Tag Archives: album review

Music Review, The Smoking Section

Chicago’s Hurt Everybody Brings Grunge To Hip-Hop On ‘2K47’ Mixtape

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The Hurt Everybody movement is in full swing.

A year removed from their debut release on July 4, 2014, the trio of Supa BWE, Carl and Mulatto Beats have built a large and dedicated fanbase through their constant releases on SoundCloud. The group’s 4th of July release 2K47 recently demonstrated their feverish work ethic. The sophomore project, more importantly, positioned the group as one of the next up from a crowded Chicago scene.

2K47 arrives as a much sleeker, tightly-wound unveil than last year’s debut. Whereas the Hurt Everybody EP was a collection of favorite tracks recorded and released for short periods of time online, 2K47 comes packaged with an understanding of over-arching themes that pace the project. “F*ck you I’m amazing” is prevalent throughout, both a boastful declaration and a serious assertion. Continue reading Chicago’s Hurt Everybody Brings Grunge To Hip-Hop On ‘2K47’ Mixtape →

Music, Music Review, The Smoking Section

[Review] Mick Jenkins: “The Water(s)”

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Chicago’s Mick Jenkins has some pretty serious thoughts about water.

Aside from being the namesake for his highly-anticipated project, The Water(s), the natural resource is also the first thing listeners hear on the opening track “Shipwrecked.” The 22-year-old rapper is the latest to rise from the city with poignant lyricism and a clear aesthetic that is understood throughout his catalog. The difference with Jenkins has been his ability to migrate from the city and grow his brand elsewhere in the process. Continue reading [Review] Mick Jenkins: “The Water(s)” →

Music Review, The Smoking Section

[Review] Lucki Eck$: ‘Body High’

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Sometime last summer, set amongst the rippling gunfire of drill and the eclectic storytelling of SaveMoney, a new voice emerged from Chicago’s bountiful streets with a melancholy mood and an almost chillingly calm disposition in relaying tales of growing up in one of the country’s roughest cities.

That voice was Lucki Eck$ and listeners got to know him on his debut, Alternative Trap, a project that eschewed raucous, repetitive choruses and trap beats for a more gentle, soft-spoken aesthetic from which to explain the world he exists in. On his latest project, BODY HIGH, released last week, we get a continuance of those elements that show a mastery of his own distinct sound, without exploring too far beyond it. Continue reading [Review] Lucki Eck$: ‘Body High’ →