This is a post that is past due, but right on time. I'm one who tends to pay attention to cultural attitudes and behaviors by region and how it relates to Hip Hop. Time is also a factor when digging into these studies. The Bronx is the home of Hip Hop and it emerged at a time when young Blacks and Latinos were expressing new freedoms, poverty, music and cultural change in the most urban setting in America. As we know, it wasn't long before other cities were listening and then branding their own styles that reflected their surroundings.
Fast forward 20 something years to the second residence of the Blues, Jazz, Soul, and the home of House Music and another style later dubbed "Ghetto House", Chicago has done Hip Hop it's own way for years. With the likes of R. Kelly, Common (one of my all-time favorite Emcees by the way), who in the past few years has gotten the notoriety that loyal fans have demanded and Kanye West who has been the face of the Windy City lately, it seems as if the doors should be open wide for a Hip Hop take over but that is far from the case.
You see, the Midwest is known for being that area of the country that's known for not being swayed easily on the new hype and excessiveness. Chicago specifically is a place where many Blacks migrated from the South (especially from Mississippi) from the early 1920's through the 1960's to find work and a new life in the city. The GM plants were thriving as well as the stock yards. The foundation of hard working and hustle minded individuals was put in place to last through the new millennium. What also was put in place was the origination of the black street gang. Gangs like the Gangster Disciples, Vice Lords, Black P. Stones, 4 Corner Hustlers, Latin Kings, Black Souls, New Breeds, and hoards of their respective factions all originated in Chicago and set the mold for others. This is all history that ties directly to the Hip Hop attitude that started in the late 80's and early 90's and continues to this day. If you listen to Common seriously, you can hear it but you might not know what is is because it's almost like code talk. The Chicago that I'm talking about has next to nothing to do with mainstream, but has everything to do with respect.
When I turn on my Ipod, I have two Chicago playlists. One is the pop-rock band and the other is filled with artists who are the heart of the City. I mean groups like Crucial Conflict, Do or Die, Da Smart, E.C. Illa, Twista, Speednot Mobstas, Qualo, and the collective known as The Drama Ward that features Snypaz, Triple Darkness, and the group who may be the most infamous, Psychodrama. I'm sure that there will be some who have no clue about who I'm speaking of, but every one who has listened to the radio has indirectly heard Drama Ward. The triple time, sometimes staccato, rapid fire flow has been the flavor of the month for years, but it's home is the West Side of Chicago. You've heard Young Buk of Psycho Drama on Twista's "Adrenaline Rush" and Cam'ron's "Adrenaline Rush 2". The Legendary Traxxter is the primary source of the melodic, mob music production. From what I hear, when that stlye was being molded in the Chi, Buk was a part of Do or Die.
Since their first single that I can remember, "Magic", Psycho Drama has been utter royalty in the city. I remember when I first heard it, I was blown by the delivery that had a melodic undertone to it. I didn't know that years later while living in Atlanta, my homeboy was jammin' it too. The trio consists of Newsense, Psyde, and Young Buk who is another one of my favorite Emcees (Not to be confused with Nashville's Young Buck). Dude has a voice that could narrate a ghost story to turn your hair white. To this day, after nearly getting that national exposure when signing with Suave House in the late 90's they are as underground as ever, but well known and highly respected throughout the Midwest. The stories of everyday struggles with life, social issues, and Chicago style bangin' hit home with the common person who doesn't ride Bentley, but bubble and box-body Chevy's, Cadillacs, and maybe an older model Benz. While I think that they are frustrated with not having the opportunity to bring this side of the Chi to the masses on a scale like others from the city, I feel that they are satisfied with being able to be able to do what they feel is true to what the city is and be loved for it. What they do, along with the rest of The Drama Ward, is stay EXTREMELY Chicago, and incorporate the mind state and slang when speaking on the gang situations and other street situations but also speak on betterment of self. One of my favorite songs period is by Qualo feat. Turtle Banxx and Psycho Drama called "Revelations" (See my December 19th, 2010) and they spit it like a holy scripture. It's an observation of street situations and it's reported in an educated, highly poetic way. Lines like 4's, 3's, G's and TVL's, Stones, Kings, Mafia's even Neutrons catchin' shells, And cells gettin packed it's a Black Holocaust, so I'm giving these cops hell with cocktails that's Molotov". It's kind of like the classic situation where someone says "I know what's the right thing, but this is what I've got right now". That pretty much goes for many in the Chicago crew. It's not totally about bangin' they advise of the reprocussions of ones actions. Newsense has a classic line that explains their lack of nation wide presence that says "Competition can't fuck wit us, Cause they scared of us, And the industry will never be prepared us". I have a feeling that the industry might not be prepared for something like this. While you get awesome soul from No I.D., this is not necessarily the same Chicago. This is more street raw, but there is a concentrated focus on appealing th the everday person. In an interview, Newsense said that people just think that they're too wild and are liable to do something.
There a few things that make the music unique. One is the that hard working hustling attitude that I told you about. Another is the non swaying Midwesterner attitude that won't allow conformity to be accepted. Another is and one of the most critical is the generations of gang affiliation. Were are talking about the home of organized Black gangs. This is a place where when many of these cats were coming up, there were certain rules that you had to abide by whether you were active or not. This is how deep it goes. There was a mix tape series (a real cassette mix tape) called Chi-Bangin' by George the Jamma that had all of the hood songs that you could stomach on them. Years later, mine were lost and stolen so, I did an internet search and found Chibangin.com(no longer on the net) that had a link to TheTipCds.com and Chicagogangs.org
The streets are married to the music and that was probably never more blatant and evident than through the sounds of Crucial Conflict. Never had I'd heard such an outright display of bangin' on wax since the original album by the Bloods and Crips. If you thought it was about some country cats with overalls talking about rodeos, you missed the whole point. They call the West Side the Wild Wild West. What did you have in the Wild West? Cowboys, and if you mix that type of attitude with 2nd or 3rd generation relocated southerners you've got a recipe for anything goes. The most, I mean, the most outright display of street ties came in the form of "Break It To The Left" on their debut album. This was song that absolutely could have been a testimony of their affiliations, but was done so raw that I know people on the other side that didn't necessarily agree with their sentiments, but respected how they did it. There has never been a more gang-bangalistic (if that's a real word) group that I've known of. You can even cat Cold Hard of the group on the Willie Lloyd episode of American Gangster.
D.A. Smart is that old school veteran who is like the town historian. His classic single "Walk With Me" takes you on a journey through the entire city to outline do's and dont's and who runs each neighborhood. Even the Twista that you hear on mix tapes like "The Perfect Storm" when he teams up with Dawreck from Triple Darkness on "Darkness" is different. It's not the "Slow Jamz" Twista. I don't often use this phrase, but "real talk", this cat is really a beast on the mic. He's not just a street rapper, this cat is a real lyricist in the backpacker sense.
As I try to do with these posts, I'm giving a little history and putting someone on something that they may not have heard before. Check out DramaWardTV and Crucon08, on Youtube and search for some these artists. Also check out Chibangin.com
As always, follow me on Twitter @TheMarcusObrien or like my pafe on Facebook at Marcus.Obrien2
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