Promising young Westside rapper ZMoney belongs to a generation of Chicagoans, raised on dudes like Young Jeezy and Gucci Mane, who have mutated swagged-out ATL hip-hop into their own uniquely midwestern strain with its unique marble-mouth flows and roughly pretty autotune hooks. Although his music might sound at home alongside Southside drill rappers, ZMoney is […]
Read more
Chicago rapper Chancellor Bennett, better known as Chance the Rapper, wears his heart and his influences on his sleeve on his second mixtape “Acid Rap”. His strange, theatrical delivery style recalls recent artists like Danny Brown and Kendrick Lamar, with a fair helping of classic weirdos like Fatlip, Baatin, even a little Pimp C for good […]
Read more
We couldn’t make it to SXSW this year, but plenty of our favorite artists went down to the festival, including Chicago’s Rockie Fresh who hustled hard in Austin, performing at Warner and SPIN showcases during last week’s festival. Rockie is young rapper who’s been hanging around the music industry for a few years now, linking […]
Read more
Ty Dolla $ign is a member of the Los Angeles hip-hop production group D.R.U.G.$. along with Iggy Azalea producer Fuego and “ratchet music” pioneer DJ Mustard. He wrote YG’s 2010 regional hit “Toot It & Boot It” and the hook on Wiz Khalifa and Snoop Dogg’s “Young, Wild & Free,” and in 2011 he released […]
Read more
On his promising debut mixtape “Ice Cold Perm,” 19-year-old Bay Area rapper 100s blends the melodic, cloudy sounds of contemporary alternative hip-hop with a classic West Coast player attitude. The cover art references Snoop Dogg’s 1996 album art for “Tha Doggfather,” an appropriate allusion for a charming, skinny kid playing the role of a cold-hearted […]
Read more