Chi Town Stepping

When most people think of Hip Hop, New York automatically comes to mind. That's only natural, and thats cool. But today in the Hip Hop world NY hasn't been producing like another place that I have in mind. Chicago. The Windy City. Go-Town. Whatever you want to call it. The topic of discussion lately has been about Chicago being the capital of Hip Hop right now. Not yesterday, or 15 years ago, but right now. I'm not trying to convince anyone that this is true, but I do want people to think about what's coming out of the Chi. (I'm not from Chicago, and the only ties I really have to Chicago is that I am a die hard Bulls fan). At any rate, in Chicago alone you have Hip Hop giants such as Kanye West the obvisous. Common... the newly resurrected genius. Lupe Fiasco, the young, up and coming star. There are others of course, but with just that 3 headed monster alone, Chicago is definitely placing its stamp on the Hip Hop culture.



Kanye West isn't a favorite of mine, but you cant deny the fact that as a producer first he is a powerhouse. As a rapper second he even has the wordplay to make solid consistent albums. People all over, white, black, brown, and orange anticipate anything that Ye puts out. Most don't like him, because he is arrogant. They call him a cry baby. They say that he is a homosexual. I don't know anything about that man's sexual preference, and honestly don't care. I'd probably still bump his tunes if he came out the closet. Good music is good music.



Common. He has been around since early 1990, and still can make a quality, solid, and informative piece of work. Lately Common hasn't been into making LPs that have hundreds of tracks with interludes and preludes. His album's now a days are short, sweet, and to the point. Actually, you can argue that with his albums you still get way more than most other albums out there. He can preach on a track and not come off as your old uncle, or someone trying to impose their beliefs onto you. He cares about his craft, and the best way to see that is to look at his album sales. He is not your Platinum artist. He may go gold, and that's it. A true sign that his music is made to satisfy him. Especially looking back at Electric Circus (Bad album). Common can rock on forever.



Lupe Fiasco doesn't have the experience in the game as the other two parts of this Voltron, but he definitely has the ability to place his own stamp on the game. His first album really wasn't what everyone was expecting, and maybe that's due to leakage... who knows? Lyrically, you cant deny him credit. He has the ability to be around for a long time if he wants to. Only time will tell.

I wonder why that CRS group that has been buzzing, isn't these three animals.

With Chicago alone, the Midwest is making a push out here. They may not be pushing as hard as the South has been pushing, but believe you me... they are pushing. St. Louis, Detroit, Cincy... the Midwest is making some noise, but is anyone listening? Come on everyone, open up your ears. Take some time to listen, and if you don't understand what these fellas are talking about grab a pencil and some paper. Write down what you don't understand, and hit me up with your questions. I'll try my best to interpret.

That's all for today's segment.

Taking over Hip Hop one bar at a time.

Over and out, DocBoone.