“poster CHILD” is an early favorite. Not only does it highlight AUSAR’s dexterity as a storyteller, but he uses Chicago’s connective tissue as a device to illustrate his career and personal development. We hear the South Side emcee go from being schoolmates with Taylor Bennett in grade school, to auditioning in front of Chance The Rapper in college to finding himself amidst an exciting new movement in the city as a young adult.
Read MoreA rapper who spits perceptive verses over introspective soul samples, The Third is undeniably skillful at his craft. The intense effort and consistency across his discography act as further proof that the young rapper is wise beyond his years. It’s no surprise that The Third was the winner at this year’s Young Chicago Authors’ MC Olympics.
Read MoreThere are a lot of things I don’t understand about KAFIZA, like how they wrote, recorded, and released their album in one month (the shortest month, at that). Or how they’re managing to book an American tour when they’ve existed for less than six months. But after sitting down and talking to them, some of it started to make sense. I could try to explain, but I’ll let you, reader, suss it out for yourself.
Read MoreOn The ONEderful Nephew, his new tape produced by Chicago-bred Brooklynite DJ Rude One, RXK Nephew kicks the door down between these two worlds while ripping through any preconceived notions fans and critics may have had about him.
Read MoreJay Wood sat down with These Days to talk about the film screening of his mini-doc for the single “HOMESICK” featuring femdot., the difficulties he faced while creating it, and the importance of fully funding arts programs in the public school system.
Read MoreWith the release of her album Moody Umbra checked off her list, Shawnee Dez is moving into the next phase: cultivating its legacy amongst old and new listeners.
Read MoreIn light of their recent U.S. tour with whoTF, we caught up with Fraxiom to talk about moving to Chicago, their production methods, and their plans for this year.
Read MoreThese Days had a chance to sit down with Tramaine to get more context on how he became the prolific writer that he is, the differences between Chicago & L.A., why his sound is so Southern in nature and more.
Read MoreStaff writer Ben Moskow spoke to Ferreira back in June 2022, before his show at Chicago’s gorgeous Epiphany Center for the Arts, which featured local artists Open Mike Eagle and UDABABY as openers.
Read MoreGrowing up listening to the likes of DJ Premiere, Nas, OutKast, and J. Cole, Amir’s care for songwriting and rapping dexterity is more than evident in his songs.
Read MoreThese Days catches up with rapper Jabba44x to learn more about his upbringing in Chicago, how basketball influenced the work ethic he approaches his music with, the concept behind his next project Prairie Ave. and more.
Read MoreWe caught up with Toronto-based singer-songwriter, Shanuka, to better understand her artistry and growth over the last few years and hear about her upcoming releases for 2023.
Read MoreIn anticipation of his upcoming single and defprez’s new album, It's Always a Time Like This, we sat down with CRASHprez to talk about his recent merch drop, releasing new music, collaborating with other artists, and much in between.
Read MoreThese Days editor Iman Music sits down with Amira Jazeera to learn more about her move to Chicago to pursue music, how she makes room for growth, and navigating social media as an artist.
Read MoreStaff writer Allie Antonevich caught up with Dora Jar briefly over the phone before her concert at Schubas Tavern back in late 2022.
Read MoreRead our Q&A with King Melik below to learn about how he first got into music and his aspirations for the future.
Read MoreAn example I found this year was Chicago-based producer and composer Norfik’s Escape. A six-track EP that unboundedly explores the sonic characteristics of IDM, ambient, and club-ready jungle music while cohesively piecing these concepts together in a way that can only be described as liberating.
Read MoreDehd’s Blue Skies, released in May 2022, was the ideal soundtrack to a Chicago spring. For 32 minutes, Dehd do what they do best: deliver earworms with punk sensibilities and indie rock execution.
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