Na$im Williams + SiSi Dior -Highway (Feat. ShowYouSuck & K'Valentine)
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Back and rejuvenated for 2018, RH is proud to premiere the energetic single "Highway", Produced by Na$im Williams & Frtyz and performed by SiSi Dior, ShowYouSuck, & K'Valentine. Stream the song above and check out what Na$im and Sisi have in store for 2018 with our exclusive interview below:
Alexy: “Have you ever awoken from a nightmare to realize you are not awake” is a very gripping start to a song, what was the purpose behind that phrase?
SiSi: It’s a couple meanings behind that phrase. I’ve always been plagued by night terrors and sleep paralysis when i wake up from my nightmare I’m still frozen in fear though I’m in my room i can’t move I’m still not fully awake. The other meaning behind the phrase is it’s a part of my project Twighlight Zone I came up with Twighlight Zone because i feel like I’m living in another dimension it’s like my worlds been flipped upside down and I’m just living through it.
SiSi: I’m always listening to a variety of music I love this Band “Tycho” I ran into this one track and was like i need Na$im to sample this i hit him up and he & my other Producer Frytz worked together to make a masterpiece. Then i hit up a couple of my friends ShowYouSuck & K’valentine they completed the record and the rest is history.
Alexy: What are your plans following the single? Is there a project in the works?
Na$im: This is my first release since January 2017. I put out a track featuring my artists from Harlem and Cam'ron. During this past year, I have had the chance to work on so many more records and better understand what I am good at as a composer; my team and I did a lot of studying. SiSi and I are releasing a project in February called "Twlight Zone". We are also releasing the B side later this year. We landed some pretty cool features on these EPs. SiSi is really going to leave her mark this year. I'm better than ever too!
SiSi: I’m planning on dropping my Ep Twighlight Zone late February. I also have another project in the works with Showyousuck set to drop soon.
Alexy: What are you trying to get across with this new project?
Na$im: We just really want our supporters and the music world to know we are here to stay. SiSi and I have only advanced ever since we teamed up. We are confident in our abilities as musicians and our new marketing plans. We've been working with a small yet dedicated team. The work will definitely show.
SiSi: I just want people to understand who I am I want the audience to live in my shoes. Everything is not always as glamorous as I️t may seem. I want to be respected for my Craft and showcase my talent in another light. New sounds New wave.
[Video] ShowYouSuck: "All Wavy Everything"
I've known ShowYouSuck for awhile now, yet whenever I feel like I have a grasp on what he's going to do next, he drops something like the music video for "All Wavy Everything." Serving as the third song from the Dude Bro EP to receive the music video treatment, "All Wavy Everything" (directed by Aaron Perkins, Jr./APJ Films) is a throwback to worn-out VHS tapes, Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, and an obsession with all green screen everything. Any fan of ShowYouSuck will also recognize the video's intro as a reference to Jim Henson and Frank Oz's Dark Crystal that Show has been more than happy to spread out across social media.
The "All Wavy Everything" video not only represents ShowYouSuck's heavy pop culture influences, but also an appeal to the [adult swim] crowd (with the aforementioned Tim and Eric feel, plus poorly-made polygonal characters akin to Xavier: Renegade Angel) that transcends past the typical Chicago hip hop crowd... but you've already come to expect that from the One Man Pizza Party by now, right? With co-production by Mike Jaxx and Peter CottonTale, "All Wavy Everything" is just what Chicagoans will need to get their minds off of this depressing, mid-April weather.
If you crave more to fill your ShowYouSuck fill, you can catch him playing at Reggie's on Friday with Kid Sister, Syd tha Kid, Angel Davanport, and Mr. E. Tickets for that show can be found on the Reggie's website. Be sure to purchase Dude Bro on iTunes and wish the rapper the happiest of birthdays this Sunday!
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[SXSW Journal] Day 1
Photo by Andrew Zeiter
After sixteen and a half hours in my past-her-prime Chevy Trailblazer, my knees were sore and my back was knotted but I had gotten to Austin, and it was time to dive back into the deep sea that is South by Southwest. After hiking downtown through the cab-less wasteland that is downtown ATX and picking up the proper credentials, I took off for the W Hotel where local Chicago music label Maek was taking part in the Fashion Brain Bar, a cocktail party and show on the fourth floor of the W that served to introduce invitees to new acts. So, there are always lessons, and this year I got one early.
Having found a pair of brand new Converse Chucks in my closet from Christmas, I decided to run around my first day of SXSW tearing up my feet to the point of almost utter disrepair. Gingerly walking my way down the vaunted sixth avenue I came across artists from around Chicago’s scene including Calez, Legit, Eryn Allen Kane and Stefan Ponce as everyone milled about, looking for the thing to do on a fairly dead Monday night offset by the rain. I had the chance to catch Charlotte, NC dance duo Styles N’ Complete who got the rooftop indoor-outdoor space jumping with hip-hop infused production pieces that were equal parts sample and original work. After that I rushed down to the other side of the freeway to link up with Supa Bwe, Karl, Blakkass Westley and Netherfriends who put on a set at the Volstead that set the bar high on night one as he killed his night cap with his looping sounds, interesting overall aesthetic and powerful stage presence got the alcohol-infused crowd that got pushed out at close.
Waking up the next morning, startled again by the lack of white icy hills outside my window in March, I continued a slow transition into the full breadth of what SXSW can offer as Chicago came out in full force, led by the enumerable Mayor Rahm Emmanuel himself for a pre-party at the aptly-named The Chicago House, which was filled with artists, media members and local movers and shakers from around the Windy City. Red 7 on 6th St. and Red River was the setting for Chicago Made Blog’s showcase, hosted by Hologram Kizzie, which started off with a rousing, endearing set from ProbCause, who when paired with his live drummer Cofresh is a true sight to see and got the steadily-building crowd worked up before the very talented singer-songwriter Bonzie took the stage, changing the aesthetic as the sun began to wane. Rockers Autumn Defense and Archie Powell and the Exports did their thing, showing Chicago has much more than just the hip-hop that has burst from it’s streets over the past couple of years. ShowYouSuck did what ShowYouSuck does, joined again onstage by compatriot Auggie The 9th he put on one of his best sets to date, crowd surfing, moving erratically from one side of the stage to the other and waxing knowledge on everything from ‘Big Gulps’ to ‘80’s Boobs’. As fans patiently waited, the show slowly ground to it’s headliner after a heavily Kanye-influenced DJ set from The Hood Internet, who flexed his production muscle a bit by bringing up a host of earlier performers onstage to do a series of tracks including ‘Sub-Zero’ off of ProbCause’s The Recipe Vol. 2 which may go down as one of the cooler moments of this years SXSW, as Auggie The 9th showed how hungry he is to take his game to the next level, eagerly tearing through bar after bar with vigor. Chicago seems to have a new act pop every year, and Auggie made a case for himself surrounded by some of the city’s finest. The big moment finally came around 1 am for Chance The Rapper and Peter CottonTale to take the stage, which revamped the crowd who had stood in line and inside the venue for nearly six hours. Chano started things off with the familiar “Good Ass Intro”, dropping into “Brain Cells” which got a juke mix before rolling through his Acid Rap catalogue. But, suddenly, as seems to happen in Austin during SXSW, the fire Marshalls called, the police showed up and a comfortably outstanding show was cancelled. And that was it. Two days down so far, plenty more to go.
[Video] ShowYouSuck: "Flip Phone"
Clinton Sandifer, affectionately known in many circles around Chicago as ShowYouSuck, knows how to turn a party up, and has proven that much at just about every show he has played in and out of his hometown. Mixing punk and hip-hop aesthetics, Show very well have the most live hip-hop set in the city. On Valentine's Day though? Show's a little more mellowed out, as he demonstrates for us on his latest video for the track "Flip Phone" off his 2013 project One Man Pizza Party 4: Slices After Death. Directed by Chris Beauchesne and animated by Benjamn Marasco, the video is wildly entertaining as the animations coincide with the lyrical content and the simple shot of Clinton by himself in a love seat, in what is becoming his trademark white dotted shirt, as the cartoon world wreaks havoc on him. ShowYouSuck has proven himself a capable artist in myriad situations and he's one artist we should see get his due in 2014. Check out the awesome video for "Flip Phone" below.
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[Video] ShowYouSuck: "80s Boobs"
Chicago's own ShowYouSuck meant business in 2013, and followed that up by releasing a gang of projects, the last of which, Dude Bro may be his most polished to date. The Closed Sessions' release dropped its latest video in support of the project, this one for the highly-anticipated "80s Boobs". The J. Arthur-produced track appropriately calls to mind the decade with the high synth use and the black and white visual is a simple affair, with translation subtitles rolling across the bottom while bras seem to be stocked in front of Show. The neon camera flares add a subtle 80s aesthetic to the video, shot by Addison Wright and J. Frank. In the end, the only nipples in the video are Show's, and he burns a bra. See it all for yourself, streaming below.
ShowYouSuck: "Watching Walking Dead Episodes 3, 4, 5"
There are few artists in hip-hop or otherwise who have a more full-stocked pop-culture lexicon than Chicago's own ShowYouSuck. The owner of one of the most exciting rap shows there is today, Show has rapped about everything from Big Gulps, clam chowder and decades old mammary glands and today returned to one of his favorite topics in the TV show "The Walking Dead" with three new installments of the ongoing series produced by Tha Hydrox. The latest episodes are distinguished by beat changes, each change indicates the beginning of the next episode. ShowYouSuck follows up a strong end to 2013 by reminding us of the everyman spirit that make ShowYouSuck's music so endearing and fun at the same time. Check out the latest, "Watching Walking Dead" episodes 3, 4 & 5 streaming below.
#100Trill: "Forever" (Feat. ShowYouSuck)
Fellow Chicagoans and Legion of Dudes members Grade Aplus and producer Mike Jaxx stay consistent with new material seemingly every week and today bring us the latest from their #100Trill collaboration, this time featuring another LOD artist, ShowYouSuck to spit a few bars over the Jaxx-production. "Forever" is the follow-up single to last month's "Sharkeisha" off the #100Trill's upcoming mixtape, Muzik to Check Yo Bitch To EP, due out in February. "Forever" navigates familiar territory for both Grade and Show, who traverse the recognizable pseudo-trap beat with clever wordplay and a catchy hook, "Forever I'm Ever Mackin'". With everyone in the Midwest trapped inside as Antarctica moves north for a couple days, expect plenty more heat to come out of the ever-working #100Trill duo. Listen to "Forever" streaming here below.
Top Chicago Rappers of 2013
Chicago hip-hop has enjoyed a certain popularity increase over the past couple of years. Where 2012 saw the rise of Chief Keef and "Drill", 2013 brought about a new flavor as listeners from across the country, initially hooked by the drill sound, began to explore the vibrantly eclectic different sides of the city and variety of sounds that make up what is the flourishing Chicago scene today. With seemingly everyone's eyes on the Midwest and so many talented artist rising from the area, we decided to compile a list of the top hip-hop artists from Chicago that had the biggest years in 2013. We based our decisions off of releases, co-signs, shows/tours and general influence throughout to put together who we thought had the best top to bottom 12 month cycles since this time last year. You may not agree with all of our decisions, so let us know in the comments. Without further ado, I give you the Chicago's hip-hop artists that elevated their game the most in 2013.