|
 RhymefestWindtalkers: Chicago's own finally going for the
almighty dollar.
[1 August 2006]
Some of the
artists living the life talk about Chicago's rap scene.
Plus, PopMatters names the top 10 Chicago hip-hop
up-and-comers. |
by Ben Rubenstein
Basking in the glow of the spotlight at Chicago's Metro,
longtime local rapper Juice steps to the mic, his eyes
gleaming. Thus far his set, the closing performance of the 4th
annual Chicago Rocks hip-hop showcase, has lacked much of the
energy for which he's been renowned. But now it looks like the
man's got something to say. "Fuck Rhymefest", he declares,
before launching into a fierce set of songs ripping the fellow
rapper, using Fest's beats and words against him.
Most of the crowd knows the reason for this biting tribute;
the night before at the Abbey Pub, Rhymefest challenged the
crowd with his own controversial statement: "Fuck Juice, I'm
the freestyle king". Though the flashy Fest has already had
more commercial success than Juice may ever achieve outside
the city limits (his major label debut, Blue Collar,
was released in July), it was probably an unwise move to
challenge the Scribble Jam champion. The result was the
unanimous highlight of the two night event, which featured
over 20 acts from all parts of the city.
Psalm One
Ten to Watch
Diverse
A native of Evanston, Diverse's
delivery has earned him praise (and guest spots) from
the likes of Mos Def, Vast Aire and producer RJD2.
(Recommended: "Ain't Right", from One A.M.)
Longshot
A longtime organizer on the
scene, his Civil War project calls attention to the
divisions within Chicago and creates opportunity for
change. (Recommended: "Not My Style", from
Sacrifice)
Lupe Fiasco
Perhaps best known for his
verse on "Touch the Sky" from Kanye West's latest, this
devout Muslim is about to come into his own with his
upcoming release. (Recommended: "Kick Push", from
Food and Liquor)
Psalm One
Called a cross between Lauryn
Hill and Devin the Dude, her new album will be released
by Rhymesayers Entertainment this summer. (Recommended:
"Rap Star", from Death of Frequent Flyer)
Qualo
This loud-as-they-wanna be quartet
was recently signed to Universal, and boast a whole lot
of songs that skewer the rap game. (Recommended: "Do
What the Track Say", from Believe)
Q.U.E. Billah
Recently named 'Best
Unsigned Artist' by The Source magazine. (Recommended:
"Night & Day", from Can I Have Your Attention
Please?!!)
Rhymefest
Longtime Chicago native perhaps
best known for co-writing "Jesus Walks" with Kanye West.
(Recommended: "Fevah", from Blue Collar)
Serengeti
The schizophrenic, idiosyncratic
MC draws from a variety of influences, from rock to rap
to Brian Dennehy. (Recommended: "Dirty Flames", from
DirtyFlamingo).
Typical Cats
This trio (Qwel, Qwazaar and
Denizen Kane) has released two albums on underground
label Galapagos 4 to great critical acclaim.
(Recommended: "Thin Red Line", from Typical Cats)
Vakill
In on the Molemen collective since
the beginning, this near South Side MC has built a
strong following for his dark, gritty rhymes.
(Recommended: "No Mercy", from Worst Fears
Confirmed.) |
It's fitting that an event bent on demonstrating intra-city
collaboration and unity should be overshadowed by a dispute
over rapping superiority. While it's made strides in recent
years, the Chicago hip-hop scene has long lagged behind that
of other major cities in large part due to its fractious
nature. Many artists appear more interested in bringing others
down and complaining, instead of working together toward a
common goal. Chicago
Rocks, the brainchild of local hip-hop moguls Molemen (Panik, PNS and
Memo), is probably the most powerful example of how
efforts are being made to change that perception around the
city. With Chicago becoming an increasingly visible spot on
the musical map, local artists are sensing the importance of
seizing the opportunity. But can they work past their
differences to make Chicago the hip-hop destination it should
be?
"When I look at the hip-hop scene, it's just a reflection
of the city; it's very segregated," says Panik, the Molemen's
respected leader. "Our goal with [Chicago Rocks] was just to
have different people network that haven't networked.
Old-school cats and new-school cats... we kinda wanted to do
everything."
"It's a chance for the kids to see everybody at one time,"
says local MC and radio host Pugslee Atomz. "They might not
know who these different people are individually, but that
night they get to get plugged in... it just makes you want to
check out more stuff in the city."
"Please don't call us Haterville"
— Longshot
and Pugslee Atomz, "Haterville"
If Chicago Rocks is a gateway drug to local hip-hop, then
Ang 13 might be the scene's most fervent D.A.R.E. officer. At
32, the MC (whose moniker is really just Angie with the "I"
and "E" flipped around) has seen what Chicago has to offer,
and has no reservations about expressing her displeasure.
"Hip-hop has been in existence in Chicago since probably the
mid-'80s. At this point, you got cats comin' into the game
that think they know what hip-hop is, but they still don't
recognize the struggle and the path that it took to get here."
Struggle is something that many Chicago artists know a lot
about, and it's not just about working hard to get to a
certain point — it's also about pushing others to support the
scene. "We really lack work ethic here," says Ang. "I'm guilty
of that, too. When I did finally start to get on point with
it, I noticed that other people really weren't."
"I think some people don't understand what working hard
means," says Pugslee. "They say to themselves, I worked on
Saturday, I did a show... like that one day made up for the
other six days. Every day, you gotta put forth that effort.
Some positive motion has to happen. Otherwise, you just got
little sparks happening, but no fire."
Pugslee's been doing his part to ensure the embers don't
die out completely. The veteran MC, a founding member of the
South Side Nacrobats crew, seems to be present at every
important hip-hop event in the city. His recent compilation,
Pugslee Atomz presents CTA Radio Chi City Hip Hop,
named after the show he hosts on local station WHPK (a
necessary stop for any aspiring Chicago artist), features all
homegrown talent in an effort to further collaboration and
citywide support.
This follows in the footsteps of what the Molemen have been
doing for years with their Chicago-themed mixtapes (including
the recent Chicago
City Limits Vol. 2) and production for a wide range of
local artists. "Ever since we got into the scene, we've been a
big advocate of networking and politicking with other people,"
says Panik. "As time has gone by, we've become more and more a
part of it. Now I feel Molemen are responsible for pushing
that envelope, to have people work together more."
One of the major ways they've done that is through Chicago
Rocks. "The first one was cool, the second one was getting
better and better, and it just started picking up," recalls
Panik. Now in its fourth year, "it's becoming a little bit
more of an all-city event. We try to pick some people that
haven't been heard as much, and we might wanna bring them to
the spotlight. Now we pick the freshest acts out there, known
or unknown, who we haven't had there that should be on there."
For all its unifying features, however, the event often
highlights the problems within this culture. "When things like
Chicago Rocks come up," says Ang, "you give people the flyer
and they see all these faces, and they think they should be on
there. They say 'what's he doin on there, he just came out,
I've been doing this for years!' I'm like, 'you know what the
problem is, what are you gonna do about it?' and then they
shut down.
"Every day I keep asking myself, why do you still want to
be involved with these people? Had I not been doing it since I
was so young, I wouldn't be doing it. I don't encourage
anybody to be getting into hip-hop right now. If you really
wanna do it then go ahead and do it, but really, for Chicago,
it's not worth it."
"MC'in from Chi, just bein' from Chi, and if you
act like you don't know then you'll be fleein' from Chi..."
— E.C. Illa & Rubberroom, "Taste of Chicago"
"I've thought about [leaving Chicago] plenty of times,"
says Panik. "It's kinda like being mad at your family or
something like that. You get mad at your family but you
realize you're family, so it's like we're back together. I was
born and raised in Chicago and it's hard to leave it."
Adds Pugslee, "No one should be staying at home everyday.
You should be out connecting with other folks. I try to get
out of the city at least once a month, because you gotta
spread it. I talk to a lot of the bigger artists here, and
that's what got it moving."
Some of those "bigger artists" include Common and Kanye
West, both of whom no longer spend much time in Chicago. "If
someone leaves and they do well, I'm not gonna hold it against
them," says Panik. "Everyone has their own path. I'm gonna
stick around. Now it's come to a part when Chicago's trendy,
for MTV, for major labels, for major publications. This is a
good time to be from Chicago, so why leave now? All that hard
work is gonna pay off."
If things are going to happen for Chicago, now is the time.
Local artists are riding high atop the industry, and huge
musical events like Lollapalooza are putting Chicago at the
center of the music universe this summer. As much as the
outside world is paying attention to Chicago (and
internationally, this kind of attention is nothing new -
according to Panik, people in Europe and Australia have been
aware of the scene here since the early days), it's going to
be just as important that the city continues to build from
within and make people notice.
According to Pugslee, the city is ready for whatever comes.
"They (national labels) are not gonna miss out on money; if
Lupe Fiasco kills it when his record comes out, and Rhymefest
kills it when his record comes out, and on the independent
side when Molemen's doing their thing and All Natural's doing
their thing and Juice with Conglomerate's doing his thing,
like, why wouldn't they want our pennies? We gotta dig in, and
try to get some of that paper."
Obviously, it's not going to be easy. But those who have
been here since the beginning are accustomed to the hard road,
and seem willing to do whatever it takes to succeed. "You
really can't look for someone to come get you, you gotta go
get it," says Ang 13. "If you want it bad enough, nothing is
gonna stop you from getting it. It's frustrating, it's
time-consuming, it's sickening... and I love to do it every
single day."
"We do it like that for those who wanna step to
this/Swing a flow like a fist 'cause Chi Town don't miss"
— Juice, "We Do It Like That"
As his set nears its conclusion, Juice stops the show one
more time. "I have a special guest," he announces to the
Chicago Rocks crowd. "Where's my man Marvo?" Out comes a
rapper who looks no more than 16 (turns out he's 20), swathed
in gold chains, a baseball cap perched on his head. He may be
small, but he commands the stage with his raps about the city
he grew up in and will fiercely protect. What's more powerful
than his words, however, is the scene that surrounds him.
Gathered around the stage, leaning on speakers, walls, or just
each other, are many of the performers from the two nights of
Chicago Rocks. As Marvo tells everyone to "put your C's up",
cupping his hand in a gesture symbolizing Chicago, the hands
of all of them go up. Ang 13 pumps her fist from the corner,
Pugslee Atomz, Q.U.E. Billah, Rhyme Scheme and others stop
hawking their wares in the crowd for a moment and respond.
Despite all the problems that occur here, it takes a kid to
help everybody remember that they're all from the same place.
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