Rolling Stone - USA (2020-02)

62 ` Rolling Stone ` February 2020

The Windy City is

currently home to

the most innovative

hip-hop scene in

America — and jazz

is being reinvented in

wildly psychedelic

new ways

exciting new hip-hop sound has emerged too,

thanks to up-and-comers like Calboy, Polo G,

and Lil Zay Osama, who have softened some

of drill’s hard edges, pairing deeply honest

lyrics with delicate melodies over lilting beats.

“It’s the launching pad,” says Merk Murphy,

co- founder of the city’s Complex 2010 studios

(an epicenter of drill music) and co-manager

of key export Chief Keef. “It’s like a treasure

hunt of sorts — by the time you find out about

them, they’re already almost gone.”

STREET SOUL

Calboy, 20, became a surprise national

success in 2019 with his melancholy ballad

“Envy Me,” which helped win him a deal with

C

HICAGO HAS ALWAYS been a city

for musical risk-taking. It’s where

the Chess brothers helped intro-

duce electric blues to the world

and Kanye West changed rap 50 years later.

Today, it’s home to one of the most adventur-

ous, experimental scenes in the country. Just

take a visit to the Silver Room Sound System

Block Party, where veteran house DJs share

billing with outré hip-hop and jazz ensembles.

Fueled by strong indie labels like International

Anthem and FPE, the city is experiencing a

major jazz renaissance; Makaya McCraven,

Angel Bat Dawid, and Nicole Mitchell are con-

necting Chicago’s long history of avant-garde

innovation with inspirations ranging from

hip-hop beats to Nineties post-rock. An

In the past five

years, Bad Bunny,

Luis Fonsi, and

Daddy Yankee

have helped make

Latin music the

fastest-growing

genre in the

world. They all

have something

in common: They

all have roots in

San Juan, which,

despite its small

size and economic

struggles after

Hurricane Maria,

has become a

world-shaping

music scene, with

forward-looking

salsa, reggaeton,

bomba, Latin trap,

and more. “It can

compete head-to-

head with other

Latin American or

European cities

because of its

diversity,” says

Bárbara Abadía-

Rexach, a Uni-

versity of Puerto

Rico anthropology

professor. To get a

picture of the rich

scene, head to La

Placita, a market-

place that turns

into a giant musi-

cal bash at night,

with more than 15

bars. At the hip La

Respuesta, you

can pay $10 and

see anyone from

local indie-pop he-

roes Los Wálters

to jazz trail blazer

Miguel Zenón.

One of the scene’s

biggest moments

will happen in

May, when Bad

Bunny returns

for a two-night

stadium blowout,

which may break

Metallica’s ticket

sales record.

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Chicago,

Illinois

Meek Mill’s Dream Chasers Records. But as he

steps onto the national stage, Calboy remains

focused on repping his hometown, even while

trying to push hip-hop in new directions. “I

feel like we’re just gonna move a little differ-

ent, a little smarter,” he says. “We’re drifting

away from the streets, staying out of that life.”

GARAGE HEROES

Twin Peaks, with their approachable garage-

pop sound and sunny psychedelic vibe, are

pillars of the local indie scene. (Start with

their 2014 breakthrough LP, Wild Onion, then

head next to 2019’s Lookout Low.) Among

their fans: indie-rock elder statesman Stephen

Malkmus, who pronounced Twin Peaks

“fuckin’ rad” in 2015.

SECRET RAP SHOWS

New rap artists can often be found perform-

ing at strip clubs in the city’s southern sub-

urbs, like Red Diamond (Megan Thee Stallion

performed there last year). Elsewhere, 606

Open Mic Hip Hop has taken over Subterra-

nean — one of the few nightclubs that

routinely books rappers — regularly for the

past two decades. And Jam Night, led by Stix,

a drummer who has worked with Chance the

Rapper, among others, is a monthly hip-hop

and R&B party with a live band that rotates

from venue to venue. Chance has been known

to stop by. “I wanted to create a space where

musicians can go create and be vulnerable,”

says Stix. “One night can be more rock, one

can be more R&B — it’s an actual jam, where

whoever’s in the room creates the vibe.”

THE FUTURE OF JAZZ

Dorian’s Through the Record Shop is a

speakeasy located, as the name suggests,

in the back of a record store. There’s a

casual atmosphere, but never a dearth of

great music — recent performers include

up-and-coming saxophonist Isaiah Collier

and local-legend guitarist George Freeman,

who is 92 years old. “It’s not the kind of

jazz club where you feel like you can’t talk,”

says International Anthem co-founder Scott

McNiece. “More of a good time — the kind

of place you can invite your friends.”

FAR-OUT SOUNDS

On the South Side, the AACM Great Black

Music Ensemble perform on the first Sunday

of every month at the Stony Island Arts Bank.

The group, connected to a long-running col-

lective devoted to experimental takes on black

music, finds ways to push reggae and African

sounds forward each week. On the North Side,

try the Green Mill, particularly its Sunday-night

sets with the Joel Paterson organ trio. “It’s

one of my favorite clubs in the city,” says

McCraven of the century-old spot where Al

Capone was once a regular. NATALIE WEINER

PRAISE YOU Clockwise from top:

Chance the Rapper; Post Animal’s

Jake Hirshland and Twin Peaks’ Cadien

Lake James (right) at a favorite Lake

Michigan swim spot; a Red Hot Ranch

burger; Twin Peaks at Thalia Hall

After-Show Stops

RED HOT RANCH

The hot dogs at this local chain, a

popular spot for musicians, are a must.

FREEHAND CHICAGO

This hotel is worth a stay for its

top-notch selection of lobby DJs.

HOT

DESTINATION

SAN

JUAN,

PUERTO

RICO