Chicago Dopeness to Come Vol. 1

The city of Chicago has pulled in many eyes during the year of 2012, when many newcomers from this city blasted into the music industry. From rappers like King Louie, Chief Keef, Chance The Rapper, to Lil' Bibby and Vic Mensa plus others, our local scene continues to flourish as a spot to enjoy dope music as well as industry heads to keep both eyes on. In present year of 2014 many new faces have arose, new things has happen more bars are being spit and of course bigger things are hoped to come.

So what is to come? What are we looking at in the current atmosphere of Chicago's rap scene? There are a number of things, to start off, J.R. Bang's 'The What' interview series, Vic Mensa's upcoming single "Down On My Luck" goes on sale, and Mick Jenkins signing to Cinematic Music Group and upcoming album. There are many other things we wonder of the future on a more general note, such as, who's going to be that newcomer to sell 500k in the first week, what artist is going to be the next to garner nation wide attention, or are blogs coming to an end and will they be needed in the future. What's to come?


One person who delivers thorough interviews, first hearing him on Windy City Underground on hiss morning show, J.R. Bang and Mud Wing Media, headed by Leondotcom, brings us a new series for listeners to enjoy. Mud Wing Media has a long resume, from short films to commercials, and of course some great music videos. These two sources of creativity and personality come together for an interesting series, what can be consider a talk show of sorts, that gives in-depth talks with artist, tastemakers and more. While Bang does the talking, Leon provides hilarious animated pop-up commentary that creates a backdrop of enjoyment. 'The What' has already gathered interviews from New York's Mack Wilds, A Tribe Called Quest's Phife, "OG Bobby Johnson" rapper Que, and local artists Pavy and The Boy Illinois. With so many already notable names we can only expect there to be more to come, leaving an anticipation of more. In the current atmosphere of Chicago's scene this can possibly not only give local artist shine but be a first stop for national acclaimed visitors.

A high energy artist we may one day see on 'The What' is SaveMoney's Vic Mensa. He brings a certain air of excitement through his music that has gained much attention. This year alone he hit up Sway In The Morning, toured overseas, performed at SXSW, dyed his hair white(or was it blond), named a XXL Freshmen, and dropped buzzing records "Feel That" and "Down On My Luck". If you've been paying attention, Vic aims to push his "Down On My Luck" single far beyond just another release. Though being recognized as a rap freshmen this single is definitely far from rapping, paying tribute to Chicago House music. The former KTDs front man, readies fan for the release through a video, that shows us his trial and error situation in a night club. Since we've heard the single already, its not so much of the song its self to ask 'what's to come', but when it hits iTunes where will it take him after a successful release. Teaming up with Virgin EMI Records, set for a July 27th release, could show doubters of a young Chicagoans' staying power, proving there's more than just hype behind this city's newcomers.

A fellow artist of Vic Mensa, Mick Jenkins, has really caught the attention of many through his great release. With a pretty great run at a mixtape last year with "Trees And Truths", Jenkins has been consistent with releases keeping fans occupied while he readies for new things. We've heard him on a number of records as a featured artist, provided singles from his upcoming project, a standout being "The Waters", and dropped bars that causes one to press the repeat button. Mick Jenkins recently dropped triple the dosage of news, first his signing with Cinematic Music Group, and a official date for his album "The Water[s]". Signing alongside names like Big KRIT and Smoke DZA, with an highly anticipated project, we are looking at pivotal time for the Free Nation member. This project can prove to be career changing, launching his career into the next Plato of notoriety ... global.

There's seems to always be the question of who's next with many being discovered in and outside of blogs. It is ask periodically from a culture that seems to have ADD when it comes to music. When bringing up the question of who's next, we wonder what role blogs play in this in the future. In recent there has being quite a few artists gaining much attention, and who's next is such a broad question. With so many other platforms to discover music, from soundcloud, to audiomack, to even Myspace, are blogs on a path to becoming a antiquated system? Will Tink, Saba, Alex Wiley, Lil Herb, ShowYouSuck, show the world  the diversity of this city is nothing to overlook?

With all these questions and events looming and in the horizon, we can only wait to see what happens.