With a little over six years in the game, I've come to appreciate a lot of Chicago based artists, and it should come as no surprise that the majority of them aren't making rounds on the national late night TV circuit. Most are local acts still on their grind making music fueled by passion and not their checking account. There's no other point in an artist's career that is more raw and honest than when they're making music for themselves, not the business. 

For Chicago duo The Highest Low, that time is now, and although life might be a "beach" sometimes, Just Wise and Snotty Pippen have taken life's obstacles in stride, using it as fuel for their more traditional approach to hip hop. Short and sweet, "Life's a Beach" makes a lasting impact with just five tracks. It's been a while since The Highest Low has released new music and they take full advantage of the opportunity to get old and new listeners all caught up with their lives. 

Before diving into the project, get Just and Snotty's take on the EP and life in general below. 

Can you tell us about who The Highest Low is and why we should be listening to Life's A Beach?

Well, The Highest Low is Snotty Pippen and Just Wise. Two regular ass, anime watching, beer drinking, ethnic types who said no to being boring so we make rap music. We made our way throughout the Chicago music scene over the years but are hungrier than ever now. We think our homie Sev Seveer who made all the tracks for the project is a really dope beatsmith with a distinct style that contrasted well with us. Plus he's got the illest head nod in the game, haha. 

How have you approached the creation and release of this project differently than those is the past?

Well it's been a little while since we released a project. That being said its pretty lo-fi and down tempo which is a lot different than the The Bootleg Sessions. Sev does a great job of making this vibe completely off hardware which is pretty rare these days. Although the EP is on the shorter side, we feel like it was more cohesive than projects we've made in the past. 

How does life outside of music influence your craft?

Just interaction in our daily lives has made such a big change. Whether it's relationships, friendships, making new friends on the road, getting older etc. As a person you grow and that just makes your art reflection of that growth. 

Where can fans see you next and where can new listeners learn more about you?

Definitely link us on the social medias. Twitter, justwise_hrg & snottypippen_hrg on IG, and Facebook. We've been on the road with the WHOevers for a few dates, the next will be Cincinnati 7/30 for the AYE Art and Music Festival. Then we'll be in Detroit 8/5 at the Old Miami. We'll also be doing a homecoming show at Subterranean with those guys on 8/26. More details on that soon. Definitely looking forward to to connecting with anyone who listens and hopefully they connect to the vibes.