FOR THE COMMON GOOD
Connections grow among Chicago hip-hop artists
Chicago hip hop is cross-pollinating in a big way. Thoughtful, poetic verses are melding with sinister beats. Happy, catchy summer songs are being blessed by a verse or two of drill. North Side rappers are vibing with South Side rappers, who are vibing with West Side rappers. The proof is in the new releases. Com
mon’s “Nobody’s Smiling,” which drops on Tuesday, features drill’s Lil Herb and
King Louie plus another hot young lady emcee, Dreezy. Chance the Rapper’s lit
tle brother, Taylor Bennett, just released a mixtape, “Mainstream Music,” featuring, among others, Rockie
Fresh and Lil Herb. And, not too long ago, into-everything Kanye West remixed drill king Chief Keef’s “I Don’t Like.”
Common even gave his album covers — there are seven of them— to local rappers. It’s time, says the rap activist, for everyone else to know that Chi-town hip hop supports each other and the city.
“This album definitely for me was an opportunity to give back in a real direct way; to find the artists from Chicago that I connect with and that I love,” he says, talking one-on-one just after a listening party held at downtown space Untitled. “Lil Herb? I feel he raps with a certain soul and hunger that I appreciate. And Dreezy, who I really love, I ain’t know how good she was until I heard her on [her remix to Nicki Minaj’ and Herb’s] ‘Chiraq,’ and I was like ‘this girl is dope.’ ”
Common reached out to each artist, and with the production direction of Chicagoan and now Def Jam executive No I.D., put together an album he describes as “the soundtrack to a movement.” Some might say this is a ploy to sell records to Chicagoans, but let’s be honest, Common doesn’t have to share. And, in a music world dominated by cliques, it’s refreshing to see several artists coming together to rep their city. It’s also good business since nearly to a person, most of the artists named want to conduct the majority of their business in Chicago without having to move to New York or Los Angeles to enter the so-called big leagues.
Also, in a very basic way, should all these artists attain Beyonce/Jay-Z super-duper star status, the city could recoup more than radio shoutouts. If local recording studios see more business, and more artists live here and more albums are recorded here, that drills down to more tax dollars for the city or the region.
It’s not a new concept, this musical equivalent of the city selfie. Usually, though, the bigupping takes place with verbal assists within one record label instead of incorporating several different labels or using independent artists.
Bennett, 18, in a separate interview, affirms that city-specific collaborations blending hip-hop boundaries are good for the landscape. “It’s weird to be limited,” says Bennett, whose happyboppy recent release “New Chevy” features a verse by Louie. “We want to save Chicago,” he adds, “but not just the North Side.”
As far as sharing the “shine,” Common says he felt compelled to work with the full breadth and depth of the city’s artists. “If you are really shining, you can shine with 12 other lights on the stage, if you really shining,” he says. “I got seven album covers and only one of them got me on it. The rest are other artists, and I want people in the world to know them and to recognize their talents. It’s a good thing. We’re helping each other.”