Aahh! Fest at Union Park (9/21/2014)
Finally, a music festival that tailors very specifically to hip hop heads in Chicago. The inaugural Aahh! Fest in Union Park will take place on September 21st. Curated by Rhymefest himself, Aahh! Fest is a celebration of both established Chicago rappers, but also the local Chicago music and arts community. The festival will be split into two halves: From 10am - 1pm, Union Park will be host to a community showcase where talent from across the city will represent the Chicago music and arts education programs. This early show will feature a performance by Diggy Simmons and was put together with help from Donda's House, Inc.
The late show, which will go from 4pm - 10pm after the park closes for cleaning and maintenance, will be hosted by none other than Dave Chapelle and will feature Common, Lupe Fiasco, De La Soul, MC Lyte, Jennifer Hudson, Twista, Jay Electronica, Lil Herb, and "a very special surprise guest" who may or may not be Kanye West.
Tickets are still on sale for Aahh! Fest, which can be purchased here.
[RH Photos] North Coast Music Festival 2014 Recap
This post was originally published by our affiliates at Chicago Music. Photos by Alex Lapenia and Jesse Pizano of Three Card Photography. Recap by Kevin Baker.
North Coast Music Festival 2014 took over Chicago Union Park last weekend as thousands of people came to see some of the world’s best EDM and hip hop acts perform their greatest hits. Labor Day weekend set the perfect stage for festival goers as the 5th Annual North Coast was looking to be a big success. Friday was a beautiful day as the sun came out from the cloudy skies to drench the stages waiting for the likes of Keys N Krates, ProbCause, Showtek, Alesso, Bassnectar, and many more to perform. Saturday and Sunday continued the party with performances from Adventure Club, Nicky Romero, STS9, Talib Kweli, Little Dragon and Kid Cudi on Saturday, and Porn and Chicken, Riff Raff, Ookay, Zeds Dead, and Snoop Dogg closing on Sunday.
North Coast Music Festival 2014 was a huge success, and we look forward to seeing what 2015 has in store. If you missed out this year, make sure you get your tickets early for next year’s festival, as North Coast Music Festival will only get bigger and bigger. Read on as we share our recap from North Coast Music Festival 2014.
[Video] Chance the Rapper's Full Lollapalooza 2014 Set
Photo by Andrew Zeiter
Short post with this one, as you should just go straight for the video with this one. In case you missed Chance the Rapper's Lollapalooza 2014 set, it's now available to stream. Watch it, enjoy it, and bask in the light that has been Chance's amazing meteoric rise over the past year and a half.
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[RH Photos] Taylor Bennett, Vic Mensa, and NaS at House of Blues Chicago (8/3/2014)
Photos and write-up by Bryan Lamb.
I've been to the House of Blues a hand full of times, but this being the end-all-be-all of Lollapalooza 2014, the energy was different. Performing at the House of Blues once again makes for another landmark moment for the up and coming Taylor Bennet, who was followed by the "Down on My Luck" artist Vic Mensa, who kept the show moving, with NaS performing as the closing act. Both Vic and NaS performed at Lollapalooza just a day or so before the House of Blues show. It was interesting to see their sets in a more intimate setting, and they still had enough energy at the end of Lolla weekend to keep the crowd moving. Take a look at the photos I shot from the show below.
Epic: "Do Dat At"
It's been a long while since I've personally heard from music from Epic, which by my count is about two years now since the City of Win mixtape dropped back in 2012. Since then, the landscape of Chicago hip hop has changed as the scales have tipped over as a new generation of young rappers have arguably carried the torch for the local scene. However, that's not to say that some of the older guys in the mix aren't doing their part to ensure Chicago hip hop isn't just for the young new cats. Enter Epic.
The former BBU member is making his solo entry into the music world with the debut of his new single “Do Dat At” from his upcoming album #OPRAH. The party banger, produced by Stefan Clark of City of Win, proves that Epic hasn't missed one beat as he reps the Windy City throughout the song. #OPRAH has been in the works for awhile now, dating back to when BBU was on tour with Das Racist and Danny Brown in 2012. #OPRAH's primary producer is the aforementioned Clark with Mark Yoshizumi helping out on the album, as well. As Epic sees it, #OPRAH is a fully collaborative passion project, stating, "It's one thing for you to believe in your art, but when you have people in your corner that believe in it, great things happen. Without Stefan Clark and Mark Yoshizumi this project would still be in my head."
With a late summer release scheduled for #OPRAH, including more singles and video drops, the next couple of months just may prove to be Epic.
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[Video] Katie Couric Interviews Lupe Fiasco
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Celebrity ambassador and hip-hop artist Lupe Fiasco’s new single, “Mission,” off of his fifth studio album Tetsuo & Youth, is coming out with the intention of empowering those struggling with cancer and paying tribute to those who have passed from it. The first minute and a half of the track consists of cancer survivors sharing their story, but the crux of the song is personal, pertaining to Lupe’s experience losing his grandmother to breast cancer.
Lupe’s interview with Katie Couric concerning “Mission” starts off on a distinct note, with Katie addressing Lupe’s statement pertaining to Obama being “the biggest terrorist” he recognizes in his fight against terrorism. The repercussions of this statement have resulted in Lupe being blackballed, losing friends and board members of the Lupe Fiasco Foundation, and various sponsorships. Questioning America’s first black president in the public eye ignited a slingshot effect right back at Lupe, in which many questioned not only his loyalty to his own race, but his overall role as a celebrity ambassador.
Hashing out political views with Katie segues into deeper discussion on Lupe’s reputation as a “pioneer of the conscious hip-hop movement,” ultimately bringing the spotlight on source material that transcends identity, race, political ideals, and religion: the issue of disease. Lupe’s focus on cancer aims not only to cope with his personal loss, but also to bring attention to the illness and highlight a sense of strength that evolves through adversity.
Lupe’s currently working on a remix of “Mission” called “Re-Mission,” which will include many more voices and testimonials. This remix includes Katie Couric herself contributing her story of losing both her husband and sister to the disease. While Lupe continues to be vocal about controversial subject matter and issues that hit close to home, he proceeds to move forward as a social figure despite any heated noise that may surround him.
Check out the interview with Katie Couric and Lupe Fiasco above and listen to "Mission" below.
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Treated Crew x Stüssy x Saint Alfred: "Treated Tribe"
Treated Crew, a collective based in Chicago, has joined forces with both Stüssy and Saint Alfred to collaborate on a project involving a new selection of apparel and a mixtape. The collection and the mixtape are both referred to as Treated Tribe. The apparel is modeled by Pusha T (with photos by Jesse Lirola), and is heavy in print, text, and graphics.
The “Treated Tribe” clothing collection mainly consists of black and white colors with a paisley print that is reminiscent of the crew’s logo, Treated Crew’s artwork for their album TreaTed, and Stüssy’s own signature branding. The simple arrangement of black and white statement pieces appropriately captures a vital essence of each party involved in the collaboration, a fundamental vibe that can be described as straightforward and versatile.
The artwork done for the album Treated Tribe reflects some of the predominant patterns used in the collection of apparel. Contributors to the mixtape include Mic Terror, Mano, Hollywood Holt, Gzus Piece, Jon James, Saint Millie, He Say/Say She, Sulaiman, Max Wonders, A.K., Nick Junior, HighLife, Lee Majorz & PST Saint.
The clothing collection dropped at Saint Alfred’s on Saturday, May 31st. Although the local boutique has already sold out, the Treated Tribe collection hit Stüssy’s online shop on June 2nd and is still available there for purchase. Check out some of the Treated Tribe apparel below and download Treated Tribe on iTunes now.
[Video] Isaiah Toothtaker: "La Mer"
Photo by William Olguin
It’s been a long eight months since Isaiah Toothaker and Jacob Safari’s ?OTHING came out. At the time of its release, I singled out “La Mer” as the highlight of the Nine Inch Nails-sampled project thanks to Safari's production and Toothtaker's introspective lyrics. Not long after ?OTHING was released, I talked to Toothtaker about the project where he revealed that a few videos were planned to support the EP. Thanks to SPIN, the first of the ?OTHING videos was released earlier today, fittingly for the aforementioned standout, "La Mer."
The video runs counter to some of Isaiah's past videos, opting for more of a simple, minimalistic style than what we've come to expect from the rapper (especially in comparison to the amazing "Frownin'" video with Gunplay). However, while some might miss the stylistic flourishes from Isaiah's video backlog, the "La Mer" video more than makes up for with Isaiah's singular style, complete with the rap squat and a fat 30 pound gold chain; the gold motif also extends past the ever-present chain, but also in Isaiah's jewelry and curtain backdrop. No bells, no tricks, no whistles - the focus is on the music, and damn if this isn't one of my favorite Isaiah Toothtaker songs.
You can check out the video for "La Mer" below.
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