An elite in hip-hop is a word used to describe someone in the centralized industry to show an artist’s relevancy and prominence in a year’s progress. Chance the Rapper has been on the rise since the release of his tape, Acid Rap. Prior to that, he released his first tape, #10day, which introduced us to this not so oblique rapper. His flow that carries throughout each individual song isn’t always standard. At points it even sounds like he’s reciting a jam poem. Chance has been progressing with the social issues he expresses interest in, primarily those pertaining to Chicago.
Chance has done some interesting things for Chicago, especially when he covered the Arthur theme song and first did so at a festival in Chicago.
Chance isn’t the only one to come out of Chicago with prominence. Another rapper sparked my interest since Common’s Nobody’s Smiling. Lil Herb, despite the name, spits out some other level of realness. His low pitch and slow delivery are unique to me because more rappers seem to be charismatic these days.
Common is undeniably my favorite lyricist, which leaves me as one of the few who would put him on that kind of pedestal. Common’s poetic style and raw delivery have always been things I’ve loved.
Chicago has been on the rise in hip-hop as of recently. Back in the day we only really cared for Common, Kanye West, Lupe’s first two albums, and R. Kelly. These artists were the foundation for Chicago; two in the 90s and two in the 2000s but as of late, Chicago has rappers like Vic Mensa, Lil Durk, Lil Bibby, and if you’re into that kind of trap, Chief Keef. These are some rappers outside of the aforementioned.
Most of the XXL Mag freshman class were from Chicago. Despite the lack of seriousness XXL puts into picking the freshmen, they surely demonstrate how much they care about Hip-Hop and not just ratings. Right?
Chicago style, or how people would describe the instrumentation, is reverting back to the golden age where brass was big, while still balancing it out with some grittiness so they can relate it back to Chicago’s social issues. Chance the Rapper uses brass heavily in his tape Acid Rap, which is what attracted me to him. Chicago has been prone to produce lyricists, but sometimes these artists work best around their own style, while they can still flow over other beats. Technically, Chicago hip-hop is really centered around Kanye, Common, and Chance when it comes to production, yet when it comes to lyricism and flow it becomes its own individual foundation that is compared to everyone else.
Chicago has been on the come-up again, and the music has been progressing and sounding smoother than the East and the West at this current moment.
Advertisement
These tracks might further give reason as to why:
Advertisement
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmVPDco9n9U
Advertisement
Advertisement