[RH Video] Vic Mensa at the Metro (11/28/2014)
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This post was originally published by our affiliate, Chicago Music. Photo and video by J. Frank.
Last Friday, SAVEMONEY's Vic Mensa headlined a show at the iconic Metro alongside some of his SAVEMONEY brothers, including Towkio, Leather Curduroys (made up of Kami de Chukwu and Joey Purp, and a special appearance by Chance the Rapper. Mensa has seen tremendous growth in 2014 following last year's release of his solo debut mixtape, INNANETAPE, such as a European tour with Danny Brown, being named to XXL's 2014 Freshman class, and charting in international markets with his first official single, "Down On My Luck." Friday's Metro show was just another highlight in a year full of them for the Chicago native.
Supremely talented videographer J. Frank was on hand to capture some of the intense energy on display at Vic's show, which you can watch in the video below.
[RH Photos] AAHH! FEST 2014 Recap
Photos by AngieStar Photo
Anyone who was at Common's AAHH! FEST experienced an amazing show yesterday at Union Park in Chicago, some even described it as epic. As many guessed, Kanye West performed as the Special Guest, highlighting the evening by performing smash hit after hit, and bringing the night to an energetic close. Outside of Kanye's smash performance, famous comedian Dave Chappelle graced the stage as the evenings host, providing a short stand up that was just as hilarious as expected. Of course, Common didn't miss a beat with his performance either, performing many of his old and new tracks. He even brought fellow rapper Vince Staples to stage to perform "Kingdom" from his latest album, Nobody's Smiling. I can't forget to mention he also performed hit track, "Get em High" with Kanye, exploding the energy of the crowd.
Outside of the headlining performers, the fest had a full line up of sets from varied artists including comedian Damon Williams, and musicians Jay Electronica, MC Lyte, Lil Mama, Lil Herb, De La Soul, Jennifer Hudson, Lupe Fiasco, Twista, and Crucial Conflict. Although not all the artists were from Chicago, the night was to definitely highlight the city's heavy musical influence, and included several interludes of local Dj's playing House classics that kept the crowd moving from start to end. On that note, Chicago's famously known Harold's Chicken even had a food truck on hand, which is always a plus to locals.
As the event was curated by Rhymefest, Aahh! Fest's deepest intention was to create a day of peace for Chicago, since the city is very widely known for it's crime and gang violence. With this, the event was put together with help from Donda's House, Inc., Common Ground Foundation, and Lupe Fiasco's Foundation. The vibe was indeed truly fun and peaceful in all aspects, bringing to attendance Chicago Bulls Center Joakim Noah, visual artist Hebru Brantly, members from the Farrakhan family, and many other artists including rappers GLC, Do Or Die. Amongst the crowd were even friends and family like JHud's adorable son and husband, Kim Kardashian, and much more.
Check out the following photos from the very live event, where you'll also find some behind-the-scenes photos from some of the more famously known attendees enjoying the Aahh! Fest 2014.
[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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[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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[Video] Lucki Eck$: "Boomin"
The economy may not be doing well still, but Chicago's own Lucki Eck$, who popped up onto the national radar last year with his sinewy, shadowy rhymes calmly detailing how he served folks on the corner dropped a new video today to debut his fresh track, "Boomin" which details how he has invigorated himself with his own version of a stimulus package. The latest to emerge from Lucki's camp is a continuation of where we saw him last summer, in the dark, carefully detailing his stories of dealing while draped from head to toe in Jugrnaut. Lucki spent last year establishing his name on the back of his excellent breakthrough project, Alternative Trap, it'll be interesting to see where it goes from here. Check out the full video for "Boomin" streaming below.
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[Video] Psalm One: "A New Phaze" (Feat. The Hood Internet, Tanya Morgan and Fluffy)
Last week, Psalm One, aka 'Hologram Kizzie' dropped her album, Hug Life via Bandcamp and iTunes. This week, on the heels of a solid first week of sales for the largely independent artist out of Chicago, Psalm offers up the first video for the project for "A New Phaze" which has production from electronically-inclined production team The Hood Internet, as well as Cleveland hip-hop collective Tanya Morgan and right-hand woman Fluffy who all join her on the eclectically-fun track that sets the tone for the rest of what is to come from the project that firmly straddles several different genres and sounds that come together to provide a sampling of styles and endeavors that are hot right now. The video balances the different flavors on the project with what is largely a traditional hip-hop video that allows Psalm to take creative risks while staying rooted in the art-form that has brought her to prominence, while also touching on her community service and outreach endeavors. Psalm has always been at the forefront of what is happening in the middle of the map, evidenced by her firm link with the Minnesota-based DoomTree collective and Tanya Morgan feature here, and this video is a furtherance of that sentiment. Check out the video, streaming below.
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[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.