[RH First Glance] Taylor Bennett
Alright, let's get it out of the way. Yes, Taylor Bennett's brother is Chance. Yes, that Chance; the rapper. With that out of the way we can get on to more important aspects of Taylor Bennett's life, such as his sold out debut headlining show last Friday at Reggie's Rock House on Chicago's south loop that had fans lined outside in the freezing rain.The 17-year-old high school senior took the stage to his frenetic "Speed Racer" after a solid lineup showcasing the next wave of Chicago hip-hop to flow from the city. As a packed crowd at Reggie's rapped and sang along to songs like "Heartbreaker" and "Dear Daddy" before turning up to "Rolling With The Gods", it became readily evident that Taylor Bennett is not happy being known only as Chance's brother. Friday night, he looked like he was ready to make his own moves going into the new year.
This year, artists in Chicago had reason to be pressed and hopeful at the same time as they collectively watched Chance rise from the guy down the block to one of the biggest stars in the country. Perhaps no one had a closer front row seat to the experience than the younger Bennett. While there's always competition with an older sibling, Taylor has set out to carve out his own lane in hip-hop with a unique blend of pure rhyming talent, personable nature and thoughtful prose. To be sure, things are very different for Taylor than his brother. Through his success, more eyes are on the younger Bennett, who received a write up in XXL recently and has become a regular on blogs across the country. While Chano was able to come up under the radar, Taylor has been squarely on the map of a lot of rap fans for a minute now. With all the attention, nerves and pressure would be easily understandable, especially for a 17-year-old, but Taylor's not sweating. I had a chance to catch him on the phone after his show, as he was working on his next project, Mainstream Music, to chop it up real quick about living in and out of other people's shadows, growing up in Chicago, his mixtape-The Taylor Bennett Show and more. Check out our Q+A below.
Artists to Catch at Fun Fun Fun Fest 2013
For the eighth Fun Fun Fun Fest, the organizers of the Austin, TX festival have put together an eclectic mix of bands, rappers, singers, and even comedians for revelers to enjoy. Mix in a handful of extreme sports athletes and an amazing lineup of local food vendors, and Fun Fun Fun Fest is unlike any festival you've been to. To help both newcomers and wily veterans, we've come up with a list of our most anticipated acts to see this weekend. Check out our staff picks for the festival.
Top Bands to See at Riot Fest Chicago 2013
Riot Fest Chicago 2013, at least for myself, has the greatest lineup of artists out of the summer's seemingly never-ending onslaught of music festivals. This year's Riot Fest in Humboldt Park is a dream collection of bands that have played huge roles in my formative years as I made my way through the musical spectrum, falling in love with all types of bands, musicians, artists, etc. Considering this is my first Riot Fest since Riot Fest 2006 and that Ruby Hornet, as a whole, is growing into a much larger outlet that covers many more forms of entertainment, music genres included, Brynn Bixby and I have decided to put together our recommendations of the top bands to see this weekend.
With a lineup as amazing as this, there are a number of bands we have left off of our lists. However, don't let that detract you from experiencing new music! Take a chance and walk over to a random stage whenever you have downtime; I can almost guarantee you'll enjoy any band on this year's lineup... just make sure you prioritize our choices. Get your vocal cords ready to scream along to every song; get your suspenders and checkerboard Vans so you can control the skank circle; lace up your Docs so you can moonstomp like no other; these are Ruby Hornet's Top Bands to See at Riot Fest Chicago 2013. - Geoff Henao
[RH Photos] North Coast Music Festival 2013 Day 1
Photos by RaRa Photography
Weather doesn't seem to like Chicago festivals much, and the latest edition of North Coast at Union Park was no exception. The festival got off to a familiar beginning as those in attendance were evacuated from the park within hours of arriving due to a storm that quickly swept through the area. As memories of Bjork getting cut short weeks earlier at Pitchfork Festival danced in everyone's heads, careful planning by organizers REACT Presents and 1833 got North Coast going again before 8 o'clock and sent hundreds dashing across baseball fields and basketball courts to catch RL Grime who restarted the party and essentially re-opened the festival for the weekend.
The soggy crowd bounced between the remaining acts. AlunaGeorge made their US festival debut, playing on the main stage with an electrifying outfit. With only 30 minutes left, they rocked the stage with a graceful performance. The festival continued on with other acts from Laid back Luke, Mac Miller, and Passion Pit who gathered a crowd to the furthest point of the park.
Despite Passion Pit's equipment being severely damaged by the storm they did not disappoint the crowd by canceling, instead playing a DJ set to the enjoyment of a positive and responsive crowd. Mac Miller, performing on the North Stage, put on an inspired performance while playing a variety of his increasingly extensive library as he touched on content from 2009's KIDS to this year's Watching Movies With The Sound Off to a young, raucous crowd.
The surprise act of the day was certainly Chicago's own ProbCause, whose 7 o'clock Tent Stage performance was pushed back, putting him onstage at the same time as Mac and Paper Diamond, who put on a live performance himself. Despite beginning the set with a sparse crowd, Prob faced the adversity head on and rocked the crowd like he was on the main stage, attracting fans old and new. Later, I headed to the Bottom Lounge where he joined fellow North Coast performer Psalm One onstage for the Just Blaze after show.
Day 1 of North Coast may have been set back by the sudden storm, but delivered to everyone who came out. North Coast handled the situation gracefully with a fast and easy path back into the festival and a safe end to it all. -
Pitchfork Music Festival Recap 2013
As hot as it was this weekend, (thank the sweet lord for the breeze), the heat didn't stop all the cool kids from coming out to see their favorites at this year's Pitchfork music festival. Union Park was crowded with fans, as it was with tons of local food and art vendors. The full photo set from Pitchfork Music Festival 2013 will be coming up soon, as well as a special R. Kelly-exclusive post where we share our thoughts on his performance.
[Interview] RH First Look: Alex Wiley
Alex Wiley has been working hard lately. The Southside MC has been busy for the better part of 2012 garnering followers through a steady flow of videos and songs online and collaborations with Kembe X and a host of other Chicago artists. Wiley is now looking to drop his own solo project, one that has gone through several changes throughout the last few months. What originally started as an EP under the name Village Up, has transformed several times during endless recording at SoundScape Studios, where I recent met and spoke with the budding emcee. To be sure, Wiley was due for a nap. Luckily, I was able to catch him just before he curled up on the couch, exhausted from a long day.
That Wiley sleeps at all may be the most surprising thing. The high-energy emcee can be found around town rapping in a Santa suit like he did onstage at Chance The Rapper's AcidRap Live show at The Metro November 23, or chopping up philosophies on the intricacies of the perfect taco bar, which he has plans to unveil somewhere in the near future. A glance at Wiley's robust Twitter feed could make anyone wonder if the kid sleeps at all. Since releasing #MoPurp with Chance and Kembe earlier this year, a video for which has garnered over 75,000 YouTube views in just under six months, Wiley has set about making his mark on the Chicago scene and beyond and is nearing the release of his debut project, Club Wiley, which has spanned almost a full year of his progression and is set to drop early 2013 via the indie label, Closed Sessions.
Also, if you're in Chicago, catch an early sampling of Wiley's forthcoming debut, ClubWiley, on January 5th at Jugrnaut at 427 S. Dearborn from 6-8 PM.
words and interview by Jake Krzeczowski.
SpaceGhostPurrp: "Whole Latta Icee"
Miami rapper and Raider Klan member SpaceGhostPurrp dropped part of his track “Whole Latta Icee” through his twitter yesterday. Purrp’s highly-anticipated N.A.S.A. Tape, Vol. 2 was supposed to drop on Halloween, but Raider Klan fans have been held in suspense for the past two weeks. Listen to the track below and, if Purrp’s song is any indication, don’t worry about him and a certain pretty motherfucker from New York named Rakim.
Guest blog by Jack Zurier
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=uon_ZkLUNhY
[Video] Smoke DZA: "K.O.N.Y."
Smoke DZA released the visuals for “K.O.N.Y.” (King Of New York) today, pulling together a video very much in line with what we’ve come to expect from the Kushed God. The trippy visual effects depict DZA mobbing with his boys on the (now very flooded) beaches of New York City, wearing lots of vintage Polo, and lighting off fireworks out of rolling paper tubes. Peep the video below, and grab the feature-heavy K.O.N.Y. mixtape here.
Guest blog by Jack Zurier
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BMtcgmQQ2Es