Evan Gabriel speaks with MC Tree G about Chicago, the last year of his life, and his new album, I.B. Tree.

Eamon Whalen gets more “ahhhhs” than inventors The solitary artist is largely a myth. That’s not to discount individual genius, but groups of people i.e movements and scenes, tend to push boundaries and shake balance far more significantly. This seems especially true of rap, where theres nary a new rapper that arrives without some kind […]

Codename: Kyle Ellison, all praise him. The piano has been drinking, not Tree. Tom Waits references are played out when it comes to the gruff-voiced uncle of Chicago rap, but in this video for ‘Godlike’ – the highlight of his recent-ish EP – Tree plays up his connection to the piano bluesman. Despite sharing a […]

Max Bell is made of limestone. Ascendant Chicago rapper/producer Tree’s claim that he “invented soul trap” isn’t entirely accurate. Soul trap was around before Pimp C had a pocket full of stones. There just wasn’t a name for it. Goodie Mob and Witchdoctor’s first albums are so full of soul and blues, both lyrically and […]

Max Bell may have heard that. It’s mostly the voice (© Guru). You can be a technically great rapper but sound like you’re reading a textbook aloud. I’ll leave names out and let you throw darts at your favorite Twitter pincushion. Tree doesn’t have this problem. His gravelly last-swisher rasp is somewhere between Tom Waits […]

The review will come later. Tree has earned the right to get his new mixtape posted sound unseen. After all, the singles he’s been leaking off the project have all been leafy and nutritious in a harrowing decayed plant life sort of way. I don’t know if that sentence makes any sense, but the mixtape […]

Jordan Pedersen tries to go to chuch every Sunday, but sometimes he’s hungover. This is Sunday dinner rap, draining cheap beers with old friends rap, wood-paneled basement rap, all Cooley High references and advice from dad: Tree may be taking shots, but he’s taking comfort in homies at the bar and sweet soul music. Tremaine […]

Tosten Burks has also been described as beautifully dirty. Let this dirty, beautiful, beautifully dirty video for Sunday School standout track “All” be a forceful reminder that if you’re not yet listening to Tree, you should be. While the Chicago rapper may be flying under the Gawker radar, he is making music with intensely more […]

Jimmy Ness never attended a single nerdy prayer party. Maybe one, but he was drunk. Very drunk. Despite blessing himself with one of the most unassuming un-googleable names  imaginable, the sample-warping Chicago producer/rapper Tree is intriguing. He sounds like an injured donkey but also boasts a deep singing voice. His bizarre drawl is singular but […]