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- Music, Music Review Apr 9, 2021
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Chicago indie rapper D2x expands his palette on his debut album, The Color Blue
- Music, Music Feature Dec 21, 2020
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Chicago’s independent musicians stepped up their activism in 2020
With concerts and tours on hold for most of the year, the city’s music scene doubled down on mutual aid and fundraising for community groups.
- Music, Music Feature Sep 17, 2020
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Femdot pauses his rap career to help feed Chicago
Run through his nonprofit, Delacreme Scholars, the Scholars Slide By has delivered groceries to hundreds of people in need this summer.
- Music, Music Feature Jul 31, 2020
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Lightfoot hijacks Lollapalooza
A week after DCASE forbid Sen Morimoto from criticizing the mayor’s response to BLM protests, she’s all over the city’s biggest music festival.
- Music, Concert Preview Nov 21, 2019
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Pivot Gang celebrate the life of a fallen member at the third annual John Walt Day
- Music, Music Feature Nov 21, 2018
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Chicago rap crew Pivot Gang honor a fallen comrade
Saba’s Care for Me memorializes his cousin John Walt, whose generous spirit also survives in the arts nonprofit that bears his name—which holds its flagship concert fund-raiser this weekend.
- Music, Gossip Wolf Oct 9, 2018
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The classic Smoking Popes lineup releases its first full-length in nearly two decades
Plus: Not-quite-retired Chicago rapper E.C. Illa reissues two old Kanye collabs, and SoFar Sounds celebrates Pivot Gang cofounder John Walt.
- Blogs, Bleader Jul 21, 2018
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Saba confronted grief and found joy in his Pitchfork set
In his first local show of the year, Chicago rapper Saba balanced his desire to honor a murdered friend with the necessity to entertain a huge festival crowd.
- Blogs, Bleader Feb 9, 2018
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Chicago rapper Lunxch on constructive panic, apathetic open-mike audiences, and changing his name from Sage
Sage, the 64th Wonder was a promising Chicago rapper, but when he lost his creative thread he made the leap to become Lunxch—whose debut single, "Breathe," dropped last week.
- Music, Gossip Wolf Feb 6, 2018
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Charlie Coffeen of Sidewalk Chalk gives Dilla’s Donuts the big-band treatment
Plus: John Walt’s arts mentorship foundation hosts a fund-raising dinner on the anniversary of the rapper’s death, and fashion crew Crystal Gravy throw a runway show at Punk Rock Prom.
- Music, Gossip Wolf Jan 29, 2018
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Chicago rapper the Boy Illinois headlines his first show since dropping the triumphant Windy EP
Plus: Three current and former Chicagoans set a piece of Finnegans Wake to music, and the Ag47 Collective kicks off its 2018 program with a Cafe Mustache fund-raiser.
- Music, Gossip Wolf Jan 9, 2018
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Jordan Reyes of Moniker Records moves back to Chicago with a new tape label
Plus: Singer-songwriter Micha and hip-hop producer Nasim Willams drop singles, and Wicker Park’s Bourbon on Division hosts a stacked rap show.
- Blogs, Bleader Dec 4, 2017
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Supa Bwe is about to drop one of the best Chicago rap albums of the year
Supa Bwe's recent Saba-assisted single, "Down Comes the Spaceman," demonstrates why he could break big with the new Finally Dead.
- Blogs, Bleader Sep 27, 2017
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Joseph Chilliams talks about the losses he overcame to release one of the year’s best Chicago hip-hop albums
Pivot Gang cofounder Joseph Chilliams released his debut, Henry Church, in August, after months of career highs and personal lows—including the death of friend and collaborator Dinner With John.
- Blogs, Bleader Jun 21, 2017
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Chicago harpist Yomi makes carefree pop collages perfect for summer Sundays
Yomi plays an early-afternoon set on the third and final day of this weekend's Logan Square Arts Festival.
- Blogs, Bleader Feb 9, 2017
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RIP Chicago rapper-singer Dinner With John, cofounder of Pivot Gang
Dinner With John, born Walter Long Jr. and formerly known as John Walt, was stabbed to death yesterday at age 24.
- Blogs, Bleader Feb 2, 2017
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Mick Jenkins’s DJ, Green Sllime, takes a break from the turntables to host a talk show
The newish YouTube series Sllime's Broke Ass Low Budget Show caters to Chicago hip-hop fanatics.
- Blogs, Bleader Dec 1, 2016
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L.A. VanGogh helps his rapper pals help him on the new EP Friends First
Chicago rapper L.A. VanGogh pulls in collaborators from different cliques, and it works to everyone's benefit.
- Music, Music Feature Sep 28, 2016
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Saba brings the west side to life in rap
On the new mixtape Bucket List Project, the Pivot Gang MC reminds Chicago that one of its most violent neighborhoods is also a home.
- Blogs, Bleader Aug 3, 2016
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On Telefone Chicago rapper Noname finds beauty in details even when the big picture is grim
The rapper formerly known as Noname Gypsy released her debut mixtape as Lollapalooza ended, and her vision of Chicago will linger long after Grant Park is cleaned up.
- Blogs, Bleader Jul 1, 2015
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Local hip-hop group Beach Jesus take chances on the brand-new Two Weeks Vacation
The trio builds on the early promise of its April EP with their full-length debut.
- Blogs, Bleader May 29, 2015
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Donnie Trumpet and Chance the Rapper's new album hit the Web last night without any warning
Surf, the new album from Donnie Trumpet and the Social Experiment (aka Chance the Rapper's backing band), is for sale on iTunes.
- Blogs, Bleader Nov 5, 2014
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Pivot Gang's MFn Melo is the next stop for whoever got hooked on Saba's Comfort Zone
If you're looking to get hooked on solo work from one of Saba's collaborators from Pivot Gang, try MFn Melo.
- Music, Music Feature May 5, 2014
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Five honors students from Chicago rap's freshman class
Alex Wiley, Saba, Spenzo, Taylor Bennett, and ZMoney all have new mixtapes that should light the fuses on their careers.
- Blogs, Bleader Dec 13, 2013
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Learn how to bop from the masters
Lil Kemo and Dlow recently dropped a couple songs-slash-videos with instructions on how to bust a move like a bop king.
