Chance. Continue reading ‘Acid Rap’ – A Year Later
All posts by Jake Krez
OBIT: Remembering Chicago Footwork Pioneer DJ Rashad
Photo by Allen Daniels
I met DJ Rashad for the first time in the basement of my house in Chicago. In town just before Christmas after getting off tour with Chance The Rapper and crew, Rashad had stopped through our welcome home/holiday party. Continue reading OBIT: Remembering Chicago Footwork Pioneer DJ Rashad
Wu Tang Clan, Chance The Rapper To Headline Summer Set 2014 Lineup
Well, if South by Southwest wasn’t the official starting bell for festival season then Coachella certainly set things off last weekend as seemingly everyone and their mother descended upon Indo, California for the annual star hangout. Continuing with the roll out of the 2014 crop of mega-shows was the announcement today of Phase 1 of Summer Set Music Festival in Somerset, Wisconsin. Continue reading Wu Tang Clan, Chance The Rapper To Headline Summer Set 2014 Lineup
THEMPeople: ‘Smoke Breaks IV’
Smoke Breaks IV by Chicago production collective THEMpeople is less a traditional project than it is a collection of what and who you should be listening to for the next few months. Continue reading THEMPeople: ‘Smoke Breaks IV’
Leather Corduroys: “Porno Music Volume 2: TSFR EP
Chicago natives and SAVEMONEY brethren Joey Purp and Kami de Chukwu–better known as Leather Corduroys–dropped a project bursting with heat last night in their single volume Porno Music Volume 2: TSFR EP. Fans can thank a Chance The Rapper post deep in the annals of Reddit for the download. Continue reading Leather Corduroys: “Porno Music Volume 2: TSFR EP
|The Chicago Narrative| Alex Wiley Rises to the Occasion
Alex Wiley was one of the first artists in Chicago I felt some sort of friendship with. Having been to Soundscape a few times to interview him/spend time with him in late 2012 while I was working on a story about the young artist signed to local independent label Closed Sessions, I knew to take things Wiley said with a grain of salt, and that if it was cold out he was probably posted on the black leather couch with his red winter jacket on. A self-purported rapper since he dropped out of high school to pursue his craft, Wiley has been at the center of much of the hip-hop music that has emanated from the post-drill scene that has taken over the city since Acid Rap dropped almost a year ago. Continue reading |The Chicago Narrative| Alex Wiley Rises to the Occasion
OBITS: Frankie Knuckles, ‘Godfather’ of House Music Passes Away At 59
Chicago and the world was dealt a great blow Monday night as it came across the newswire that the great Frankie Knuckles had passed. The 59-year-old DJ essentially put House music on the map, so-called today because of his sets spinning the genre at the well-known Warehouse club. Continue reading OBITS: Frankie Knuckles, ‘Godfather’ of House Music Passes Away At 59
|The Chicago Narrative| Psalm One is the Positivity in Hip Hop
If you’ve dug deep enough into the Chicago hip-hop scene, you’re most assuredly going to run into Psalm One. The first lady of the Chicago scene has developed into a wealth of wisdom and become a sort of uber-upbeat guiding voice for the ever-youthful hip-hop movement that has exploded over the past couple of years off the coast of Lake Michigan.
Continue reading |The Chicago Narrative| Psalm One is the Positivity in Hip Hop
2014 Music Festival One-Stop-Shop
Photo by Rasha Mosa
Music festivals in America and abroad are beginning to hit critical mass. It’s our generation’s sign of approval to any artist if they find themselves on a bevy of festival lineups come summer, they’re doing something right. Perhaps the most prevalent “music for the people” approach in the industry, festivals allow acts both large and small great opportunities for exposure and listeners the chance to attempt to take it all in. The spring/summer of 2014 is shaping up to be one of the largest festival seasons in recent memory and event organizers have wasted no time announcing jam-packed lineups that look more like an iTunes playlist than a real concert experience. We gathered together lineups from festivals from coast to coast and even beyond to give you the most full, in-depth guide to diving into festival season, check them all out on the following page.
|Video| KAKE Sits Down With Lili K.
Chicago’s KAKE began a new series with a familiar face earlier today, premiering “300”, a documentary-style, five minute interview piece with Chicago neo-soul/jazz artist Lili K. Shot by FragDFilms on location at KAKE headquarters in Force One Seven Studios, Kellen Winters sits down with the talented songstress as she ruminates making connections in the Chicago scene, releasing her first projects and making a name for herself through hip-hop ties. Continue reading |Video| KAKE Sits Down With Lili K.
Jake Krzeczowski 