Words by Andrew Jennings (@ArchieBlocka). Photo by YakubFilms
When people think of the stars of Chicago rap, they immediately think about Kanye and Chance. However, when people think of the “homegrown Chicago sound,” they immediately think of drill music. Artists like Chief Keef, Lil Durk, and G Herbo come to mind as the most popular rappers in that lane, and despite the fact that all of these artists are dope, Chicago has a lot more to offer than just drill.
However, Chicago’s underground scene is booming at the moment, and is brimming with artists who draw influences from a diverse range of musicians, genres and ideas. With this (hopefully) recurring feature, I want to bring attention to these artists and find out about the different influences on their lyrics, sounds, and personalities. With this first feature, I talked to Supa Bwe about his favorite artists and albums, ranging from Prince (R.I.P.) to Kid A.
FSD: So the first question is… What would be the five albums that influenced you the most?
Supa Bwe: That’s a hard question. I know one of them would be Kid A by Radiohead. Damn. The Portishead album that has “Biscuit” on it… It might be called “Biscuit.” What’s that Master P album that had “Make Em Say Uhh” on it? That one. DMX, the one that had “Ruff Ryders Anthem” on it. And… Dance Gavin Dance, not “Downtown Battle Mountain,” the one right before that. I’m not good with… I can’t name albums off the top of my head like that, that’s kinda like that question what’s your favorite color. I like too many colors, I don’t know, I don’t really know how to describe the colors I like either. I don’t really like green, I like teal, but not really teal, more like teal-jade. And that’s how it is with music. But overall, Kid A. That’s my favorite album.
FSD: And how would you say those albums influenced your music?
Supa Bwe: Just different flavors. My music isn’t cohesive, it’s a gathering a different flavors because of all the… Because of all the… Lemme start that whole question over, can you ask me that question again, I’m sorry (laughs).
FSD: How’d those albums influence your music?
Supa Bwe: They influenced my music by giving me different ways to express myself… Giving me examples of different ways to express myself, that’s what I mean by different flavors. With Master P, you know, I speak very properly, that’s just the way I am. But I was raised on the west side, so it’s in me to speak like a normal black guy, but that’s not really me. But through Master P, it made me — not necessarily embarrassed to have come from the ghetto — but made me feel more reassured that when that does come out of me, I don’t feel embarrassed about it. And it makes me more reassured about the more gutter tendencies that I have.
And then with Kid A, he made it easier for me to express myself in a weird way, in an abstract way. Because Thom Yorke is so abstract with the way he expresses his ideas and the way he presents himself, and it’s kinda just like this is who I am, whether it’s ugly or not, it’s just art. It made me okay with just making art. And then, actually, I wanna say Rick James. That album that got [starts singing] “Give It To Me Girl.” That album…. WOOOOOOOOOO. All that shit is hot. Rick James just taught me, “Fuck everybody, I’m fabulous, fuck you, I’m better than you, I’m fucking Rick James,” and I bring that to myself. That’s why I tell the crowd, “say my fucking name,” like, I feel like Rick James when I say that. Rage Against the Machine, that’s another one. Rage Against the Machine made me not feel, you know, apprehensive about saying “fuck the government” and “these white motherfuckers evil” because it’s okay to speak the truth, it’s okay to speak your truth, as long as your truth isn’t imposing on other people. I wouldn’t say “kill whitey” or nothing crazy like that, I don’t believe that obviously, I’m just saying… You know… You know what I’m saying!
*at this point, Supa starts laughing, yells “YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN” twice and daps me up. But the dap was loud. Like thunderclap loud*
I’m mixed, I can say these things. White granddaddy, RIP. Wassup Bob, still think about you.