WGCI Big Jam brings Chris Brown, Young Thug, and more
WGCI’s Big Jam returned this year to the United Center featuring performances by some of the biggest names in business. Big Jam was the best place in Chicago to celebrate the end of 2016.
Stellar showings from Trey Songz, Chris Brown, Young Thug and many more made for an unforgettable night.Local Chicago talent represented their city strongly with G-Herbo, Lil Bibby, and Dreezy rocking the Big Jam stage. Opening to a strong early crowd these local favorites represented Chicago well.
G-Herbo | Lil Bibby | Dreezy
Sharing the stage G-Herbo and Lil Bibby joined forces and started off Big Jam strong. The only female artist on the lineup was Chicago’s own Dreezy. Dreezy a force to reckon with held her own and showed the Big Jam crowd why she’s one of the most talked about new artists.
Lil Yatchy | Desiigner
Fan favorite Lil Yatchy played to the crowd performing hits like “Night”, “Minnesota”, and “Broccoli”. One of the most talked about sets came from Desiigner. His outside-the-box performance took him all over the stage. Having the crowd in complete awe, Desiigner put on a show those in attendance won't soon forget.
Trey Songs
Owning every inch of the Big Jam stage, Trey Songz had the crowd in a complete frenzy. Songz, a crowd pleaser, matched his signature vocals with his just as impressive dance moves. The roaring was matched with Songz’ charismatic performance. There was some speculation as to whether or not Songz was going to perform due to an onstage breakdown of stage equipment last week. Songz didn’t disappoint the United Center with his stellar performance.
Chris Brown
Co-heading Big Jam was R&B juggernaut Chris Brown. Brown a true showman used every inch of the platform to dance every single of his signature hits. Brown led the United Center in the ultimate dance party. Without skipping a beat Brown didn’t stop giving one second of a showstopper performance.
Youg Thug
Young Thug ended the night with some of his crowd favorites. Young Thug’s performance was unfortunately cut short due to his allotted set time. The strict set time definitely created some confusion with the Big Jam crowd. Without proper good byes and final songs, the transitions were a bit off. Regardless of the time mix up, the sold out United Center crowd didn’t let the biggest house in Chicago slow down. WGCI DJ’s kept the crowd in a roar with classic Chicago juke jams. The atmosphere from the sold out crowd seemed homely. The dance friendly crowd made WGCI’s Big Jam the biggest house party in Chicago. There wasn’t a better way to close off 2016 then seeing some of the best in hip-hop and R&B.
Vic Mensa performs private show for Summer of Collaboration
Summer of Collaboration presented by AT&T partnered with Vic Mensa for a private show at Chicago's AT&T Michigan Ave store with street photographer Vivian Maier’s.
Maier was street photography’s best kept secret. Maier worked as a nanny in the Chicago suburb North Shore in the late 1990’s. That's where while working she took what would become some of the best street photography.
Maier’s work almost never saw the light of day if it wasn’t for Chicago artist John Maloof. Maloof purchased Maier’s extensive work at an auction. He found an extensive amount of film, negatives, and prints of hundred rolls of film, home movies, and audio tape interviews that all belonged to Maier.
Maloof hosted a presentation going over Maier’s mysterious life and talking about her work and the impact surrounding it. Described as a Mary Poppin’s type, this introverted photographer opened her subjects up in the most beautiful way.
Chicago rapper Vic Mensa when up on stage admired Maloof’s courage and passion for being bold and fearless. Mensa was set to perform only three songs but added an additional for go measure. He performed: 16 Shots, Shades of Blue, There’s Alot Going On, and U Mad.
We recently caught Vic Mensa at The Vic Theater while on his "There’s Alot Going On" Tour. While at the Summer of Collaboration event we witnessed a side of Mensa that most music fans don’t. Pegged as a south side rapper and Kanye West pupil, Mensa is keeping busy with work outside the studio.
Vic Mensa has been politically active when it’s come to personal issues. Vic Mensa participated in the Laquan McDonald demonstrations. He also volunteered at Flint, Michigan during their water crisis. Vic urges young voters to register to vote by offering his latest EP “There’s ALot Going On” for free when they registered to vote.
Vic Mensa made sure his personal efforts were made clear as the Roc Nation rapper treated fans to a stadium caliber performance. With so few attending the private event, from seeing the incredible photographs from Maloof and seeing one of best in the city with Vic Mensa, the Summer of Collaboration was one of the purest ways to end the summer off right.
View our photo gallery of Vic Mensa’s Summer of Collaboration event below!
[Video] Spenzo: "Wife Er"
Chicago native Spenzo has seen his name pop up on radio stations and websites across the country on the strength of his 2013 Young Chop-produced hit single "Wife Er," off his latest project, In Spenzo We Trust. Last night, the track got a visual treatment that helps explains Spenzo's policy on women these days. The track is already burning up the streets here in Chicago, with a proper video alongside it, "Wife Er" may just become the next big hit to come out of Chicago recently.
[youtube id="fTX5cQRn3TU"]
[Video] Vic Mensa in the Morning Riot Afterparty
Vic Mensa was back in town yesterday for a quick stop in while on the road with J. Cole and Wale on the "What Dreams May Come" tour. Before hosting a pop up shop at 657 W. Lake in Chicago's Loop, Mensa stopped by WGCI's Morning Riot After show to to kick it with Tony Sco and Leon Rogers and chop it up over the release of INNANETAPE, touring with J. Cole and how careful he is when crafting a song. It is certainly Mensa's time right now and he seems to be enjoying his turn in the limelight, check out the interview below.
http://youtu.be/gIpa1w5o7EY
[Video] The Whoevers on WGCI Morning Riot
One of the biggest gripes artists have had with the Chicago market over the years has stemmed from getting local radio play. WGCI has done a lot lately to dispel that problem, hosting several Chicagoland artists on their Morning Riot show, including Chance The Rapper and Lili K. Most recently, The Whoevers visited Tony Sculfield in the studio September 10 and luckily had a video person with them to capture everything. Check out the video for yourself below.
http://youtu.be/cqvo1uAuGkg
[Video] YP: "Greatest AKA Ali" (Presented by DJ Moondawg)
WGCI's DJ Moondawg brings us the latest from YP with a video for "Greatest" off his latest mixtape Restless. The video, directed by Hi-Def, plays on the song's Muhammad Ali-esque vibes with YP rapping in a boxing ring and overlays of Ali's voice and old fight footage. Check out the video below.
http://youtu.be/48XnaXXEpiY