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- Best of Chicago, Music & Nightlife Mar 17, 2021
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Last year would’ve been a great one for bangers in Chicago clubs
The pandemic kept us from celebrating the likes of Lil Durk and King Von the way they should’ve been—on a sweaty dance floor.
- Music, Music Review Nov 13, 2020
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Chicago drill star in the making King Von dropped his third album a week before his untimely death
- Music, Music Review Jul 31, 2020
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Chicago rappers SD and Brian Fresco combine their distinctive styles for the whimsically joyful Muddbruddas
- Music, Music Feature Jan 30, 2020
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The best Chicago albums of the 2010s: the critics’ ballots
Here’s where to see who voted for what and how the points got divvied up.
- Music, Music Feature Jan 30, 2020
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The best Chicago albums of the 2010s
The Reader polled dozens of critics to arrive at an absolutely indisputable ranked list of several hundred records that will definitely not start any arguments.
- Music, Concert Preview Jan 24, 2020
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Mick Jenkins fills the short Circus EP with considered, complex verses
- Music, Music Feature Dec 9, 2019
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Chicago rapper Juice Wrld died just as his career was beginning
The MC born Jarad Higgins became a commercial juggernaut in less than two years, and passed away just days after turning 21.
- Music, Music Feature Nov 27, 2019
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Gifts to teach hip-hop heads their history
Each of these reissues helps unfold a different chapter in the rich narrative of the Chicago scene.
- Music, Music Feature Oct 30, 2019
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Fighting for Chicago’s place in hip-hop history
Darrell “Artistic” Roberts of Chi-ROCK Nation has worked to document the culture he loves for more than three decades—and now he’s finally publishing a book.
- Music, The Block Beat Jul 31, 2019
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The return of Katie Got Bandz
Four long years after her last mixtape, the Queen of Drill drops Rebirth—and revisits the site of the Bronzeville projects that taught her to persevere.
- Music, Music Feature Dec 20, 2018
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The best overlooked Chicago hip-hop of 2018
The city’s hip-hop scene overflows with such variety and abundance that it’s impossible to show enough love to every great release—but that’s no reason not to try.
- Music, Gossip Wolf Jul 31, 2018
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First-wave drill producer LeekeLeek dies at 27
Plus: Veteran Chicago rapper Longshot celebrates his collaboration with Lazerbeak, and Drum Corps International hosts a world championship in Michigan City.
- Blogs, Bleader Jun 4, 2018
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Vlogger ZackTV devoted his life to making Chicago’s fractious rap scene into one community
Zack Stoner, who was shot to death, documented every unseen corner of Chicago hip-hop.
- Music, The Block Beat Apr 12, 2018
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Tink remembers the trial by fire that launched her career
The crowds at Adrianna’s wouldn’t rock for just anybody, but as a Calumet City teenager she won them over with a mix of drill rap and R&B.
- Blogs, Bleader Jan 22, 2018
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Groundbreaking Chicago drill rapper Fredo Santana died this weekend
Six years ago Fredo Santana helped make Chicago the epicenter of the rap world, and on Friday he passed away at age 27.
- Blogs, Bleader Jan 9, 2018
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Chicago rapper Kami has a big hit in the making with ‘Payload’
The standout single from Kami's June EP, Superstar, gets the party-video treatment for the new year.
- Music, Worst of Chicago Dec 21, 2017
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What Chicago media gets wrong about Chance, Keef, and the local hip-hop scene
Critics who fall back on shallow tropes and ignorant cliches deny us an enriching understanding of the musical cultures in our own backyard.
- Blogs, Bleader Nov 2, 2017
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Fake Shore Drive founder Andrew Barber on ten years of blogging and the evolution of the Chicago hip-hop scene
Fake Shore Drive has grown alongside Chicago rap, becoming an institution in its own right—and it celebrates its tenth anniversary by reuniting Big Tymers for a show at the Portage.
- Blogs, Bleader Jul 31, 2017
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Rahm: Trump never revealed the name of the cop who claimed to be able to solve Chicago's gun violence issues ‘in a couple of days,’ and other news
Also, the Cook County penny-per-ounce soda tax will go into effect Wednesday.
- Music, Music Feature Dec 22, 2016
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The year Chicago hip-hop beat the haters
For ages, local rappers tore each other down, as though the city could produce only one star at a time—but in 2016 the whole scene seemed to grasp the value of community.
- Blogs, Bleader Jul 29, 2016
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Dividing Chicago hip-hop into ‘Chance and friends’ and ‘the drill scene’ insults its richness and variety
Stereogum's recent survey of Chicago hip-hop gets a lot of things wrong, but it also serves as a reminder of how much there is to discover here.
- Blogs, Bleader May 4, 2016
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Chief Keef meets CeeLo and Eddy Grant on ‘Violence (Army)’
The chopped-and-slopped boogie of "Violence (War)" further broadens the stylistic sprawl of Chief Keef's already eccentric catalog.
- Blogs, Bleader Mar 30, 2016
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The week in local rap today: Ty Money, Chella H, Lucki Ecks, Giftz, and Noisey's new Chicago screwup
Vice's Noisey: Chicago is supposedly about the local hip-hop scene, but it barely addresses what's actually happening. Here are a handful of new Chicago rap releases to bring you up to speed.
- Blogs, Bleader Mar 17, 2016
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Famous Dex weaves a flamboyant style from the threads of oddball Internet rap
Chicago MC Famous Dex transforms a derivative sound into a confident personality on the new mixtape OhhMannGoddDamm.
- Blogs, Bleader Jul 28, 2015
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Chief Keef's hologram can't catch a break, and it's a win for Keef
Keef's hologram can't seem to get a show anywhere near the Chicagoland area, but that might not be so bad for the rapper.
