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The Chicago Reader

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Music, Gossip Wolf May 14, 2019
Sophie Brochu brings new grandeur to Fauvely’s intimate dream pop

Plus: New music from Italian disco duo Abstract Matters, BBU rapper Unkl Epic, and guitarist Matt Clark of White/Light and Pinebender.
- By J.R. Nelson and Leor Galil
- Tags: Gossip Wolf, Sophie Brochu, Videotape, Astrobrite, Scott Cortez, Fauvely, Watch Me Overcomplicate This, This Is What the Living Do, What the Living Do, Diversion Records, Empty Bottle, Sleeping Village, Paid Time Off, Abstract Matters, Andrew Joseph, Leisure Records, Slow Down, Gramaphone Records, Richard “Epic” Wallace, BBU, #OPRAH, Unkl Epic, Pot Liquor, Fight Back, Matt Clark, White/Light, Pinebender, Impossible Lows, Wastyn’d

Music, Music Feature Mar 8, 2018
Video
Could DJ Taye make Chicago footwork the biggest music in the world?

The Teklife producer integrates rap so perfectly on his new Still Trippin’ that he could bring footwork to new heights.
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Music Feature, DJ Taye, Dante Sanders, footwork, Teklife, hip-hop, rap, Still Trippin’, Hyperdub, Music Frozen Dancing, DJ Rashad, DJ Spinn, Planet Mu, Move Out, Break It Down, Double Cup, GhettoTeknitianz, RP Boo, Traxman, Battlegrounds, Wala Cam, DJ Oreo, Mano, Dude ’N Nem, Watch My Feet, BBU, Chi Don’t Dance, Bangs & Works Vol. 1, Just a Taste Vol. One, Live From Your Mama’s House, the Era, In the Wurkz, Heat Squad, Dubby, Off That Loud, Get It Jukin, Cool Kids, Chuck Inglish, Treated Crew, Video

Blogs, Bleader Mar 2, 2017
The Boy Illinois, Navarro, and Taylor Bennett subvert the ‘drill vs. woke’ narrative that bedevils Chicago rappers

Recent music by the Boy Illinois, Navarro, and Taylor Bennett proves that "big name" narratives of Chicago hip-hop can't do justice to its many personalities.
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Hip-Hop, Music, William Dalton, The Boy Illinois, YP, DGainz, Navarro, Scheme, Downtown, Lupe Fiasco, Hunger of Memory, Restoration of an American Idol, Taylor Bennett, Chance the Rapper, Outro (Chi-Town Anthem), BBU

Music, Gossip Wolf Apr 22, 2015
BBU's MC Epic wins the Matthew Freeman Social Justice Award

Plus: New releases from ripping punk four-piece the Bug and techno duo Juzer
- By J.R. Nelson and Leor Galil
- Tags: Gossip Wolf, Richard "Epic" Wallace, BBU, e Matthew Freeman Social Justice Award, Roosevelt University, Chicago Workers' Collaborative, Stop Mass Incarceration Network, #OPRAH, The Bug, Not Normal Tapes, What's Bugging You?, Raw Nerve, Ralph Rivera, Solid Attitude, Juzer, Beau Wanzer, Dan JugelDog in the Night

Blogs, Bleader Nov 12, 2014
BBU member MC Epic shows a flair for unordinary raps on his solo debut

It's called #OPRAH, and it has little to do with the famous media mogul than the title might imply at first glance.
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Hip-Hop, Music, BBU, Epic, OPRAH, Richard Epic Wallace, bell hooks

Blogs, Bleader Jul 24, 2014
Start planning your Saturday night rap activities now

There's always a lot of hip-hop events happening around town, and here are three great rap shows you should try and see on Saturday.
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Do This, Hip-Hop, Music, Shawn Awdazcate Childress, Waffle Fest, Waffle Gang, Mood Swangz, BBU, Epic, Chris Crack, New Deal Crew, Fake Shore Drive, Museum of Contemporary Art, The Language of Hip Hop, Saint Millie, Psalm One, the Boy Illinois

Blogs, Bleader Apr 4, 2013
Video
12 O'Clock Track: Schwarz's jubilant club anthem, "U R Beautiful"

Baltimore's Schwarz spins his hometown sound into an ebullient self-esteem booster with "U R Beautiful."
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: 12 O'Clock Track, Music, 12 O'Clock Track, Schwarz, "U R Beautiful, " Baltimore club, BBU, Outlaw Culture, Bandcamp, Thunder Zone, Video

Blogs, Bleader Apr 3, 2013
Video
Straight outta the Middle East: Reflecting on personal experiences with Israeli and Palestinian hip-hop

Thoughts surrounding DAM, the first Palestinian rap group, who performs in Chicago on Friday.
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Hip-Hop, Music, DAM, Da Arabian MCs, Israel, Palestine, The Light and the Shadow, Subliminal, Mook E., Shabak, Tel Aviv, SXSW, Loyola, Tupac, Hebrew, Arabic, BBU, Bruno Mars, Video

Music, Gossip Wolf Mar 20, 2013
Image
Gossip Wolf: Play D&D with the new Sybris single, literally

Plus: A Tyler, the Creator sighting and a one-off BBU reunion
- By J.R. Nelson and Leor Galil
- Tags: Gossip Wolf, Sybris, Voyage of the Stag Party, Dungeons & Dragons, Indiana, 3 Floyds, Bottom Lounge, Volcano Room, Killer Moon, Tyler the Creator, Odd Future, Reckless Records, Spice World, BBU, Quennect 4, Michael "Illekt" Milam, Enonomous

Blogs, Bleader Nov 7, 2012
Video
Saying good-bye to great activist local hip-hop group BBU

Politically conscious local rap group BBU breaks up
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Hip-Hop, Music, BBU, Chi Don't Dance, Dude 'n Nem, bell hooks, Mishka, Jasson Perez, Michael Milam, Richard Wallace, Video

Music, Music Sidebar May 25, 2012
What to do at Do-Division Street Fest

Peanut Butter Wolf, Le Butcherettes, Pinebender, and lots more
- By Luca Cimarusti
- Tags: Music Sidebar, Do-Division Street Fest, Black Belles, BBU, Moon Furies, JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound, Todd Hembrook & the Hemispheres, the O'Mys, Peanut Butter Wolf, Besnard Lakes, Craig Finn, Mannequin Men, Le Butcheretes, O'Death, White Mystery, Brown Bird, the Blind Staggers, Antlers, Pinebender, Cory Chisel & the Wandering Sons, Teengirl Fantasy, Murder by Death, the Soft Pack, Gypsyblood, Mutts

News & Politics, Feature May 10, 2012
Slideshow Audio
Scratch and stitch

The well-tailored line between hip-hop artists and the streetwear companies hustling to promote them
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Feature, Chicago hates you, Fake Shore Drive, streetwear, apparel, snapback, Chicago rap, Mishka, City of Win, BBU, ShowYouSuck, Really Doe, Chief Keef, Slideshow, Audio

Blogs, Bleader Apr 27, 2012
Video
The return of Pinebender and more at this year's Do-Division Street Fest

Pinebender plays its first show in two years at Do-Division—and a big chunk of the rest of the lineup has been announced too.
- By Luca Cimarusti
- Tags: Do This, Music, Pinebender, Chris Hansen, Do-Division, Tight Phantomz, Redgrave, Brokeback, Head of Skulls, JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound, Todd Hembrook & the Hemispheres, O'My's, Le Butcherettes, O'Death, White Mystery, Brown Bird, Murder by Death, Black Belles, BBU, Moon Furies, Peanut Butter Wolf, Besnard Lakes, Craig Finn, Mannequin Men, Peter O'Connell, In Tall Buildings, Chris Connelly, Antlers, Cory Chisel & the Wandering Sons, Teengirl Fantasy, People's Temple, Eiren Caffall, street fest, summer, video, Video

Music, Music Column Mar 7, 2012
Local release roundup: cerebral grooves from beat maker Radius

Plus reviews of enlightened bangers from BBU, dirty basement metal from In the Weeds, and more
- By Miles Raymer
- Tags: Music Column, Radius, The Earth is a Man, Tim Heidecker, BBU, bell hooks, In The Weeds, 10ille

Music, Three Beats Feb 16, 2012
Three Beats: BBU talk about working with GLC: “Yeah, he’s a pimp”

Plus: A new EP might finally get Absolutely Not noticed, and cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm works well with Europe
- By Peter Margasak, Miles Raymer, and Kevin Warwick
- Tags: Three Beats, Peira Records, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Raymond Strid, BBU, juke, Mishka, Mad Decent, Mike Milam, Absolutely Not, garage punk

Blogs, Bleader Jan 27, 2012
Video
12 O'Clock Track: BBU, "Jumpers"

Local juke rappers take it back to the golden age.
- By Miles Raymer
- Tags: Crickets, Music, 12 O'Clock Track, BBU, Jumpers, bell hooks, Tony Baines, Chicago, hip-hop, juke, Video

Music, Gossip Wolf Feb 24, 2011
Gossip Wolf: Return to Oz

Permanent reissues a classic Chicago punk comp. Plus: Claychella’s last dance, the Hood Internet’s threesome, and more
- By Jessica Hopper and J.R. Nelson
- Tags: Gossip Wolf, Autumn Records, Naked Raygun, DA, Subverts, Effigies, Strike Under, Silver Abuse, Clayton Hauck, Claychella, Chicago Smooth Jazz Concert Series, Jazz Attack, Euge Groove, Mindi Abair, Candy DUlfer, Plustapes, Ryley Walker, Dustin Drase, Netherfriends, Matt Walker, Of1000Faces, Moron Tasty, Filter, Smashing Pumpkins, Morrissey, Hood Internet, BBU, Das Racist, STV SLV, Ken Vandermark, Resonance Ensemble, Chicago Cultural Center, International Resonance Festival, Windish Agency, Best Cost, XX, Windish Music Licensing, Deerhunter, Animal Collective, Diplo

Music, Music Feature Aug 5, 2010
Video
"Pizza Hut Taco Bell" Made This Happen

Das Racist on joke rap, Internet fame, "authenticity," and Kings of Leon's haircuts
- By Miles Raymer
- Tags: Music Feature, Das Racist, Himanshu Kumar Suri, Victor Vazquez, Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, Shut Up, Dude, Sasha Frere-Jones, Evil Olive, Bin Laden Blowin' Up, BBU, Soundscape, No Pictures, Debonair, Illekt, CMJ, Kings of Leon, The Source, Diplo, Sit Down, Man, You Oughta Know, Billy Joel, Video

Music, Music Feature Aug 5, 2010
The Reader's Guide to Lollapalooza 2010

The lay of the land, critics' picks, and afterparties
- By Miles Raymer, Peter Margasak, Kevin Warwick, and Liz Armstrong
- Tags: Music Feature, Lollapalooza, Grant Park, Lady Gaga, the Strokes, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, Soundgarden, J. Cole, FreeSol, BBU, Cut Copy, Dirty Projectors, Night Gallery, White Car, Lady Starlight, Vonnegutt, Sulaiman, Ettes, Wild Beasts, Rogue Wave, Gogol Bordello, the National, Minus the Bear, the Soft Pack, Jukebox the Ghost, Phoenix, Toro y Moi, Digitalism, Chiddy Bang, Balkan Beat Box, New Pornographers, Fuck Buttons, Caspa, Black Keys, Jamie Lidell, Jimmy Cliff, Harlem, Wild Beasts, Warpaint, Rusko, Health, Blitzen Trapper

Music, Gossip Wolf Aug 5, 2010
Hardcore Nostalgia

New shows at the Fireside prompt a stream of stories about the good old days. Plus: Russian Circles and the worst kind of metal damage, Kanye as Twitter fodder, and more
- By J.R. Nelson and Miles Raymer
- Tags: Gossip Wolf, Fireside Bowl, Chicago News Cooperative, House Call Entertainment, John Benetti, WBEZ, Elliot Dicks, Russian Circles, Dave Turncrantz, Prolyfic, Lupe Fiasco, Lasers, Kanye West, Aziz Ansari, Paul and Storm, Brian Slodysko, Black Breath, Cacaw, Cave, Blood Mambas, BBU, Bin Laden Blowin' Up

Blogs, Bleader Jul 30, 2010
So Two Dance-Friendly, Hipster-Beloved Political Rap Acts Walk Into a Studio

Das Racist and BBU mix it up.
- By Miles Raymer
- Tags: Crickets, Music, Das Racist, BBU, Sharp Darts, hip-hop, Chicago

Blogs, Bleader Jul 9, 2010
Video
Seen and Heard

The Reader's pick for Best Local Musical Group, BBU (Bin Laden Blowin' Up), is featured in the Seen and Heard Music Video Showcase tonight at Chicago Filmmakers.
- By Ed M. Koziarski
- Tags: Film, Music, Aluminum Group, Animate Objects, BBU, Bin Laden Blowin Up, Boduf Songs, Canasta, Judson Claiborne, Double Dagger, Face Time Police, Future Islands, High Places, Love in October, Phillip Morris, Nive Nielsen, Psychic TV 3, Genesis P-Orridge, Speck Mountain, Tijuana Hercules, Sarah Weis, White Hills, Best of Chicago, Chicago Filmmakers, CIMMfest, Film Culture, music video, Video

Blogs, Bleader Apr 5, 2010
When Darts Collide

BBU, footwork, and coincidence
- By Miles Raymer
- Tags: Crickets, Music, BBU, Bin Laden Blowin Up, Chicago, footwork, hip-hop, dance music, Pitchfork, video, Sharp Darts

Blogs, Bleader Jan 20, 2010
Another Easy Way to Help Haiti

An all-star hip-hop lineup featuring M1 of Dead Prez, Jean Grae, Rhymefest, and many more comes together for a Haiti benefit show January 31 at Reggie's Rock Club.
- By Miles Raymer
- Tags: How to Help Haiti, Crickets, Music, M1, Dead Prez, Rhymefest, Cool Kids, Jean Grae, Mic Terror, Bin Laden Blowin' Up, BBU, hip-hop, Haiti, earthquake, benefit, fund-raiser

Music, Music Column Oct 8, 2009
Political Party Rap

It's got a juke beat and you can dance to it—but don't mistake Bin Laden Blowin' Up for mindless club music.
- By Miles Raymer
- Tags: Music Column, Bin Laden Blowin' Up, BBU, Epic, Illekt, Jasson Perez, Michael Milam, Richard Wallace, Chi Don't Dance, juke, hip-hop, footwork, percolator, We Came to Dance, Black, Brown, and Ugly, Dead Prez, OutKast

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