The gravitas and raw emotion in his performances-including the breakout “Finer Things” and the smash “Pop Out”-make his recent debut, Die a Legend (Columbia), a lock for one of the year’s best albums. Raised in Old Town’s Marshall Field Garden Apartments project, he’s leading a new wave of local rappers who’ve adapted drill’s hard-edged aesthetics to melodic, pop-forward songs. Among those rising stars is Chicago’s Taurus Bartlett, better known as Polo G. You could also see the bill as a fascinating cross section of current rap, represented by some of its most notable success stories-among them Charlotte spitter DaBaby, ferocious Houston rapper Megan Thee Stallion, and New York crossover darling A Boogie Wit da Hoodie (whose recent Hoodie Szn became the lowest-selling album to hit number one). The Summer Smash bill is stacked with rappers who’ve worked with Bennett, including flamboyant Florida wordsmith Ski Mask the Slump God, Seattle crooner Lil Mosey, and mischievous LA personality Blueface. The site and its festival have become synonymous with “Soundcloud rap,” partly because Lyrical Lemonade founder Cole Bennett has directed videos by some of the best-known MCs in that ill-defined scene. If anything demonstrates how important Lyrical Lemonade has become in hip-hop, it’s that histrionic young rapper Juice Wrld-who’s had albums debut at number one and number two on the Billboard 200 in the past eight months-is headlining the Summer Smash and not Lollapalooza. After debuting in August 2018 as a one-day event with two stages, the Summer Smash has expanded to two days, with three stages and 51 acts. The Summer Smash, presented by Chicago hip-hop blog turned cultural powerhouse Lyrical Lemonade, is already the biggest rap festival in the city-and it’s on track to be one of the biggest in the country. Updated Wed 6/26 at 2 PM: This preview has been edited to reflect the addition of Gucci Mane and Famous Dex to the Summer Smash bill (and the removal of Kodak Black).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |