The clock had just rounded one in the morning and the party was still going strong at an apartment on the campus of the University of Illinois. I had traveled south from Chicago to catch Chance The Rapper, arguably hip-hop’s breakout star of 2013, open his Social Experiment Tour. I noticed the Chicago emcee Vic Mensa leaning against a counter next to me, idly checking his phone. Looking around, I saw many at the party gawking at the 20-year-old rapper and quickly whispering to friends, as others aimed cell phones his way. Walking over, I asked Mensa, who an hour earlier had sent the crowd of college students into a frenzy with a guest verse on Chance’s “Cocoa Butter Kisses,” what it was like to be the most popular person at a party that no one seemed to talk to. Escaping the glare of his phone, Mensa’s eyes snapped up. “It’s hella weird, G,” he said. “It’s been happening more and more, and it just keeps getting weirder.” Continue reading Vic Mensa Will Be 2014′s Breakout Hip-Hop Star
Category Archives: Features
Marrow: The Second Time Around
Six months ago the dream was all but dead.
Kids These Days officially broke up on May 8, 2013. Two days later I was behind the wheel of my Chevy Trailblazer heading north to Wisconsin. The seven piece funk/soul/rock/hip-hop group that had captivated a generation of a city was no more, and they had retreated north to make sense of it all.
As I drove through the newly warm spring air with drummer Greg Landfair, his girlfriend and a friend, we listened to the eclectic sounds of Traphouse Rock and Hard Times. The group had spanned nearly four years together, essentially amounting to what would later be referred to as their “college days”. With college over, we pulled up to a hastily-erected sign on the side of a seldom-used street in what seemed like the middle of nowhere of Wisconsin to return to where it all began. Continue reading Marrow: The Second Time Around
Interview with The Tontons at Fun Fun Fun Fest 2013
Photography by Niraj Mehdiratta
Bands, in large part, reflect the scenes from which they come. This sentiment rings true for indie band The Tontons, who helped to open this weekend’s Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, Texas with a pair of sets opening for Kurt Vile on Thursday night and another on Friday, as well as dropping their new video “Veida” on the Wall Street Journal’s Speakeasy blog. The trip to Texas’ capital for the 8th annual music, comedy and action sports fest wasn’t a long one for the four-piece act from Houston, although it was the first time playing the three day end to festival season. Continue reading Interview with The Tontons at Fun Fun Fun Fest 2013
Vic Mensa Takes Over The Innanetape
Photo by FragdFilms
It’s ten o’clock at night in late March and I’m fighting sleep. Sitting almost horizontal on a massive, black leather couch as my photographer, Bryan Lamb, and I watch Chance the Rapper racing back and forth from the booth behind us to the computer in front of us, occasionally taking frantic puffs from his cigarette.
His counterpart, Vic Mensa, lounges on a couch nearby, staring intently at a Macbook perched carefully on his lap, analyzing the first cut of the video for “DiditB4”, the lead single off his September 30 release, Innanetape directed by fellow Savemoney member Austin Vesely. The pre-rendered cuts are too quick for the computer and the screen stops on a scene of Mensa, in a white coat and goggles, holding a cow brain. “That shit was too raw, Austin drove to some farm to get it,” said Mensa. Continue reading Vic Mensa Takes Over The Innanetape
Day Two Recap: North Coast Music Festival
Photo by Geoff Heano
Day Two of North Coast Music Festival in Union Park went off much smoother than the 2013 debut a day earlier. With the sun finally shining down and the heat pounding festival-goers, things got off to a fast start. Chicago’s own Porn and Chicken got things going with their 2:30 set at the Last Stand Stage, picking up where frat-dance kings Milk n’ Cookies warmed up the stage earlier.
After floating through the following sets and checking out a truly inspired set from Conspirator, I found myself torn between the silky smooth tones of Aloe Blacc, the rough-edged hip hop of Flatbush Zombies and the endearing DJ sounds of Thibault. I ended up making the rounds to each briefly, unfortunately missing most of Flatbush due to simply not being able to navigate the festival properly. Between Bondax, Gramatik, Future Rock and the smattering of EDM/Dance acts on the Tent Stage, the Saturday afternoon air was soon completely inundated with the glitchy sound of digital music. Being a big fan of both Gramatik and Bondax, it was disappointing that organizers pushed so many similar acts together and brought about memories of monotonous EDM festivals of earlier months.
Emerging from the dense electronic jungle, Nas took the North Stage to close it out for the day. The New York MC showed precisely why he is one of the most decorated hip-hop acts in the history of the genre, filling his hour-long set with tracks from his entire discography. Dipping back to Illmatic for timeless hit (“The World is Yours”, “Life’s a Bitch”, “Memory Lane”) and peppering more recent work from several albums (God’s Son, Stillmatic, Life is Good), Nasir Jones put on a show that won’t soon be forgotten at North Coast.
EDM made it’s way back to the stage in two forms to close out Saturday, with Big Gigantic and Afrojack bringing up the rear as the day’s headliners. Jeremy Salken and Dominic Lalli continued their string of impressive Chicago shows by performing their instrumental take on the genre that includes live drums and saxophone, drawing one of the biggest crowds of the weekend. A meet and greet organized through Thissongissick.com kept the pair standing stage-side for hours. For his part, Afrojack held things down, giving fans a grittier dance experience from the other side of the festival grounds and closing out what was easily the biggest day at North Coast for anyone trying to dance.
KSRA: What Will Be, Will Be
Photo by Tasya Menaker
It’s 2006, and Rachel Thomas is staring down the edge of a long blade.
A decision had to be made. Die right now or live, because pointing a knife at yourself daily is no kind of life.
A choice was made, the knife lowered. The next day, Thomas re-discovered sound. Continue reading KSRA: What Will Be, Will Be
![[Profile] Will Sparks Hits American Soil](https://jakekrzeczowski.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/9101ab81-2f05-4d9d-b164-5bd36d292980.jpg?w=672&h=372&crop=1)
[Profile] Will Sparks Hits American Soil
There is seemingly no minimum age requirement in EDM music these days. As the festivals grow larger and more grandiose, many of the artists manning the decks, keeping the party going and travelling the world are becoming increasingly young. Enter Will Sparks, the 20-year-old Australian DJ who headlines at Studio Paris tonight as part of his “Melbourne Meets America Tour”. His arrival in Chicago was prefaced by an inclusion on the Beatport Chart, an online EDM barometer of who’s got next. Continue reading [Profile] Will Sparks Hits American Soil
Chopping Up The Recipe With ProbCause
Things come about in abstracts for ProbCause. The Evanston, Ill., native, who is in the process of wrapping up a MFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, has become known around his city for pointed lyricism and careful collaborations. On his latest project, The Recipe Vol. 2 he seeks to have his message stimulate eyes and ears alike while pulling from all corners of burgeoning the Windy City scene.
The Recipe vol. 2 is a departure for the Psalm One protege-an exploration of blending separate aspects of himself and those around him into one cohesive project. Continue reading Chopping Up The Recipe With ProbCause
The Day I Overdosed on Acid Rap
Photo by Roger Tino MoralesSince dropping Acid Rap in late April as the follow up to 2012′s 10 Day, Chance The Rapper has quickly turned much of the city’s youth into unapologetic junkies.
The squirrely nanas and schizophrenic flow have taken the city and the national underground hip-hop scene by storm over the past year, and Friday at Lollapalooza set the perfect stage for Chance’s tie-dyed Acid raps to shine. First off, I’ll admit I’m an avid user. Having followed Chance for most of the past year and for days at a time at SXSW in Austin, I felt more than prepared as I rode in the car to a noon rehearsal at The Music Garage on the near West Side with “Good Ass Intro” producer Peter CottonTale. Continue reading The Day I Overdosed on Acid Rap
Why Is the Chicago Police Department Targeting Chief Keef?
Written and reported by Jake Krzeczowski (@JakeKrez) for Complex Magazine
On June 17, moments after driving away from a courthouse in Skokie, Il., where he’d received a warning from a judge for a speeding arrest, Keith Cozart was stopped by two unmarked police cars. Brandishing automatic weapons, the officers ordered the 17-year-old to step out of his car, and put him in handcuffs—this time for a misdemeanor trespassing charge.
So far in 2013, almost 1000 people have been shot in Chicago. Almost 200 have died as a result of their injuries. Both those numbers are sure to rise by the time this is published. The west and south sides of the city, where most of the shootings occur, are frequently referred as “war zones.” It is in this climate that two cars of South Side police officers made the hour-long drive north to suburban Skokie to stake out traffic court for Cozart, better known to the world as Chief Keef, arresting him for the third time in three months.
Continue reading Why Is the Chicago Police Department Targeting Chief Keef?
Jake Krzeczowski 