RH Pitchfork Festival Schedule
Over the last 13 years Pitchfork Music Festival has become one of the most important and highly curated music festivals in Chicago, which says a lot considering that Chicago has the most summer festivals of any city in America. This year's festival is dominated by internationally known stars like Ms. Lauryn Hill (celebrating the 20th anniversary of her legendary album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill) and Tame Impala headlining, but earlier in the day there are a lot of upcoming rappers and singers from Chicago and beyond like Kweku Collins, Ravyn Lenae and Berhana. Because music festivals can get overwhelming we decided to put together a list of the shows that we're looking forward to seeing.
Friday
4:00 Open Mike Eagle @ Blue Stage
4:15 Tierra Whack @ Green Stage
5:15 Saba @ Red Stage
6:15 Syd @ Green Stage
8:30 Tame Impala @ Green Stage
Saturday
1:00 Paul Cherry @ Green Stage
1:45 Berhana @ Red Stage
3:20 Nilüfer Yanya @ Red Stage
4:15 Moses Sumney @ Green Stage
5:15 Raphael Saadiq @ Red Stage
7:45 Kelela @ Blue Stage
Sunday
1:00 Nnamdi Ogbonnaya @ Green Stage
2:30 Kweku Collins @ Green Stage
3:20 Ravyn Lenae @ Red Stage
4:15 Smino @ Green Stage
5:15 Noname @ Red Stage
6:15 DRAM @ Green Stage
7:25 Chaka Khan @ Red Stage
8:30 Ms. Lauryn Hill @ Green Stage
Trap Of The World
From Atlanta to Beijing the world is obsessed with trap music. Maybe it’s because of the infectious triplet based rhythms, maybe it’s because of America’s influence on popular culture world wide, but trap is here to stay across the globe. Back in 2015 Korean rapper Keith Ape took the world by storm with his track “잊지마 (It G Ma)”, amassing 55 million streams and even got a remix featuring A$AP Ferg, Father, Dumbfoundead and Waka Flocka Flame. Keith Ape and the rest of Cohort are the biggest trap stars in Korea, but they are not the only ones over there, and It G Ma was just the beginning of massive trap hits around the world. Here are just a few of the rappers that are bringing trap music world wide.
Higher Brothers (China)
When you’re the biggest stars of your genre in the biggest country in the world you’re bound to make a wave. Hailing from Chengdu, Higher Brothers are part of a bigger hip hop collective called 说唱会馆 (Chengdu Rap House, or CDC) and they started off their career with a mixtape in 2016 that took off. After that they dropped Black Cab in 2017 with hit tracks “WeChat” and “Made In China”. They have started to cross over into the international scene with features from Famous Dex and Keith Ape.
https://youtu.be/rILKm-DC06A
https://youtu.be/LsQCNtCH2sc
Niska (France)
France has a pretty established rap scene, with older MC’s like Booba and MC Solaar having paved the way back in the 90s and early 2000s. But French rap has alway been a little behind America in their production and flow. Niska is an exception to that. Niska comes from Évry, a suburb outside of Paris that is one of the most violent towns in France. He originally came onto the scene as a solo artist in 2015 with his album Charo Life which charted at #3 in France, but his breakthrough album was last years Commando which featured tracks like “Salé” (117 million views on youtube) and “Tubalife” featuring Booba (38 million views) which brought the album to #1 in France, #3 in Belgium and #6 in Switzerland. His song “Réseaux” was re-issued with features from Quavo and Stefflon Don.
https://youtu.be/KVpeHSX2ZEY
https://youtu.be/rRtsXBLdZDw
Farruko (Puerto Rico)
Farruko has been putting out music since 2009, but he didn’t really start rapping until more recently. Farruko is kind of the exception on this list because he had already achieved superstardom before he started making trap music, but his recent releases have been nothing to overlook. Last year he put out TrapXficante which had the single “Krippy Kush” (615 million streams on youtube) and with that he was able to change himself to more of a rapper than a singer, even though he is certainly both. “Krippy Kush” was remixed by Nicki Minaj and featured Travis Scott, and that remix is what crossed Farruko over to english speakers all around the world.
https://youtu.be/j1_JW7An2l0
https://youtu.be/_Uqd3Z1fVtA
Manu Crook$(Australia)
Australia doesn’t have much of a rap history. In 2003 Hilltop Hoods really brought rap to the island, but they had a unique style that wasn’t really like what was happening in the rest of the world. Sydney's Manu Crook$ is the one of the first Australian rappers to make music that was on par with what is happening in America. While he may not have the same popularity as other artists on this list, Manu Crook$ is really an exception and his popularity shows how popular the trap sound is.
https://youtu.be/iGtkvmWh_zE
https://youtu.be/-4zXv6ys2t4
Cassper Nyovest (South Africa)
If you didn’t know that Cassper Nyovest was from South Africa you might never think that he isn’t American. Everything from his clothes, to his videos are on trend with what’s happening in the US. His debut album Tsholofelo went platinum in South Africa and was #1 on the charts for 2 months. His third album, Thuto, went double platinum with bangers on it like “Tito Mbweni” and “Ng'yekeleni” which featured The Roots’ Black Thought. Cassper Nyovest is the biggest rapper in South Africa because he continues to put out high quality tracks that sound like they could be from Atlanta.
https://youtu.be/Yihc_E0tv1g
https://youtu.be/USqMtGsFG-k
Mashayabhuqe KaMamba (South Africa)
There are two South African rappers on this list to prove a point, trap isn’t limited by language because, unlike Cassper Nyovest, Mashayabhuqe KaMamba raps in Zulu. The Johannesburg native brings the heat on tracks like “Sun City Flow” and “Shandarabaa Ekhelemendeh” and just like all of the other songs on the list that aren’t in English, you don’t have to speak the language to see just how hard he goes on them. Mashayabhuqe hasn’t quite made it as big as everyone else on this list, but he is well on his way, and is the biggest Zulu rapper around.
https://youtu.be/F8zFjwQ8EQM
https://youtu.be/gLyfIJop_U8
Haikaiss (Brazil)
When you think about it, it’s only natural that trap would be big in Brazil. The country is home to some of the most compelling rhythms in music, so it makes sense that the most rhythmically diverse subgenres of rap would work for them. Haikaiss has managed to cash in on trap in Brazil, with their track “Rap Lord” earning 106 million views on YouTube. Their career really kicked off back in 2012 when they opened for Wiz Khalifa in São Paulo and since then they have put out heavy track after heavy track.
https://youtu.be/e_xGeZDk3Sw
https://youtu.be/to8aru9KMdY
Face (Russia)
There were actually a lot of Russian artists to choose from for this list, it turns out that trap is really popular over there. Face is a 21 year old rapper from Ufa, Russia. If you were to compare him to anyone in the American rap scene he’s probably most similar to Lil Pump, he even references him a few times in his songs. His tracks are full of adlibs straight from the US, and he’s just started to crossover to the international community. Last February he put out a video that Cole Bennet from Lyrical Lemonade directed, which helped to confirm his status. He put out his first project in 2015 when he was 18 years old and broke through with his track “Гоша Рубчинский” which has picked up 9 million views on youtube since the video was released in January 2016.
https://youtu.be/oBHGxGPTsAI
https://youtu.be/h4MqcpOUWVo
Yung Lean (Sweden)
Arguably the most popular rapper on this list (at least in America), Yung Lean comes from Stockholm, Sweden. Back in 2013 he released his first mixtape, Unknown Death 2002 and when two tracks from it went viral Yung Lean became the biggest Swedish rapper in the world. The fact that he raps in English made it easy for Lean to crossover into the American rap world, and in 2014 he did his first North American tour. Since then he has had features from A$ap Ferg, Travi$ Scott and more heavy hitters.
https://youtu.be/tMgkt9jdjTU
https://youtu.be/-IX4_dRWUak
So what does it all mean? Trap is here to stay and "here" is everywhere.
Jameel Bridgewater Announces New Solo Show
BRIDGES
The community presents bridges because it wouldn’t be anything without US.
A bridge gives you the ability to expand past your constrictions and over spaces that hold strong directional currents. This collection is the study of the blueprint of a bridge and how we can use those tools to grow as a community and have conversations about what it means to have a solid structure. The four basic parts are all essential to its construction.
Kweku Collins - Home.
It's 5pm on a temperate Saturday night in Evanston, the relatively quiet sister city, lying directly north of Chicago. Red Bull Sound Select Presents: 30 Days In Chicago has put together 30 shows in 30 nights to celebrate the Chicago music scene. So why did the 25th night not actually take place in Chicago? The answer would be one Kweku Collins.
On April 1, 2015, Kweku, a senior in highschool at the time, signed to a small up and coming Chicago record label called Closed Sessions. Two years later I'm back in the same room that he used to write his first songs in, his father excitedly telling Kweku that he would be wearing Kweku's leather pants tonight, in order to honor his son's first headliner back in his hometown. Kweku coyly smiles and casually brushes off his dad's exuberance with a memory: "The last time I wore those pants it was at my high school prom." He grins, knowing how much has changed since then.
It all started making songs with Garageband. He wrote slam poetry growing up; his mother encouraged him to join the school's team. He learned basic music principles from his Father, who was a percussionist. In his boyhood room he was able to create his critically acclaimed album Nat Love, which would go on to springboard his music into the national spotlight. This past year his sophomore EP, Grey continued to heighten the altitude on Kweku's rise. He toured the nation with the band Whitney and went oversees to Europe to tour. All of this by 21.
When asked how high school him would respond to knowing he was headlining the premier venue in his city, he pauses for a second, then with a half serious expression he says: "don't fuck it up."
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At 1245 Chicago avenue, off the Dempster Purple Line stop, lies SPACE. A concert venue “where music fanatics can get closer to their favorite music and have a uniquely intimate and memorable experience," according to the venue's website. SPACE offers to let the performers have tables or seats at their leisure, creating an experience that is best suited for the music. During sound check Kweku balks at how much bigger the venue looked than the last time he was there. Tables had been set up at the side of the stage previously, this time it was an open ended room leaving little to no separation from the audience and the performer. This was hours before the doors were scheduled to open and the illusion of all that open space seemed daunting. A lot can change in an artist's life, but that fear of not being heard will always remain.
As Kweku takes us around his block after soundcheck he alludes to just how surreal this experience already is: "I just watched Alex and Mike (his management team) walk down the same street that I used to always skateboard on." In his Ford he is quite literally taking a drive down memory lane. As we pull up to his house he recounts a boyhood story of how the rich neighbors across the street tried to put him in his place. Kweku had been hiding in a tree during the summertime making noises and scaring a young boy who lived in the mansion directly across from Kweku's apartment building. His older brother came out telling Kweku to shut up, only for Kweku to confidently jump down from the tree and cause the boys to retreat in fear. Even at a young age he was bold and unwavering.
Once Kweku has grabbed some comfortable clothes and gone for a calming drive, he returns back to the venue with a half hour to doors opening. After putting his stuff down in his luxurious green room stocked with his pick of Guiness, Modelo, Topo Chico and Red Bull, he opts to grab his favorite beer from the back of his car instead and fill the cooler with that. This is his night after-all. After eating some Buffalo Joes Wings he goes out to see what's brewing in front of the venue, dozens of people are already lined up and excited to get a pre-show look at the hometown hero. Kweku runs into two old teachers from his highschool who ask him for a picture, "bless you" one of them exclaims after he obliges. Kweku finds his niece who he is eager to show backstage, she tells me how proud she is of him, how he was more like a brother to her growing up. "We used to spend time skating and making videos together, I'm from Evanston, so (of course) I've been to SPACE a few times," she says with delight. Knowing her own family is joining a long list of great artists who've shared the stage.
While the opening DJ set begins, Kweku floats around; his mind no doubt running a mile a minute. He comes back to the green room with a nervous smile stating "it's already getting hella stressful out there," meaning that the venue is already filling up with eager fans. After being there since 3:30pm, it felt like the show would never start, once the first act began though time seemingly sped up. All of a sudden 11pm is only 5 minutes away, and the crowd is ready. Anytime Kweku's name was so much as mentioned by the previous acts the crowd thunderously cheered.
At 11pm Kweku came out to a deafening ovation. He begins his set with “Lucky Ones”, the crowd singing along to every word. Halfway through the performance Kweku pauses the set to tell the crowd "So... I went to high school with half of you. This is pretty crazy," at which point the crowd roars, old friends and acquaintances all sharing in a mutual moment in time. Kweku shouts out his friend by name who he spots, a few rows back from center stage, the crowd all packed in as close as they can possibly fit, loves it. He returns to his set only to pause once again after the next song, even more overwhelmed with emotion all he can say is "this is crazy, this is really, really crazy," feeling the weight of the moment in every emotional pause.
Once the performance ends he is mobbed by people, he escapes back to the green room and asks for a moment alone. His mother guards the door making sure no one ruins her son’s brief reflection. "Kweku is a beautiful soul," she says. "He just needs to gather himself, this has all meant so much to him." As he exits, fans anxiously await to get their special edition Red Bull Sound Select Kweku Collins skateboard decks; signed by the local skateboarder turned hometown hero.
Could this all have been imagined two years ago? No one can be sure but regardless, under the circumstances of today, Kweku Collins is one of the Lucky Ones.
An Update on rubyhornet.com from RTC
I've been wrestling with how to best share this news, or even if I was going to share this news. I thought about big announcements, small announcements, no announcements. I was waiting for the right moment, and kind of realized that there isn't a right moment. We're in the midst of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, a time for reflection and new starts. I figure no better time than now...
I have purchased rubyhornet.com. A music site that I helped to build from 2008-2013, when I left to start Closed Sessions.
I decided to do this mainly because I wanted to ensure that rubyhornet.com was preserved and saved as an important piece of Chicago Hip Hop. The platform it gave to emerging artists was incredible, and what it did for my life is not even describable.
As more links stopped working, more content disappeared, and especially when rubyhornet.com redirected to Chicago Music, I had a tremendous fear that my work, and the work of everyone else associated would be erased. Permanently.
Pretty much the majority of my 20's, spent grinding, eating Ramen, interviewing my heroes, learning how to produce shows, and being part of this vibrant Chicago Hip Hop renaissance would just... poof... disappear. Like it never even happened.
While many people thought that I owned rubyhornet, I never did and really had no control over what happened to the site. So if nothing else, I wanted to ensure that rubyhornet would live on and be a testament to Chicago Hip Hop history.
Beyond that, I have no fucking idea... If you got some, please share.
I know that I want to give this platform to new artists and new writers. I have no illusions of turning RH into some media juggernaut or battling complex, fighting for exclusives or any of that shit. I'm not that young cat I once was, I don't have that same ego, and fuck, the internet's changed. It's not going to happen. And it's really not about me. I run Closed Sessions, I teach at Columbia, and I don't want to be called a liar when I tell my children that I used to do cool shit back in the day.
My hope is that this energizes new kids who want to write. Before the guys behind rubyhornet found me, I was doing all kinds of shit, trying to figure out exactly how I was going to make a way in the field that I loved. Maybe now I can do that for someone else.
I want to give new artists another spot they can share their music and their message, connect with other likeminded people and grow their art.
I was tired of artists that grew up with RH coming up to me and telling me how much they missed the site. I felt like I had let them down when I left. And never felt right.
I was tired of not celebrating the work we did.
I felt like I was missing a large piece of myself, and now that piece is back.
I hope that we can shine a light on our beautiful music scene and community. I hope we help young artists, writers, and other creatives find their path.
And I hope this reminds people of things they forgot.
Beyond that.... It's all a bonus.
So with this note.
If you're an artist - send me your music.
If you're a writer and want to contribute - hit me.
If you're a publicist, put me on your email list.
You can hit me at rubyhornet@gmail.com or Alex@closedsessions.com
Sincerely,
Foxy Brown "Ill Na Na" Album Anniversary
One of the most heated, vicious and real rivalries in hip-hop was set to begin with winter just around the corner. The date is November 19, 1996, and Foxy Brown was about to drop her debut album, Ill Na Na.
So, why does the rivalry start here?
Because this album releases 7 days after Lil Kim’s debut album, Hardcore.The Kim vs. Foxy rivalry is layered. Here we have two women from Brooklyn, both with sex driven, gangsta lyrics who are trying to be number one in the rap game, much like the men they created their music with, Biggie, Jay Z and Nas. There is even some debate over “Who did you hear first?” We’ll dig into that all at a different time. Right now it’s time to focus on the Big Bad Mamma and her NaNa
What we can’t do is gloss over the fact that in 1996 Foxy Brown helped birth what I like to call “the feature run” before her debut album had even came out. Spring/Summer 96 Foxy had 2 hit singles out. One with Case ["Touch Me, Tease Me"]and one with Jay Z ["Ain’t No"] and she was seen as the star on those tracks. Then she had a strong close out verse on the Nas posse cut, “Affirmative Action”. People may talk about how the math is wrong now, but in 1996 until about 99, I was actually hearing people refer to that verse as being iconic.
I remember it first clicking that “Ill Na Na” was slang for “good p*ssy” and I nearly blew a gasket! My exact words were: If a woman is calling her album “Good Pu$$y, then I've got to listen!” And listen I did. Did it have the same affect on me as Kim’s Hardcore? No. Foxy’s album was more gangsta than raunchy. She struck me as a girl that might sell dope or rob a dude and come home to her man and make him eat her "ill na na". It was intriguing but not really that sexy to me.
When this album first comes on, it’s virtually a Def Jam promo commercial. They promote CRU “The Dirty 30” and Cormega “The Executive”. Totally confusing to me. Moreover, based on what I was expecting, the actual intro “Chicken Coop” wasn’t really an exciting build up.
Then Foxy gets right to the bars. No surprise that it felt as if Nas' little sister was rapping on “Letter To The Firm”. As the album goes on she continues to rap her a** off. How could she not pay homage to LL Cool J and working and writing with Havoc of Mobb Deep and with a guy by the name of Shawn Carter aka Jay Z? In Fact, Jay helps write the bulk of this album. Does Foxy do some of her own writing? Yes. Does she sound like the female Nas when she’s not sounding like the female Jay Z? Yes. However, it works a lot better than many would think.
[iframe id="https://www.youtube.com/embed/d1oCsn39kKk"]
Fact: Ill Na Na did better than Reasonable Doubt and they were both written in the same year. Foxy Brown was in higher demand than Jay and from a mainstream perspective, Jay gave Foxy the Lob for his first single and it worked better for her, in the short term.
More Facts: Since this album, Jay hasn’t quite captured the same level of success with another female rapper.
Foxy had two hits with “Get Me Home” and “I’ll Be” on this album. The title track with Method Man should have gotten a bigger push and the tracks around the the singles are displays of great rhyming that many couldn’t rival verse for verse.
I won’t throw this album in the realm of “classic”, but you can’t deny that the Na Na was indeed pretty Ill. Foxy Brown had one of the best breakout years for any artist in rap period. 1996 alone is why her name is still noteworthy till this day.
Salute to Foxy Brown and her notable debut album.
[iframe id="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UX_b8v4hywk"]
Check out another Ruby Hornet/Cam Quotes Album Anniversary here.
Mobb Deep's "Hell on Earth" Album Anniversary
Many conversations were had on this topic between myself and others this year. The question is which album and artist suffered most after "Hit Em Up" dropped? My Stance: Nobody took a L bigger than Mobb Deep in all this. Not even Chino XL.
It’s November 19, 1996 and Mobb Deep dropped their third [yes 3rd] album, Hell On Earth, and from a career standpoint that became symbolic to this period of time.
In '96, an album with Method Man, Raekwon, Nas and Havoc’s production on Loud Records would have been deemed an instant classic for anyone; Especially for a group that put out a certified classic the year before. However, an unstoppable force buried this album, and it’s dopeness. That force was the angry wrath of Tupac Shakur.
By November 19th of 1996, All Eyez on Me was given the crown as album of the year in hip-hop. “Hit Em Up” was being mentioned as the greatest diss of all time, and Pac had been dead for 2 months. Outside of Lil Kim's catalog, the Makaveli album was the only album anyone spoke on. Add that to a group that was now known for being added to Pac’s “Fawk You List” and it was anything but easy for the Mobb to keep momentum going.
"L.A, L.A" was a decent set of jabs while everybody was living. It would also go on to be added to the debut album for Capone-N-Noreaga in 1997.
“Drop A Gem on Em”, the Pac Diss was a featured song and rumored to have a video was stifled because of Pac’s death. At that time in hip-hop it wasn’t cool to speak on the dead. Making diss tracks aimed at a person that couldn’t respond wasn’t honorable. Looking back, it appears that neither Loud Records nor Mobb Deep had a promotional plan in place after Pac passed. Sadly they never mended the fence that the biggest rapper in the world tore down prior to his death.
This album is dope! It’s vicious, melodic, even spooky. “Man Down”, “More Trife Life” and “Get Dealt Wit” are bright gems on the track list. Havoc is a much better emcee on this album, yet it’s critical acclaim and gold status by spring of 1997 couldn’t help its placement in hip-hop memories. This is also one of the first releases to have the “Enhanced CD” that you had to “Put into your CD ROM” to get the “bonus content”. Havoc sampled Tony’s Theme from Scarface on the album. He might have been the first to do that.
Much like the young people understand today, It’s hard to get positive, progressive press when the number 1 rapper in the game doesn’t like you. What Mobb Deep understands better than anybody is how to try to drop an album after that rapper dies.
Media and Music moved a lot slower in 96 and I think Mobb Deep got it worse than Biggie, Junior Mafia, Jay and Nas. Unfortunately in 1996, The people remember:
Oh yeah, Mobb Deep: you wanna f**k with us?
You little young-a$$ motherfu**ers
Don’t one of you ni**as got sickle-cell or something?
You’re fu**ing with me, ni**a
You f**k around and catch a seizure or a heart attack
You better back the f**k up
Before you get smacked the f**k up
and hardly anyone remembers
Havoc
You yell my name, that’s only giving me props
Plus the fans that you got wondering what’s got you hot
It’s too not, knocked out the box and got rocked
Got raped on the Island, you officially got
Kick that thug s**t, Vibe magazine on some love s**t
Keep it real kid, cause you don’t know who you fu**ing withAnd Prodigy with his “Dry Snitch-esque” Bars like.
My rebellion, retaliate, I had the whole New York state
Aiming at your face at the gate
Bottom line off top soon as you came through
Shots flew, don’t even know the half of my crew
I got a hundred strong arm ni**as ready to rock your s**t
Clocks tick, your days are numbered in low digitsand
When you see my clique you need to run behind shit
You got a gat you better find it
And use that s**t, think fast and get reminded
Of robberies in Manhattan, you know what happened
60 G’s worth of gun clapping
Who shot ya? You probably screamed louder than an opera
New York got ya, now you wanna use my mob as a crutch
What you think you can’t get bucked again?
Once again
Pac dying was the “East Coast vs West Coast Beef” going too far and unfortunately Mobb Deep dropping in November after his demise and after the Makaveli album didn’t help their cause on either end. Although the summer of '96 was huge, I truly want to know if Mobb Deep tried to push this album up.
Respect to both Mobb Deep and Hell On Earth. A dope body of work that dropped too late. Click here for more Mobb content on Ruby Hornet.