Tosten Burks killed Walter White. Few things complicate and challenge the blog-rap come-up more than the immediacy of expectations. A little hype goes a long way in turning writers into prophets and young artists into pressure-cookers. More taxing yet is when the pressure simmers as quickly as it came. Nineteen-year-old Hyde Park native Vic Mensa’s […]

Joshua Lerner is dressed in azure. You might first have heard Chicago’s Lili K.her rhyming “D. Rose” with “free throws” on Chance’s “Hey Ma” from 10Day. More than just the nostalgic hoop references, she actually makes that song, adding a layer of smoky vocal lines throughout the verses and well-textured harmonies on the hook. It’s […]

Tosten Burks prefers root beer. I don’t think Vic Mensa thought his best friend would blow up before him. There’s just something about the way he goons around backstage at Chance shows waiting to spit his Cocoa Butter Kisses verse, not smiling, not really dancing, not even during the obligatory all-of-SaveMoney-wilds-out-on-stage moments. He’s still getting […]

Jordan Pedersen plans to name a mixtape after an obscure Omar Epps movie. There’s blood in Chicago. The question for Chicago rappers is not, “Do we deal with it?” but rather, “How do you deal with it?” Chief Keef and the Glory Boyz have taken to recreating it, their catalog an Apocalypse Now evocation of what it feels […]

Jordan Pedersen sorta hopes the Save Money crew is a YN Rich Kids-style after-school program to get kids to save their money. Save Money crew member Dally Auston enlists the help of OJ Hays (who also did the visuals for Chance the Rapper’s appropriately named “Good Ass Intro“) for his video for “99 Cent.” Hays’ […]