I’ve never been one to just throw around props. Its just not in my blood, but I must say Chicago is REALLY holding down the Hip-Hop scene right now. In my opionion (and thats all that really matters) present day Chicago reminds me alot of New York in the 90’s, quality music coming from multiple directions. Lets see who is holding shit down for the Chi right now:
Common: Another solid album, from the Chi-town Nas. Nothing else to say there.
Kanye West: A true musical visionary. Stop hatin’ on the man, he’s damn good (Especially you Beans, you know he’s not gonna scrap wit you…shouts out to Philly). Kanye’s albums College Dropout and Late Registration made my college experience make more sense.
Lupe Fiasco: Now here is an artist that I feel is on the verge of greatness. Remember when Jay-Z dropped Reasonable Doubt? Stop lying, no you don’t. You probably don’t remember Jay-Z before Vol. 2 then you went back and listened to Reasonable Doubt and thought, man, this dude is incredible. Lupe is going to be on that same tip I promise you. If you can (though I do not condone bootlegging of any sort) get your hands on the pre-released (leaked version) of Food & Liquor. From his slavery referencing intro that parrallels Nas’ It Was Written to Ghetto Story which feels like Tupac taking you on a narrative journey to the bodega this guy comes with it. I’ll have to do a later post about Lupe because I can go on forever.
Kidz In The Hall: The entire Rawkus label is riding on their shoulders right now. Their album School Was My Hustle was pretty good. I give it a 3.75 out of 5. Plus dude in the group Knowledge was rockin a classic Polo Ralph Lauren P-Wing from 1992. That jacket is the flyest.
The Cool Kids: I got put onto these dudes through MySpace and I must say their beats are knocking and their lyrics are fun. It’s like listening to The Clipse and replacing all of their drug references with things like beepers, bmx bikes, and gold rope chains.
At the end of the day, the commonality I see between all of these Chi-Town artists is that their subject matter parrallels things I can relate to and go through on a daily basis. None of them are talking about their rims or crack sales to glorify who they are. Chi-Town must have some really good after-school programs or youth groups because these artist all developed having a sense of self. Holla.
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