SEARCH FOR: LIL DURK

DD Osama rising out of Harlem is one of the frontrunners of NYC drill. What separates DD from a lot of other drill artists is how quickly he rose to stardom this past year. The Sugarhill rapper has 1.1 million Spotify listeners and he hasn’t even been making music for a full year. Heavily influenced by his late brother Notti Osama who DD refers to as his favorite artist, the 16-year-old rapper quickly rose to fame after releasing ‘Dead Opps’ featuring his brother. This song has racked up almost ten million views on Raps & Hustle Youtube channel. Every single video on DD’s Youtube channel has amassed over 1 million views. His most watched video ”40s N 9s,” featuring SugarhillDdot received 13 million views in 5 months.  The rising superstar has already caught the eye of Drake, Lil Durk, and many other notable rappers. From modeling for Ye’s YZY Shades campaign and Drake’s NOCTA x Nike ‘Street Uniform’ collection, DD is already ahead of his class in many ways.  At the end of 2022, DD dropped an original freestyle with On The Radar Radio. It’s amazing to watch how comfortable DD has become with the mic over time and how much …

Breakthrough Florida rapper Real Boston Richey had an amazing streak in 2022. The independent artist has already received major support from Grammy award-winning artist Future, and Hip-hop rappers like Lil Baby and Lil Durk. Richey is the first artist to put on for Tallahassee since T-Pain back in 05’, so it’s not a shocker to witness how much effort he put toward creating a successful career for himself. His single “Bullseye 2” featuring Future, received over 17 million views in just four months. Richey also teamed up with Lil Durk on “Keep Dissing 2,” the music video accumulated ten million views in the first month, and now has a total of 21 million and counting. The 25-year-old rapper’s distinctive voice has built a following on Instagram of 447k, and over 1.4 million listeners on Spotify.  To end the year off right, Richey released his latest single “On Site.” I must say this song has been on repeat ever since releasing on December 23.  “Runnin’ through the light (Huh)/ If she treat me right, I might buy her ice (Haha)/Shit go down tonight, I might turn you to my wife (Yeah, Yeah)/Want you to be just like me, I’ma get you icy/Niggas tryin’ …

The empire that Lil Durk has built over the years is not something to take lightly, and neither is the lineup he has built with his Only The Family collective of other lyrical talents. We might not get to experience all of these artists in one place all the time, but it makes things so much more special when we do, and that was abundantly clear on last year’s Loyal Bros album. Fans raved about this project for the entirety of 2021 and even most of 2022, so it was only right that they made a second installment to the series, and it keeps the momentum going incredibly. The best thing about these albums is the fact that it showcases so many local emcees’ unmatched talents, but it also allows them to team up with other notorious spitters like Future, Kodak Black, Icewear Vezzo, Trippie Redd, and more, bringing a little bit of every part of the country to the party. One thing that I have to clarify is the fact that even though this is Lil Durk’s carefully curated project, it’s not strictly his album, and I quite admire the fact that he is able to take a step …

The empire that Lil Durk has built around his Only The Family label is truly magnificent, but I guess that’s what we should expect from an absolute veteran in the music industry. That’s not to take away from his accomplishments, either, because we’ve seen emcees who have tried to do what he has done, but they end up creating a little league team compared to his professional lineup of hitmakers. Simply put, Chicago wouldn’t be the same music mecca it is today without Lil Durk’s contributions, and he isn’t even close to being done. Along with the release of his brand-new Jerry Productions-directed video single “Hanging With Wolves” produced by Chopsquad DJ, Durk also announced that he and his OTF squad are planning to drop their Loyal Bros 2 album on December 16. We already know to expect a myriad of anthems, but with hometown heroes spitting verses alongside the lineup of features including Kodak Black, Future, Icewear Vezzo, and more, there’s no way that you can overlook this one when it drops next week on December 16th. While I’m not sure if his latest single is going to be included on the project or not, I could help but …

Photo Credit: Le3ay Studio As we’ve progressed through music, we have grown to see the many mediums that artists are using now to take their careers to the next level. We’ve seen artists get popular from Myspace and older social media platforms. Current social sites such as Instagram and TikTok play a huge factor in emerging artists as well. By far one of the most memorable moments in rap would be the rise of Soundcloud rap and the amazing talent that stemmed from it. Being able to watch artists like XXXTENTACION, Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti, Trippie Redd and Lil Yacthy take that platform and completely skyrocket into fame was such an amazing sight to see. While each of these artists has their own respective art and their own craft, they all share one thing in common being the OG’s of the Soundcloud rap community. Here we are in 2022, and we are witnessing the new generation of artists who catch their big break from Soundcloud and take their career to the next level. Some of those names are SSG Kobe, Yeat, Ken Carson, and none other than SoFaygo. First blowing up in 2019 with his breakout single “Knock Knock”, …

It feels so good knowing that the future of Chicago drill music is in great hands. The new generation of drill spitters are all bringing their own spins to the certified classic genre, but there is something about them that is reminiscent of the subgenre as it was back when it was first created over a decade ago. I don’t know if it’s the fact that most of these up-and-comers are also young like their predecessors were, or if they’re bringing the same amount of energy and hostility into the mix, but whatever it is, I am here for it and my excitement for the microgenre’s future is at an all-time high. I just miss the days back in high school when the latest Chief Keef or Lil Durk song would come out and it was the only thing you heard in the locker room before and after football practice because it was on a constant loop, so although high school is way in the past for me, this brings back those nostalgic memories 100%. PGF Nuk is one of the most successful young emcees in drill, and even though it feels like he hasn’t been in the scene for …

Lil Zay Osama has been on his grind for a handful of years now, but it was in 2019 that he really started to make a splash in the crowded Chicago scene. I say it’s crowded because there are just too many talented individuals in the city to stay tapped in with every single musician, and it can be very easy to overlook someone even if they possess tremendous skills. Unfortunately, Zay was one of these artists for a couple of years because even though he popped up from time to time and I liked his stuff, I just never sat myself down and listened with major intent. I’m not sure why I slept for so long, but I feel like 2022 was a major breakout year for Zay on my personal radar (not that it matters to a celebrated emcee like himself), and it seems like every time I finally settle into one of his releases, another one smacks me in the face. Back in August, he dropped Trench Baby 3, another insanely appealing album that continued the legacy of his Trench Baby saga, and when you saw features from fellow Chicagoans like G Herbo, Lil Durk, and PGF …

For over a decade, Chicago has been a drill city. Regardless of all the other incredible styles that have come to life throughout this time frame, drill has undeniably made the most noise and reminisced with listeners more than anything else, but with such an aggressive and attention-grabbing sound, how can you blame anyone? As some of these emcees have blown up to unbelievable levels, it is clear that even though they may have been raised by the streets, they used music as a way to get out of them. This has translated in the form of moving out of these potentially dangerous situations, buying luxurious items, and pretty much upgrading their lifestyles on all fronts. While this might be the goal for PGF Nuk, Chicago’s newest noise maker, he seems to still embody what it means to survive in the trenches. At the same time, he doesn’t just survive, he thrives as he continues to find success in the music industry, despite the fact that drill seemed to die down for a few years prior to his arrival on the scene. He is one of the only names you need to know in terms of drill’s revival, so even …

Growing up in an era of Chicago music like the one I got to witness was truly game-changing. I got to experience so much confident originality in a variety of different styles, so while the world seemed to be obsessed with the drill movement that was spearheaded by Chief Keef, Lil Durk, G Herbo, Lil Bibby, and more, there were plenty of other artists creating music by their own accord. Chance the Rapper and the entire SAVEMONEY crew changed the game, LUCKI proved that you don’t need to be in heavy radio rotation to blow up, and even local acts like BIGBODYFIJI seemed to be on top of the world considering the fact that the world seemed to revolve around the innovations being made right here in Chicago. During this time, various groups were formed, and even while too many of them to count were proving their own dominance, Kembe X and Alex Wiley’s group The Village brought even more revolution to the forefront of hip-hop. Even though this was over a half decade or so ago, Kembe has been a prominent voice in the city, and that is something that I don’t think will ever go unappreciated. Over the …

Watching 2Rare grow over this last year has been an amazing journey to witness. When you think of Philadelphia, artists such as Meek Mil. Lil Uzi Vert, PnB Rock, and Tierra Whack come to mind. 2Rare emerged on the scene and brought a new sound and some new moves that were unfamiliar at the time. In a short amount of time, the 22-year-old artist has gained millions of views across all streaming platforms, a co-sign from hip-hip megastar Drake, and recently Chicago rapper Lil Durk joined him on his hit single “Q-Pid”. The hip-shaking artist has also gone viral on TikTok numerous amount of times, with some of your favorite celebrities creating videos to his music. This past week, music executive Mel Carter, known for his work at Republic Records, announced 2Rare as the first artist signed to his new label Second Estate, in partnership with Warner Records. Warner Records will provide the full spectrum of marketing and distribution services for Second Estate’s artists and recordings. Carter will also serve as a consultant to the A&R team for Warner Records’ wide-ranging artist roster, working closely with Steve Carless (President of A&R) and Karen Kwak (EVP and Head of A&R). 2Rare …