[RH Photos] Brisk Bodega Presents: Dj Mustard, Do Or Die and More at Double Door (7/12/2014)
Photos by AngieStar Photo
This summer, Brisk is partnering with Noisey, VICE’s music channel, to bring the Brisk Bodega, a live music party experience to 6 cities across the US. Just this past weekend, Brisk Bodega Chicago featured Dj Mustard, Do Or Die, Tree, and Dj Moondawg at Double Door, and the night was a hit. The venue was comfortably crowded, full with good vibes, and non-stop dancing or head bopping from start to finish. The complimentary Brisk cocktails made it even better.
In case you haven't heard of all the artists featured, you will definitely hear their names more in the near future. Headlining all Brisk Bodega shows is DJ Mustard, an LA native, who is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after producers in the music business. Some of the most recent songs he has produced include chart-topping hits like 2 Chainz ("I'm Different"), Young Jeezy ("R.I.P.") and Tyga ("Rack City"). Complex has also taken note, naming him one of their "25 New Producers To Watch Out For", sequentially, he signed with Roc Nation late last year. Mustard ended the night at Double Door, playing all his smash hits to date, and leaving everyone wanting more.
Amongst Chicago's exclusive featured artists for Brisk Bodega were Do Or Die, the west side rap trio, consisting of group members Belo Zero, N.A.R.D. and AK-47. The trio has sold more than 3 million albums worldwide, topping charts in the 1990's and the 2000's, and are set to release a new album by the end of the year. Performing tracks like "Po Pimp", "Playa Like Me and You", and "Do You", kept the crowd reminiscent and proud of their distinct home town sound.
One of the newer faces to perform that evening was Tree, a producer, rapper stemming from the city's notorious Cabrini Green projects. He brought to the stage Chris Crack and the New Deal Crew, partners in the Soul Trap movement, and kept the vibe live and energetic for the whole set. All members involved are rising to be major trendsetters for the Chicago Hip-Hop scene.
Lastly, we can't forget to mention Dj Moondawg, one of the country’s premier DJs, responsible for discovering, breaking, and supporting Chicago artists Chief Keef (Interscope), Lil Durk & Lil Reese (Def Jam), King Louie (Epic), and YP (Universal) on his radio show with WGCI. He kicked off the night's pulsing energy with non-stop bangers, and proved to be a key player to night's success.
I was able to get exclusive full media/ stage access, and got to experience each performer's great energy from beginning to end. Check out some of our favorite shots below and be sure to check out more here. Brisk Bodega is headed to hit New York City on July 18th. If you're in the area, do yourself a favor and RSVP for NYC here.
[Songs of the Day] 2/28/14 (Feat. A$AP Rocky, Wild Beasts & Chris Crack)
Photo by Andrew Zeiter
Friday is here at long last and we have another list of new music for you to check out before you head out for the night. Starting things off, we have another impressive track off the soundtrack to "Divergent" as A$AP Rocky teams up with Gesaffelstein for "In Distress". Boy In A Movie teased his upcoming album with the single, "Change You", Sizzy Rocket got to some admissions in "I Wanna Rob", Perfect Pussy, one of the more interesting names to comes across the radar recently, drop a rock-heavy single in "Interference Fits" and Wild Beasts' song "Wanderlust" gets a remix from The Field. Chris Crack also teamed up with TREE for the entertaining "Follies" and street reporter Giftz let loose a new one in "Movie". Check out all of the tracks, streaming below.
Track of the Day: Chris Crack: "Follie" (Feat. TREE)
A$AP Rocky: "In Distress" (Feat. Gesaffelstein)
Boy In A Movie: "Change You"
Sizzy Rocket: "I Wanna Rob"
Perfect Pussy: "Interference Fits"
Chris Crack: "Follies" (Feat. TREE)
Wild Beasts: "Wanderlust" (The Field Remix)
Giftz: "Movie"
[Video] Tree: "Like Whoa"
Chicago's own MC Tree has been busy as hell lately. The creator of the sub-genre known as "Soul Trap" teamed up with Scion last month to drop the seven song @MCTREEG EP, yesterday dropped, "More Than You Know" a gem that he'd been sitting on for a minute via Closed Sessions and today, the raspy-voiced producer/rapper returns with a fresh visual for his track, "Like Whoa" off the @MCTREEG EP. The video is shot in Tree's hometown and follows him as he crisscrosses the city in the dark days of winter as he continues a smart relationship with Scion AV. Check out the full video for "Like Whoa" below.
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[Songs of the Day] 2/4/14 (Feat. Hit-Boy, Tree, Phantogram & More)
For today's "Songs of the Day" we have a cross-genre collection of releases that hit the' net in the last 24 hours. Hit-Boy dropped showed he's a double-edged sword on his latest release, "Tyson 87", Vancouver product Cyril Hahn teams up with British songstress Javeon for a soulfully electric ride on "Breaking". Beck also pops back up with a new song in "Walking Light".
A pair of Australian acts find themselves on our list, as Paces delivers a dance floor banger with Erin Marshall on "Julian" and duo Prolife unveil their latest in the ominous, eccentric track "Gold Leaves" which premiered today on The Fader. Chicago also sees a pair with Tree dropping his latest collaboration with Closed Sessions in the unearthed, Thelonious Martin-produced track, "More Than You Know", while Black Matt gives us "Rhyming & Pimping". Big Gigantic also teased their new album, which is a week away, by premiering "The Night Is Young" featuring Nashville duo Cherub via ThisSongisSick.
Track of the Day: Phantogram: "Bill Murray". It got a little head-start on our other choices from today based purely on the title, but Phantogram's "Bill Murray" continues to prove why the Phantogram duo is regarded by many to be at or near the forefront of genre-bending music.
Hit-Boy: “Tyson 87”
Cyril Hahn & Javeon: “Breaking”
Paces: “Julian" (Feat. Erin Marshall)
Prolife: “Gold Leaves”
Tree: “More Than You Know”
Black Matt: “Rhyming & Pimping” (Feat. EMS)
Big Gigantic: "The Night Is Young" (Feat. Cherub)
Beck: “Walking Light”
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Phantogram: "Bill Murray"
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[Mixtape] Tree: "@MCTREE_G EP"
Chicago's own MC Tree decided to christen 2014 with some fresh Soul Trap by surprise today, releasing the seven song @MCTREE_G EP earlier today on the Internet. The 29-year-old artist continues to carve his own niche within the ever-more dense local scene with his crafty sample chops and raspy spitting that reflects Tree's everyman spirit. @MCTREE_G EP, aside from being one of the best Twitter promotions in recent memory, is the latest release from Tree since 2013's Sunday School 2. It's not everyday that someone comes along with a uniquely different sound that can be appreciated from so many angles. With a Pitchfork performance and co-signs from MTV, among others, expect plenty more to come from Tree throughout this year.
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.
The Purist: "Never Heard Of That" (feat. Tree)
Despite already producing for the likes of Danny Brown, Havoc and Sean Price, The Purist is still a bit of an unknown producer from the UK. His case is pretty similar to Tree, who has released a couple of critically-acclaimed projects and performed at this year's Pitchfork Fest, but is still under the radar of various blogs and listeners. These two artists decided to transition their commonalities into a track, and the result is "Never Heard Of That," a collision of styles and visions that end up with a smooth record carried by MC Tree's gritty vocals and raw honesty.
This track is a single for The Purist's recently released deluxe-edition album TR-ill and you can buy it here.
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[Video] "Devotion" A Tree Documentary by Closed Sessions
Photo by Virgil Solis
Closed Sessions has always made its name by blending hip-hop with documentary-style video. No one does it better than Andrew Zeiter, responsible for most of the original CS videos over the years. The Tree documentary was shot around Pitchfork Music Festival July 21-23 in Union Park in Chicago where Tree performed for the first time earlier this summer. Closed Sessions has always teamed up with talented local artists, collaborations with the Soul Trap innovator have been well done and the latest coming out of Soundscape Studios is no different. Check out the full video below.
http://youtu.be/vw7cpLCoC1Q