Qari - Revenge (Prod. Cangeloso & Mulatto Beats)
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One of the most poised MCs in Chicago, Qari is back with his trademark effortless flow on "Revenge". Moving with his usual abstract punchlines Qari weaves through the 808 minefield like a determined solider. His confidence never misses a beat and his synergy with Mulatto Beats remains one of the best MC/Producer tandems in the whole country.
Word has it that Qari is working on his next project, I for one will be waiting patiently to digest the always thoughtful MCs next batch of bars. Until then let "Revenge" tide you over.
"Watch me revenge on these N****s,
but I ain't got shit to prove."
Chance The Rapper Shines Again on Late Night With Stephen Colbert
Too many lines to quote, but one of my favorites is "the automatic quarterback that doesn't rap." How many of you played those playground football games with auto-QB? That brought back some memories...
But to the main point, Chance has kind of made it a habit of taking new material to live television. Last night he did it again, going back to old friend and collaborator Stephen Colbert and "The Late Show".
Chance performed a new and as yet untitled song last night, and was joined by Daniel Caesar on vocals and guitar (along with Nico, Stix, and Peter Cottontale from SOX, as well as background vocalists). The new song is very deserving of a breakdown, and I feel will continue to reveal its meaning with continued listens.
On surface, and after a couple listens, I believe the overarching theme to be the sacrifices Chance has had to make in order to achieve success as an artist. At one point, the dream of success and stardom was far off, and the sacrifices may have seemed small or absolutely necessary and wanted. In the second verse, he references skipping his prom, something he did to perform at former street wear store, AKIN.
While missing high school dances is significant, it pales in comparison to leaving your daughter for tour, being asked for autographs at church, and losing time with friends and families. The demands are intense. And it is clear that there is burnout and times of exhaustion. One of the earliest lines in the record sees Chance admit that he needs a nap.
But what I also hear in the song is a continued determination, not just on the quest to stardom but in fighting for justices and the importance of the community work that Chance has taken up. We can't just use our couches as safety nets. Throughout the hook, Chance puts his feelings of burnout in perspective of other issues - First World Problems as he sings in the refrain. The continued battle against police brutality, school funding, gay rights definitely put over eager autograph seekers in perspective.
The performance was dope, and I am looking forward to digging further into the new song.
Before the performance, Chance also talked to Colbert about Social Works and the Second Chance Fund, which he announced at the beginning of September. The fund will be giving money to specific public schools and help with initiatives in art, music, science, and math. He also talked about his faith, organizing and action over politics, and disclosed that he wrote the new record on Saturday. Originally he was going to perform "Grown Ass Kid", but had to switch it up last minute. I think the change worked out well, and I'm looking forward to more new music from Chance. He said he's in the studio cooking up YAMMERS!
Spectacular Diagnostic + Grandmilly - "DISCORAMA"
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"Keep it official like a referee and blow the whistle, if I ain't with you, simmer down while I spew my riddle."
I first met Spectacular Diagnostics through Rude One, and only knew him as a graphic designer. He actually did the artwork for the bulk of Rude's ONEderful LP, which came out almost a year ago (revisit that here).
After submitting all the art, SD, sent me links to his own music - mostly obscure leaning, crunchy, instrumentals, and some that featured face-scrunching rappers like Conway and Chester Watson. His 2016 release, Avant Raw is a harken cry back to the late 90's heyday of releases from producers and DJ's like Handsome Boy Modeling School, UNKLE, Kid Koala etc. I highly suggest it if you're looking for a fix like that. Fuck it, I'll embed it below for easy listening.
But first, I want to say something about his new shit, "DISCORAMA" featuring Grandmilly. I don't know how I stumbled upon this yesterday, but it's been in my head since. I didn't know it at the time, but it was exactly what I was looking for. It carries Spectacular's signature dusty production while Grandmilly simply goes off with the wordplay. If that's what you like, you will very much like this.
The song is part of Spectacular's new project, The Spec Tape, an already sold out cassette. If you were lucky enough to cop the cassette, you also got "DISCORAMA" and 2 other joints as free downloads. You can still find all the tracks here, and kick yourself for not finding this sooner.
And here is Avant Raw.
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Kai Mella - Lowkey Alcoholic
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This is the first i've heard of Kai Mella but if he keeps providing songs like "Lowkey Alcholic", I may have to become a full time fan. His debut track, Kai has a sing song delivery that borders on rapping but is certainly not your '90s style MC spitting traditional 16s. The songs arrangement is filled with catchy bridges, Pre-Choruses and an infectious melody that will stick in your mind all day. The instrumental is bouncy and makes you want to move your body no matter what setting you listen in.
Syd Shaw - Roses Gold (Prod. Derrick Phoenix)
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"Roses Gold" by Syd Shaw is a charismatic, poetic, speech exercise. With a beautiful understanding of diction and nuance she spits witty observations left and right. The beat made by Derrick Phoenix is a beautiful mix of tasteful electric piano and forceful head knocking drums. Syds flow flutters elegantly, every pause is carefully chosen, each word pronounced clear as day. Listen above and keep an eye on the infinitely talented MC for more work.
"it's 'bout, what you do,
it's 'bout how you feel,
it's 'bout who you love,
its about, me and you."
Calvin Holmes - Boyfriend/Wastemytime
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I'm a big fan of originality. Music that sounds innovative is so rare in these times of incestuous sample flipping and unoriginal chord progressions. All art is lifted from some other place of influence but putting a personal flip on top is crucial to stand out. Scrolling through Soundcloud I was pleasantly surprised to find Calvin Holmes song "BOYFRIEND/WASTEMYTIME". The song starts off with a consistent hi hat sound and electric guitar that resides right below the percussion, glueing the song together. Switching up into the "WASTEMYTIME" section of the song around the 2:30 mark it becomes a hazy ode to a girl who Calvin knows will ultimately waste his time. But because he is lonely (and he knows she is too), it will be a mutually agreed upon outcome.
The incorporation of an Alternative Rock sound to a Hip-Hop aesthetic makes this songs palette incredibly diverse, the switch up keeps the listener on their toes. I'll be interested to hear more from Oak Park's Calvin Holmes since this is the first i've heard of his music.
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,
Chicago Represented Well in Action Bronson's Best-Seller, F*ck That's Delicious
Rapper, TV personality, Chef, Ultimate Dab-Smoker, and now, best-selling author. Action Bronson just stays out here shining. Bronson's new book, F*ck That's Delicious: An Annotated Guide To Eating Well is flying off the shelves these days. And with every copy, somebody new gets to hipped to the Chicago gem that is Margie's Candies which is featured prominently on page 60. True story, Mike and I took Bronson and his crew to Margie's way back in like 2012 and since that virgin voyage, the spot has been a staple of anytime we kick it with Bam Bam in the windy.
Beyond Margie's, Bronson also gives props to the Chicago Dog, twice. First he laments about the closing of Hot Doug's, retelling the story of how he and Mayhem Lauren ate 15 different dogs overlooking Lake Michigan. But, it is about 100 pages later when Bronson bestows the ultimate title and confirms what every Chicagoan knows: the Chicago dog is simply the best way to eat encased beef. He writes,
"But I'm telling you the Chicago dog is my favorite dog of all the hot dogs. I love sport peppers. I love that they put a pickle on it. I love the chopped onions, the relish, the poppy seed, a half a tomato. They griddle the shit out of them. I don't know the origin. I don't know why, I don't know what the fuck, but I know that shit is tremendous. It blows New York hot dogs out of the water for me."
And there ain't no ketchup on that $hit!
One last interesting note: if you pause the episode of "F*ck That's Delicious" where he visits the Weiner Circle at just the right moment, you will see me ever so slightly in the background. I'm very blurry, but as Bronson would say, It's ME!.
Cop F*ck That's Delicious now.