Last year, I took some time to introduce everyone to six artists that the masses weren’t that familiar with and I decided to do it again this year. I scaled it down a bit and picked five artists that have been on my radar recently.
Of course, this is just my personal opinion. I couldn’t list everyone I listen to or keep an ear out for because I would be typing for months. Don’t take it personal, though. If you do feel the need to voice your frustation, feel free to do so below or you can hit me on Twitter.
Hit the jump to meet five artists that I’ve been checking for.
Chandler London (@Chandler_YO)
Representing the Chi’s Pilsen neighborhood, Chandler brings a bit of a different sound than what most people here are used to. Chandler hooked up with DJ and producer Stefan Ponce for his most recent effort and definitely delivered a solid project. Be sure to give Chandler’s latest project, The Science Of Sleep, a listen here.
Check out Chandler’s “Zoè”, which features Nico Segal of Kids These Days on the trumpet.
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Tris J. (@THE_TRIS_MAN)
Known to some as Sir Michael Rocks’ best friend, Tris came out of pretty much nowhere and dropped one of the best projects I’ve heard this year. Tris’ (pictured above, right) laid back flow remind me of GLC at times and I’m not mad at that. I recommend that you check out his debut project, Tris World, if you haven’t already, Tris’ future looks pretty bright and I definitely can’t wait for the next project.
Give one of my favorites from Tris, “Pour It By The Liter”, a listen below.
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Chief Keef (@CampaignSosa300)
Love him or hate him, Keef’s killing it right now. Sure, his particular style of music may not be what most are familiar with coming out of the Chi. That’s quickly changing, though. With records like “3Hunna” that you just can’t deny, it’s clear Keef’s on to something. The youngster’s playing the game the way it should be played and I can’t wait to see what he does in the coming months.
Check out Keef’s “They Say” below.
Chief_Keef_–_They_Say_(Prod._By_Young_Chop)
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Young Giftz (@younggiftzfoc)
You may remember Giftz from the group F.O.C., but Giftz is ready to step out on his own. Giftz dropped his first solo effort, The Lake Effect, this past year and caught some ears including mine. Coming from “over east”, one would expect Giftz to sound similar to King Louie or Chief Keef, but that’s not the case.
Check out the first track from his project and one of my favorites, “Interstate”, below.
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Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper)
From selling out Reggie’s Rock Club with his SaveMoney family to sharing the studio with Mac Miller, Chance has been everywhere as of late. With a flow that reminds me of Eminem at times, Chance is set to do damage on the mic with some time. Chance’s forthcoming project, 10Day, drops April 3rd and I can’t wait to hear what he’s coming with.
Until then, check out Chance’s “22 Off’s”.
chief keef aint even from over east, stay yo ass on the internet and stop tryin to speak for the streets! but this list dope tho!
Yessuh!
Sorry but don’t see none of these dudes making a real impact. Chief Keef has a hype machine including FSD pumping him into a star, but lacks the talent and verbal content. The kid from Pilsen is straight trash, was at his show last year. Couldn’t rock a crowd to save his life, and is swagless. So if this who the tastemakers is rocking with. Time for Chicago let speak for the streets
@beyondBelief chandler is doing more than sitting behind a computer and talkin ish lol
man take that swag shit back to cali..you the type of nigga that listen to Lil B and Mac Miller..what the fcuk are you doing musically..shit….so stfu..i swear I fcuking hate Chicago just full of fcuking haters..urrgghh..btw this list does go hard..
Sorry no lil b for me. More of Roots, mos def type of Guy. Having a Opinion iq hate. Ppl need to stop this Chicago is full of haters. Most y’all not even in a position to be hated on. Yes I’m sitting at my desk with my 75k salary/benefits, simply stating my opinion. While chandler London does what? – The Consumer
Motherfucking church to this shit. No ones hating on no one. These are opinions. Stop trying to tell me what to like. If youre dope, youre dope. If youre not, youre not. Homie made a point as to why hes not fucking with something and gave a valid reason, yet its still hate??? Fuck out here with that dick sucking shit. If thats your homie and you ride with him and you think hes great because thats fam or whatever the fuck, GREAT, But you cant get pissed when someone states their opinion in a public space…
true. It ain’t hate if you can give a reason why you don’t like something. I’d give props to Ty for working on the list and trying to help out artists. My list would look completely different. I think 4 of the 5 artists on this list could be rolled up into the same one. But I respect what he’s trying to do. People take the word “hate” to such extremes. If someone’s music sucks then it sucks. Everybody has become such big pussies about everything these days. honesty has become a negative trait in today’s social media culture. Everyone is exempt from being graded because they made an effort. Bottom line, someone grind ain’t shit if you suck. You’re just a wack muthafucker with awesome work ethic.
Maaaaan let that Chandler London tape fall in the hands of sumone like cudi or ye and it’s over for u haters
support indie artists…the more support your artists gets the better the chances of them bn mentioned in articles like this one! #grind it out! i respect ne one hustling hard enuff to get attention of the ppl who matter and building a brand! #chicago has the best talent!
Dope list ima check em all out
It’s a shame this list is pumped with limited talented artists. Chance is dope but, that’s about the only one I could fuck with. Chicago has hella untapped talent that they don’t fuck with like Soulville, them wild ass kids who be yelling SVLP that go dumb, Check out Darrion Taylor (@DarrionTaylor) shit lyrically he the coldest upcoming http://darriontaylor.bandcamp.com/
I peeped homie he only 16 like me and got mad potential he def better than most of on this list.
fuck outta here joe
he wack as fuk n he bit kendrick lamar flow he aint gon get a post by fsd
Big ups to Ty for putting this list together! You keep an old man like me up on good music. I just checked out Darrion Taylor in the post above mine and he is really dope. Hopefully, the FSD team gives him a look.
Chief Keef and Chance and Young Giftz on my radar.
Tris J & Keef Fasho get in tune wit @THEREAL_DOA get in tune
Ain’t nobody said nothing about Giftz! Giftz is the new wave of the streets in CHICAGO nigga! That lil’ nigga got bars, he’s reality! I can’t wait to see what else the lil’ homie got brewing up in the Lab!
damn ppl is dogging all the artist on the list
kembe x?
TRIS J and Giftz… Crazy!
Hell yea bout Time fsd fucks with Chandler
Mannnn i love to see new music coming up. The only negative is lists like these most of the time have underlying motives. FSD while much respected, posts music and videos from artists whom they have financial investments already in. I can’t knock them on the business side, but you definitely sacrifice integrity and lose the authenticity as a TRUE lover of local music/willingness to break artist, when you push those with whom you already have a vested interest in. REAL SHIT from an objective view, the best cats i’ve heard from Chicago right now building a buzz are Chance and Jahzel. Chance has a dope high energy video and song(f*uck you talkin bout), and Jahzel just dropped a really dope video for a joint off his mixtape(classic nights). Jahzel is like best friends or something with that producer KE on the track who has mad hit(check his resume), but it seems like he’s building the right way instead of name dropping. 2 completely different styles, been to both of their shows(they can rock a crowd), and I see them grinding and hope they get FSD love. We shall see though
Stumbled on a show Jahzel did at the double door a few weeks back with Kit the band, he killed it. Hadnt heard about him till the show, but he keeps popping up. Solid artist from what ive seen. He can def move a live crowd
Chance The Rapper sucks. Bang Bang.
LMAO
this Young Giftz guy is niceeeee!!!! i got a chance to check out his tape & he not bullshittin at all! check out his music and i bet you guys will feel the same way.
Keef is ok but I have to agree, Young Giftz is the best out of these guys. His flow is crazy and he KILLED “Inerstate”. You people are stupid if you don’t think so!
ROME N.R.N.l.B UP NEXT FREE THE GUYS
All that hate for Chandler….. smh go get em london.
No Hona Costello? He dropped his single with over 5k downloads in 1 month. None of these dudes even touching that.