SEARCH FOR: MIXTAPES

Last week I was at Schubas Tavern in Chicago for a These Days showcase to see my good friend CP perform, and right after CP’s set, an artist that goes by Pretty Liyah hit the stage and stole the show. I had been hearing about Pretty Liyah from a few different people prior to this, but after seeing her perform, I knew that I had to take a listen to her catalog. Not too long ago, Pretty Liyah teamed up with DJ Shon to release a new mixtape called On Go, and it’s a really solid body of work! One of the main aspects of this mixtape that I appreciated is the range that Liyah showed; there was a certain level of vulnerability in records like the intro + the outro, while there were also braggadocious and light-hearted songs to compliment. This song was definitely one of the best tapes to come out of Chicago this year, be prepared to see it again on our year-end list in a few weeks! Listen to the project via Live Mixtapes here!

Deriving her artist name from the word ‘passion’ meaning a “strong and barely controllable emotion,” Passhon also had a deep rooted passion for music. After recording her first song, Passhon has been on a roll ever since. Born in Milwaukee and raised in Indiana, music is something Passhon has been passionate about since she was 13 years old. Realizing that music is powerful and that she loves being able to express herself while painting a picture for others to visualize, Passhon’s sound is exciting and metaphorical, making listeners open their ears when they hear her messages of women empowerment and motivation. Recently collaborating with Grammy-Award winning producer Luney Tunez for her current single, “Shoot The Club Up” (STCU). The single has caught traction but has also sparked a controversy about the recent overturn of Roe V. Wade. She also recently released her newest EP, GMB Season, which she says has a provocative and passionate vibe. As of right now she has three mixtapes, ‘Socratic Irony’, ‘Lady of the Streets’, and ‘No Tamin Passhon’, two EP’s, ‘Mind Reactions’, and of course her most recent release, “GMB Season.”

King Bizzle is back harder than ever with his latest single “Gladiators” with supporting visuals to match. Shot by Bcpbrandon, the Chicago underdog came through with his signature gritty bars in front of an abandoned building. Since last year, Bizzle has gotten more consistent and his wordplay continues to improve on each track. Growing up in the Low End of Chicago and having to learn from the streets, influenced his upbringing. Even though Bizzle spent some time in prison, he made the best out of the situation and came out ready to pursue his music career. Dropping Mixtapes with quality tracks like “Single Forever” off the EP Back on my Bully and receiving over 100k views on his singles “Really Stamped” and “Making Assumptions”, it’s easy to recognize why his career is picking up quickly. He credits the likes of Lil Baby, EST Gee, and Yo Gotti as some of his musical influences in his career. This year, you can expect more new music from Bizzle. Check out his latest single below.

New Jersey-born, Atlanta-residing artist BabyDraco has left Earth with his cosmic new project Welcome to Jupiter which follows his project FAZEZ which released at the beginning of this summer, continuing to grow what is already a very dense and refined catalog of mixtapes, singles, and EP’s. At fifteen songs Welcome to Jupiter offers a variety of looks into the many styles of BabyDraco, further asserting both his vocal versatility and multi-faceted ear for instrumentals and giving fans plenty of introspection and further lessons into his mature worldview. Draco’s writing style is so impressive to me because it comes to him so naturally and never feels overly forced or trite, instead Draco has the rare knack of being able to put the simplest feelings into words which oftentimes are the ones that we as humans have the most difficulty putting a finger on, making listening to BabyDraco a particularly cathartic experience as his perspective is oftentimes as soothing as his flows. The entirety of the tape’s production was handled by Draco’s frequent collaborator Stam who share an unquestioned chemistry that comes from putting in so much time working together, it is obvious that Stam has a mastery of Draco’s sound and voice which is …

Over the last couple of years, it’s hard to think of an up-and-coming artist who has had more success in this industry than $NOT. He had already built quite the legacy with his series of mixtapes prior to worldwide fame and his cult following was always as strong and loyal as it gets, but it almost felt like a switch was flipped and he instantly took off, soaring to heights that I knew he’d eventually get to, I just didn’t realize it would be as quick as it turned out to be. First off, I’m a massive $NOT fan and have been for years, but I honestly don’t know what it was that really took him to the next level. I think it has to be a mixture of his diverse sonic portfolio and versatility over any instrumental placed in front of him, but I also think that the connections he has been able to make throughout the years have had to help him grow and expand his name much further than other emcees that were in a similar position as him. One way or another, $NOT is now a household name and I couldn’t be more excited for him, …

$uicideboy$ have been a duo that truly means so much to me on a personal note, and while not everyone will understand their messages or style of music, it has impacted me greatly throughout the years. I used to strictly listen to them and almost no one else regardless of if I was at the gym, in my room alone, in the car, or anywhere else. I just had never experienced music that was so raw and genuine, and while the bulk of their music was as high octane as it gets, there was this deeper narrative that I connected with in an indescribable way. There was a stretch of a few years where they seemed to put out mixtapes and EPs on a very regular basis, flooding fans with music that never grew old even to this day, and while this output has slowed down as the years go by, it just makes me appreciate new releases that much more. Today, I am beyond thrilled to announce the release of their third studio album entitled Sing Me A Lullaby, My Sweet Temptation, a 13-song effort that boasts a runtime of about 36 minutes long. Although this album seems to …

The last couple of months I have been tuned into the massive rap scene being harbored in northern New Jersey particularly in the Newark area as their young artists have managed to effortlessly blend the classic ‘Jersey-Club’ style of dance music that has been huge in the region since the early-2000’s with the sample-heavy style that NYC-drill artists are presently gravitating to, uniting an area that has been historically overlooked in the vast shadow cast by New York City. The Jersey scene is certainly not only limited to a sprinkling of artists either as dozens are dropping music with consistency both in terms of frequency and sound, each respectively working to hone their own flow while collectively stamping their deliveries as being the framework of ‘Jersey-drill.’ Perhaps the youngest and most compelling rising star is DRose whose youthful charisma and ambitious and mature lyrics show that the Irvington rapper is capable of making a huge splash and aims to put his notoriously dangerous area locally known as “GhostTown” on the map and elevate his friends, many of whom also make music, out of their situations and into a position to strengthen their community. DRose has been prolific over the past …

Preface Yes, this article is super long and tedious, my bad…. Forewarning, if you’ve already read my other recaps for each individual day, skip to the end for a few words of admiration to the LL family, from me! Every year, the Summer Smash seems to get bigger, better, and more insane than ever before, and 2022 is definitely no exception. Unfortunately, I missed the first year or two because of one reason or another, so 2021 was actually my first time experiencing this event live and in person. At the same time, though, I had been to various other concerts hosted by LL dating all the way back to Lil Uzi Vert’s first-ever Chicago performance way back in April of 2016, so I know how we throw down at live events, and I also know just how loyal, supportive, and turnt up our fans get every chance they get. 2022 had some curveballs thrown at the team including a detrimental storm that almost paused the entire festival, but thanks to the consistently hard-working and ride-or-die group of individuals who put this fest together, the show went on without a hitch! I just want to clarify that this article is …

Preface Every year, the Summer Smash seems to get bigger, better, and more insane than ever before, and 2022 is definitely no exception. Unfortunately, I missed the first year or two because of one reason or another, so 2021 was actually my first time experiencing this event live and in person. At the same time, though, I had been to various other concerts hosted by LL dating all the way back to Lil Uzi Vert’s first-ever Chicago performance way back in April of 2016, so I know how we throw down at live events, and I also know just how loyal, supportive, and turnt up our fans get every chance they get. 2022 had some curveballs thrown at the team including a detrimental storm that almost paused the entire festival, but thanks to the consistently hard-working and ride-or-die group of individuals who put this fest together, the show went on without a hitch! I just want to clarify that this article is solely based on my own experience and not from the point of view of anybody else. I know this isn’t the typical article I may normally write, but I figured it would be a good stroll down memory …

A collaboration between a producer and rapper isn’t a guarantee in quality but the pairing of Pat Ron and producer Por Vida is the closest thing to a guarantee you can get. Pat Ron’s latest project, The Highest Flyest Fly on the Wall, entirely produced by por vida, is a cinematically constructed, lyrically sharp, hazy collection of songs that is certifiably un-skippable. From the moment you press play on the eight-track project, you are immediately engulfed in a truly vivid soundscape with Pat Ron at the center of it all delivering laid-back rhymes with an undeniable punch. The project in its entirety progresses beautifully, its pacing is more focused on Pat Ron and the production, forcing the listener to match their pace, and step into their world rather than the other way around. Sonically, the 19-minute project re-instills that feeling of the blog era when mixtapes like Taylor Allderance, the Finally Famous series, and K.I.D.S. were all freshly released and blared from every speaker. Songs like, “Mirror Mirror,” “SwatMeOutTheSky,” and “Mr. BigShit” all exude this mixtape feeling as Pat Ron is surgically precise with his timing, cadence, and overall rhyme schemes that will have you completely entranced from the start of every song.  …