$pencer $ims: "City Struggle Shuffle"
$pencer $ims is a mad talented kid from Chicago who I wish I was able to support more often. He recently released Almost On Time, a pretty good mixtape which unfortunately felt through the cracks of this blog's drafts. Now he's back with a new single and an EP in the works and I'm not going to let this one slip away. People deserve to hear this. "City Struggle Shuffle", shows us some minor tweaks $pencer did with his style and also serves as a way for him to speak on his current situation as an up-and-coming emcee from the most buzzing city in Hip Hop at the moment.
Sterling Hayes: "The Glory" (feat. Vic Spencer & Tha Guyver) (prod. by iLLeeT)
The homie, iLLeeT, recently celebrated his birthday with a trifecta of dope records he produced for a bunch of dope Chicago emcees. "The Glory" is the standout track from the batch and it features SaveMoney's Sterling Hayes, Vic Spencer & Tha Guyver spitting over a sample-heavy instrumental, which will be placed in the upcoming Holy Spirit EP. Also, enjoy Keenan Coke's "No Molly" & Lee Majorz' "The Hard Way" below.
[Video] Chance The Rapper: "Five Minutes To The Stage"
Myspace's recent re-emergence is vastly due to its new approach at creating original quality content that attracts people from all over the world, the site has made an effort to hire some of the most talented people in the world and giving their desire audience an avenue to check out their favorite artists more in-depth. That's exactly where Sperry and Chance The Rapper come into play.
The NY-based director and Chi-Town's Finest have worked together in the past, but in their latest mini-doc, Five Minutes To The Stage, we get a quick insider's view at Chance's mindset just moments before taking the SOB's for his first headlining show in New York. Chano sounds calm and in control mixed with a bit of anxiety as he talks on how he envisions a show to impact people while reminiscing on everything that had to happen for him to be standing there.
Throughout the clip you'll be able to spot cameos by the likes of A$AP Yams, Elliot Wilson, Pat The Manager, Alex Wiley, Kembe X, DJ Oreo and more. Watch below!
[myspace id="five-minutes-to-the-stage-chance-the-rapper-109382823-112033005"]
[via Myspace]
ShowYouSuck: "Straight Edge XXX"
One of the most iconic images in punk rock is Minor Threat's ironic use of a beer bottle man carrying a beer. Ian MacKaye, singer for the seminal 80s DC hardcore band, inadvertently jumpstarted a subculture with the song "Straight Edge," giving a name to his ideologies against drinking, smoking, and doing drugs. He expanded on what it meant to be straight edge in "Out of Step," growling the memorable lines, "I don't drink/I don't smoke/I don't fuck/At least I can fucking think/I can't keep up, I can't keep up, I can't keep up/Out of step with the world." Finally, the ostracized had a message and a figure to champion in a subculture that was full of heavy drugs and drinking.
It's been 30 years since "Straight Edge" came out, yet the movement is still loud and alive. Hardliners will preach MacKaye's word as law, condemning those that don't share their views, resulting in the straight edge label being given a negative name. However, not many that live edge are that militant - ShowYouSuck is proof of this. You may know him personally or have seen his interview with Straight Edge Worldwide on what it means to be edge, but his first single off of One Man Pizza Party 4, "Straight Edge XXX," is Show's public declaration of being edge after multiple allusions found throughout his One Man Pizza Party series.
Rapping over El-P's "Overly Dramatic Truth," the Chicago rapper shares his views on living a clean and sober life. If you've ever been to a ShowYouSuck show or seen him at a party, you know he has as much fun, if not more, as everybody else drinking and smoking with the added benefit of a fatter wallet and no risk of a hangover the next morning. Simply put: ShowYouSuck isn't anti-drinking/smoking, he's just pro-fun. "Straight Edge XXX" also gives a glimpse at a deeper, more personal style of writing for ShowYouSuck, which perfectly suits the end of his One Man Pizza Party series.
Listen to "Straight Edge XXX" below. If you want to see ShowYouSuck show you how to have some straight edge fun, vote for him to play this summer's North Coast Music Festival! All of the contest details can be found here.
http://youtu.be/i2zP5WupqvM
[Video] YP: "Softly"
YP is back with a new smoothed out track and visual titled, "Softly." This C-Sick produced cut was directed by Chicago's go-to director, D-Gainz and will be featured on his upcoming mixtape, Restless. Peep the track below.
http://youtu.be/t0ahv2o0Z80
[Video] Caleb James: "Mr. Jones"
There's no denying that Caleb James' The Jones will be another solid W for the SaveMoney collective once it drops. Caleb has always been one of the most polished artists from the buzzing local scene and his debut 'tape Ground Up showed us a lot of potential. His upcoming 'tape will surely turn a lot of that potential into a reality as we have seen happen in the previous leaks leading up to The Jones. Today we get a new track entitled "Mr. Jones" and a new video to go alongside with it. Directed by Davy Greenberg, this is a visual you don't want to miss.
http://youtu.be/FimlET_TwIw
ProbCause: "LSD" (feat. Chance the Rapper)
With Chicago rapper ProbCause's The Recipe vol. 2 dropping next week, what better way to signal the approaching release date with a drop of "LSD"? Featuring a verse by the super hot Chance the Rapper, the Complex-premiered "LSD" has the rappers embark on an acid-like trip over a Drew Mantia-produced beat that definitely captures the hallucinatory theme. Check out the track below.
Vote ShowYouSuck for North Coast Music Festival's Toast of the Coast contest
If you've seen ShowYouSuck live, you know his sets carry as much energy as a punk band playing in a basement with a low ceiling. Trust me, I've spent years in sweaty basements, and the energy I felt in my former years is the same feeling I get when I see Show live. Higher-ups have noticed, but not everybody is privy to what ShowYouSuck, Auggie the 9th, and Manny Muscles are capable of doing on larger stages.
This is where you come in. With North Coast Music Festival approaching in less than two months, they are throwing a contest to find one lucky act and DJ to share the North Coast stage this year with such notable artists as Wu-Tang Clan, Mac Miller, NaS, Danny Brown, and more. Years from now, don't you want to tell all of your friends that you helped ShowYouSuck share a stage with Wu-Tang? That you helped jump start that Danny Brown X Show You Suck sXXXe collaboration EP?
So how does it all work? Simply go on the Toast of the Coast website and vote for ShowYouSuck daily from now until July 22nd. The Top 20 vote getters will be cut down into 4 artists and 4 DJs and play a show at The Mid on July 31st where the powers that be will choose 1 artist and 1 DJ to play this year's North Coast Music Festival.