Watch The New Video From Jon Jame$: "My Phone"
Jon Jame$ is one of those artists who should release as much of his music as possible in music video form. That's no knock on the audio or recording quality of his raps, it's more so props on his larger than life persona and how it truly comes to life via the visual format. Jon is an artist we've known for years, going all the way back to '09 and "I Just Want". The Milwaukee-born emcee and TREATED member (and Sean CK favorite) has been promising an album for years, and hopefully it will finally come to fruition in '18. More certain though is a new mixtaep, Thuggin Out N Public, which has a drop date of 4/23. Peep the video and enjoy.
Treated Crew x Stüssy x Saint Alfred: "Treated Tribe"
Treated Crew, a collective based in Chicago, has joined forces with both Stüssy and Saint Alfred to collaborate on a project involving a new selection of apparel and a mixtape. The collection and the mixtape are both referred to as Treated Tribe. The apparel is modeled by Pusha T (with photos by Jesse Lirola), and is heavy in print, text, and graphics.
The “Treated Tribe” clothing collection mainly consists of black and white colors with a paisley print that is reminiscent of the crew’s logo, Treated Crew’s artwork for their album TreaTed, and Stüssy’s own signature branding. The simple arrangement of black and white statement pieces appropriately captures a vital essence of each party involved in the collaboration, a fundamental vibe that can be described as straightforward and versatile.
The artwork done for the album Treated Tribe reflects some of the predominant patterns used in the collection of apparel. Contributors to the mixtape include Mic Terror, Mano, Hollywood Holt, Gzus Piece, Jon James, Saint Millie, He Say/Say She, Sulaiman, Max Wonders, A.K., Nick Junior, HighLife, Lee Majorz & PST Saint.
The clothing collection dropped at Saint Alfred’s on Saturday, May 31st. Although the local boutique has already sold out, the Treated Tribe collection hit Stüssy’s online shop on June 2nd and is still available there for purchase. Check out some of the Treated Tribe apparel below and download Treated Tribe on iTunes now.
[RH Interview] Mic Terror Talks "Fresh Prince of Darkness"
Photo by Andrew Zeiter
Last week a steady stream of Treated crowns, leather and sneakers streamed into the Hard Rock Café in Chicago. The crowd that makes up a large part of the hip-hop scene here was assembled in the Loop to give one of their own a proper celebration for the release of Mic Terror’s Fresh Prince of Darkness. The album’s release, debuted under the Chicago independent hip-hop label Closed Sessions, was a community affair of artists, management and a wide swath of the crowd that took hip-hop music in the scene to another level. If you’ve been to a rap show in the Second City or spent some time at local boutique Jugrnaut, you’re familiar with the Treated Crew. Led by Kanye West’s DJ Million Dollar Mano, the squad has established itself as a bastion of what rap is in the city and there are few who have had a larger impact on the crew, it’s origins and what the music had developed into than Mic Terror, who capped weeks of promotion for the project with a rousing performance that had the packed crowd rocking with him from start to finish as he pulled from a multitude of experiences for the set, proving why he has had the kind of staying power that wasn’t evident in the city even a decade earlier. The 28-year-old Dolton native has been a mainstay for about a decade now, progressing in his own lane while also pushing those around him to continue to grow, resulting in the push that has been a huge spike in hip-hop emanating from the center of the country as of late. For FPOD, Mic Terror shows a matured, true side of himself, pulling from years of experience and learning to create a project that accurately and succinctly sums up Mic T as an artist and a person. To hear him say it, his previous projects were largely rooted in attempting to perfect this or that, whereas on his latest release he felt more comfortable spreading his wings and exploring territory he hadn’t to this point. The result is a fully-fleshed out album that exudes exactly what the Treated Crew name has come to represent over the years. I recently had a chance to stop by Soundscape Studios in Chicago to sit down with Mic Terror and discuss the ins and outs of what the ride has been like this far, what lays ahead and the role he finds himself in within his scene as it expands exponentially.
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[Video] Mic Terror: "15 Minutes"
March 4, Chicago independent hip-hop label Closed Sessions will be releasing the latest project for Treated Crew's Mic Terror, titled The Fresh Prince of Darkness. The video, a cinematic piece directed and shot by Andrew Zeiter and Bryan Lamb, follows Mic and Hollywood Holt as they figure out how to ties up the loose ends of a night gone wrong. "15 Minutes" is off the project and the second single to drop since "Anti-Swag" his track with fellow Chicagoan Taylor Bennett. Those two, as well as St. Millie and Treated Crew will be in the house March 7 at The Hard Rock to celebrate the release. Tickets are still available, but why not win yourself a free pair on us? We still have our ticket giveaway for the March 7 date, details here.
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[Contest] Win a Pair of Tickets for Mic Terror's Fresh Prince of Darkness Release Party
On March 7th, Ruby Hornet is co-sponsoring Mic Terror's Fresh Prince of Darkness release party at the Hard Rock Cafe alongside our friends at Jugrnaut, Closed Sessions, Iridium, and OTG Management. Also on the bill are The Cool Kids, Saint Millie, Taylor Bennett, and Treated Crew, with DJ sets from MattBoyWhite, Manny Muscles, VIP J, RTC, and Million $ Mano. Advance tickets are currently on sale for $20 both online and at Jugrnaut, while tickets at the door will be $25 ($20 if you purchase a copy of Fresh Prince of Darkness). The show begins at 10pm and will be 18+.
With all of that said, I know this is gonna be one of next week's best shows to attend for all you rap fanatics, and a perfect send-off before the start of SXSW. We have a pair of tickets for one lucky Twitter follower to attend this extra stacked show. All you have to do is follow us on Twitter (@RubyHornet) and tweet us with #RHFPoD. Winners will be announced next week. You can tweet us as many times as you like, so go crazy!
Good luck.
[Mixtape] #100Trill: "Muzik 2 Check Yo B*tch 2"
The Chicago duo, #100Trill is back with their latest project, Muzik 2 Check Yo Bitch 2 just in time for that special time of year. Treated Crew and LOD affiliates Mike Jaxx and Grade Aplus continue to push quality music at a fast pace, logging long hours at Kimball House Studios on the city's northwest side. M2CYB2 has been in the works for a minute, and the fourteen song tracklist (including bonus tracks) is the perfect soundtrack to a very certain kind of Valentine's Day. Grade Aplus proves that the more you do something the better you get, with a crisp delivery and varying flows that accent Jaxx's production well throughout. According to Grade, "This is the creation of 2 niggas who's big brother's raised them on Death Row Albums. We really just had fun, most of the album is just the normal shit we'd talk amongst each other, just set to a beat." The project also features a who's who in the Chicago scene, with St. Millie, ShowYouSuck, Gzus Piece and more making appearances. "I had fun working with a couple of producers as well as all of my favorite Chicago artists," said Jaxx. "This project solidifies me as a true artist, I feel. We just some playa ass out west niggas that love to talk shit and put art behind it." Check out the project below.
[Video] ShowYouSuck: "Flip Phone"
Clinton Sandifer, affectionately known in many circles around Chicago as ShowYouSuck, knows how to turn a party up, and has proven that much at just about every show he has played in and out of his hometown. Mixing punk and hip-hop aesthetics, Show very well have the most live hip-hop set in the city. On Valentine's Day though? Show's a little more mellowed out, as he demonstrates for us on his latest video for the track "Flip Phone" off his 2013 project One Man Pizza Party 4: Slices After Death. Directed by Chris Beauchesne and animated by Benjamn Marasco, the video is wildly entertaining as the animations coincide with the lyrical content and the simple shot of Clinton by himself in a love seat, in what is becoming his trademark white dotted shirt, as the cartoon world wreaks havoc on him. ShowYouSuck has proven himself a capable artist in myriad situations and he's one artist we should see get his due in 2014. Check out the awesome video for "Flip Phone" below.
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[Mixtape] Sulaiman: "Hook Line & Thinker"
Sulaiman is back with a fresh new tape to help his friends and family back in the midwest brave through (hopefully) the last few terrible months of winter. A few months back I found myself sitting and talking to Suli, discussing the new rise of the scene in Chicago, the jump-off of artists like Vic Mensa and Chance The Rapper and what it all means. Sulaiman stressed the thought process of artists coming from Chicago, the need to keep the talent flowing to make it a scene that rivals the coasts at the end of the say. The Treated Crew member has been in and out of the foreground of hip-hop, always a thinker and a lyricist. With that in mind, Hook Line and Thinker may just be one of the most appropriate album title in recent memory, certainly making more sense than Rick Ross's Mastermind.
Produced by Doc Da MindBenda and featuring Dally Auston, Gzus Piece and Keenan Coke, the seven-song Hook Line and Thinker is a boom-bap-ish lyrical playground, with Sulaiman going off for bars. It's a refreshing project that will certainly make people once again take notice of Sulaiman. Check out the latest from Chicago, available for stream/download below.