[Video] King L: "Tony"

King L's latest banger, "Tony", off his recently-released mixtape Drilluminati 2 is a mafioso dream cut with shot os L's harrowing live shows donning a three piece suit. The song and the video create an interesting aesthetic for the 27-year-old artist from Chicago and calls to mind a young Jay-Z going the same route when his career had hit a breaking point, a decision which ultimately vaulted him to the top of hip-hop for years to come and allowed him to re-write the narrative that had followed him to that point. The points in career are much different, King L largely holds his destiny in his own hands, but perhaps the sentiment makes sense. "My name is Louie, but they call me Tony" is simple, yet packed with meaning and braggadocio and the suits and overall motif may well be a direction King L wants to keep traveling down. Chance also makes a cameo, keep an eye out for that. Full video, from WorldStarHipHop below.

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Top Chicago Rappers of 2013

Chicago hip-hop has enjoyed a certain popularity increase over the past couple of years. Where 2012 saw the rise of Chief Keef and "Drill", 2013 brought about a new flavor as listeners from across the country, initially hooked by the drill sound, began to explore the vibrantly eclectic different sides of the city and variety of sounds that make up what is the flourishing Chicago scene today. With seemingly everyone's eyes on the Midwest and so many talented artist rising from the area, we decided to compile a list of the top hip-hop artists from Chicago that had the biggest years in 2013. We based our decisions off of releases, co-signs, shows/tours and general influence throughout to put together who we thought had the best top to bottom 12 month cycles since this time last year. You may not agree with all of our decisions, so let us know in the comments. Without further ado, I give you the Chicago's hip-hop artists that elevated their game the most in 2013.


[Mixtape] King L: "Drilluminati 2"

King L has been a fixture on the Chicago hip-hop scene for some time now, throughout which he has established himself as one of the premier MCs in not only the Midwest, but the country at large. Earlier this week, King L dropped second installment of his Drilluminati series, this one titled Drilluminati 2. The project is a stark remind of the drill scene that L came up on and a furtherance of the sound that brought both King L, and a large portion of Chicago to the limelight. Being a King L release, the project has the certain flavor of gritty street-prophet that one can come to expect from the Epic signee. Expect plenty more from King L after a year that saw him drop a couple solid projects and land on Yeezus. Full stream below.

King L Announces Next Single "Drugs" Featuring Pusha T and Juicy J

King Louie has announced the second single from his upcoming Dope & Shrimp LP is titled "Drugs," will feature Pusha T & Juicy J and is produced by Yung Berg. I think that lineup and track title go together like white on rice, and I have a craving for rice. On Saturday Louie performed at the Rockie Fresh concert at the Metro, and definitely had one of the most hype moments of the whole night,  when he performed the LP's first single, Val Venis. Looking like the labels have decided Louie's on deck. Hit the jump to peep his recent performance at the Fader Fort in NYC.

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