ya'll can't do what chicago do.
from todays sun-times
The Chicago Drop hopes to fuse raw energy, hip-hop pulse
June 27, 2005
BY DAVID JAKUBIAK Advertisement
Think of hip-hop and you likely think of programmed beats and electronic backing tracks. But live instrumentation has been a subtle force in hip-hop for more than a decade, from the acid-jazz movement of the early 1990s, to the emergence of the Roots and the more recent trend of artists such as Snoop Dogg and Big Boi of OutKast taking bands with them on the road. Now, a group of Chicago musicians wants to make these sounds synonymous with the sound of Chicago.
Eight local hip-hop bands have banded together, hoping to spark a movement that fuses the raw energy of garage bands with the addictive pulse of hip-hop. Together, they're called the Chicago Drop, representing almost 50 musicians and MCs.
And suddenly, they've got a lot going on. In February, they released a collaborative self-titled CD, which led to the creation of their own record label and a series of shows at the Note. They're developing an Internet radio show they'll stream on their Web site (thechicagodrop.com). They meet at least once every two weeks to discuss ways they can help each other through promotions, joint performances and making sure any club dates by bands in the collective are packed to the rafters.
"It started off with the CD, and that was so successful that we felt like we had to keep rolling with it," says Cary Kanno, guitarist for the band Abstract Giants, and one of the collective's organizers. "Our goal is to generate a scene and have this be another genre that could rise up out of Chicago."
Sonically, the groups in the Drop merge elements ranging from funk and soul to rock, reggae and salsa with the driving rhythms of hip-hop -- but played more with real instruments than synthesizers and drum machines. Individually, some of the groups, like Small Change, have a more straight hip-hop sound, while others, like Planets Audible, seem to be more an outgrowth of rock. Lyrically, all of the bands tend toward socially conscious lyrics rather than the thugged-out, diamond-studded wordplay that dominates mainstream rap.
But they share one goal. "We want to create a scene. We want to make this grow into a movement," Kanno pledges.
The early prognosis for such a movement seems good. Kanno's band just headlined a show at Metro during MOBfest, the annual Chicago showcase that helped propel bands like the Killers and Disturbed onto the national scene. Recently Treologic, another band in the Drop, beat out more than 600 bands to win the Disc Makers Independent Music World Series of the Midwest, which included $35,000 in prizes. Local music listings consistently find the Drop bands playing venues as diverse as the legendary roots-rock spot Fitzgerald's and the hip North Side spot Subterranean, even playing clubs that normally don't book hip-hop, like Schubas.
Schubas talent buyer Matt Rucins explains the appeal of a large live-instrumentation band: "We're a small venue. If you just have one or two people up there, it feels odd. But if you have a full band, you're going to attract a person's attention a little better."
Chris Baronner, talent buyer at Metro says another attraction is that the Drop bands' fusion of socially conscious lyricism with adept musicianship plays well to diverse crowds. "There's hip-hop everywhere, but here they really seem to focus on their music. And it's not like they are just playing Metro," he says. "They can play anywhere, Martyrs, HotHouse, Double Door, Subterranean, anywhere. With something like punk, you need that all-ages crowd. But these guys can appeal to anyone, all ages, 21-one plus, festivals, college gigs -- and when they play, you see that."
But while the Drop is catching the ear of show promoters and clubgoers, some members of the collective want to push things further -- to become a real movement instead of just a local twist on organic hip-hop or an extension of rap-rock. The greatest hurdle may be getting past the wide influence of the Roots, the Philadelphia-based band that almost singly defined "organic hip-hop" long before any of the Drop bands even formed.
Treologic keyboardist Lance Loiselle says the organization of the Drop offers the Chicago scene an advantage. "We've all been getting together biweekly to discuss gigs we can play together," he explains. "[After the release of the CD] we did three Thursdays at the Note. We're really promoting the scene as a group by playing together and going to see each other. We're also starting to talk about the second Chicago Drop CD. We're trying to bring people into the Chicago scene where it's real fertile and the people are really into the music."
And that, Kanno says, is the most exhilarating thing about the Drop. "The excitement is the raw talent that is getting harnessed right now. It's just an exciting time. These are the bands I want to see, these are the shows I want to go to."
David Jakubiak is a local free-lance writer.
EIGHT BANDS OUT THE GROUPS THAT COMPRISE THE CHICAGO DROP
The Chicago Drop is a collective of eight organic and experimental hip-hop bands who have come together to cultivate a Chicago-based hip-hop movement based on live instrumentation. For more visit thechicagodrop.com.
ABSTRACT GIANTS>>
This eight-man crew, made of seven Oak Park kids and a Wisconsin import, creates hip-hop seeping rock and funk elements. The rapid wordplay of a trio of MCs is punctuated by the skillful violin playing of Jason Vinluan.
BAD NEWS JONES>>
Add a sax, three rappers, keys and a steady rhythm section to a mango-guava punch and you'll get Bad News Jones, a septet that blends Afro-Cuban and Brazilian rhythms with a pure hip-hop grind.
FARM CREW
Call it art student hip-hop. Farm Crew has long been known as one of Chicago's premier alternative hip-hop acts, blending rock, jazz and real-life experience to create a sound that's part Native Tongue and part folk storybook.
PLANETS AUDIBLE
The punk element of the Drop, Planets Audible creates hard-pounding hip-hop driven by strings, strings and more strings. Comprising two guitars, bass and drums, this is a crew that adds thrash to the boom-bap.
SMALL CHANGE^^
Fronted by the tag-team of raw lyricists made up of MCs Vitamin D and Jah Safe, the five-man band Small Change draws from funk and reggae to create music that ranges from mellow to frenetic, often tinged with biting social criticism or raucous humor.
STAR PEOPLE>>
Thoroughly trained in jazz, this quartet's foundation is the live sampling technique of multi-instrumentalist Josh Thurston-Milgrom and reggae-dripped wordplay of rapper-singer-songwriter Cosmos Ray. Thurston-Milgrom. He calls their sound "hip-hop-reggae with jazz chops."
TABAKIN^^
Named for frontman Noah Tabakin, this quartet creates a tight fusion of rock and funk elements and punctuates its live performances with lengthy freestyles riddled with unfiltered lyricism.
TREOLOGIC
A sextet that has developed out of the rich history of Chicago hip-hop and jazz, Treologic prides itself on the tightness of its compositions. These draw on hip-hop, jazz, funk and gospel.
David Jakubiak
from todays sun-times
The Chicago Drop hopes to fuse raw energy, hip-hop pulse
June 27, 2005
BY DAVID JAKUBIAK Advertisement
Think of hip-hop and you likely think of programmed beats and electronic backing tracks. But live instrumentation has been a subtle force in hip-hop for more than a decade, from the acid-jazz movement of the early 1990s, to the emergence of the Roots and the more recent trend of artists such as Snoop Dogg and Big Boi of OutKast taking bands with them on the road. Now, a group of Chicago musicians wants to make these sounds synonymous with the sound of Chicago.
Eight local hip-hop bands have banded together, hoping to spark a movement that fuses the raw energy of garage bands with the addictive pulse of hip-hop. Together, they're called the Chicago Drop, representing almost 50 musicians and MCs.
And suddenly, they've got a lot going on. In February, they released a collaborative self-titled CD, which led to the creation of their own record label and a series of shows at the Note. They're developing an Internet radio show they'll stream on their Web site (thechicagodrop.com). They meet at least once every two weeks to discuss ways they can help each other through promotions, joint performances and making sure any club dates by bands in the collective are packed to the rafters.
"It started off with the CD, and that was so successful that we felt like we had to keep rolling with it," says Cary Kanno, guitarist for the band Abstract Giants, and one of the collective's organizers. "Our goal is to generate a scene and have this be another genre that could rise up out of Chicago."
Sonically, the groups in the Drop merge elements ranging from funk and soul to rock, reggae and salsa with the driving rhythms of hip-hop -- but played more with real instruments than synthesizers and drum machines. Individually, some of the groups, like Small Change, have a more straight hip-hop sound, while others, like Planets Audible, seem to be more an outgrowth of rock. Lyrically, all of the bands tend toward socially conscious lyrics rather than the thugged-out, diamond-studded wordplay that dominates mainstream rap.
But they share one goal. "We want to create a scene. We want to make this grow into a movement," Kanno pledges.
The early prognosis for such a movement seems good. Kanno's band just headlined a show at Metro during MOBfest, the annual Chicago showcase that helped propel bands like the Killers and Disturbed onto the national scene. Recently Treologic, another band in the Drop, beat out more than 600 bands to win the Disc Makers Independent Music World Series of the Midwest, which included $35,000 in prizes. Local music listings consistently find the Drop bands playing venues as diverse as the legendary roots-rock spot Fitzgerald's and the hip North Side spot Subterranean, even playing clubs that normally don't book hip-hop, like Schubas.
Schubas talent buyer Matt Rucins explains the appeal of a large live-instrumentation band: "We're a small venue. If you just have one or two people up there, it feels odd. But if you have a full band, you're going to attract a person's attention a little better."
Chris Baronner, talent buyer at Metro says another attraction is that the Drop bands' fusion of socially conscious lyricism with adept musicianship plays well to diverse crowds. "There's hip-hop everywhere, but here they really seem to focus on their music. And it's not like they are just playing Metro," he says. "They can play anywhere, Martyrs, HotHouse, Double Door, Subterranean, anywhere. With something like punk, you need that all-ages crowd. But these guys can appeal to anyone, all ages, 21-one plus, festivals, college gigs -- and when they play, you see that."
But while the Drop is catching the ear of show promoters and clubgoers, some members of the collective want to push things further -- to become a real movement instead of just a local twist on organic hip-hop or an extension of rap-rock. The greatest hurdle may be getting past the wide influence of the Roots, the Philadelphia-based band that almost singly defined "organic hip-hop" long before any of the Drop bands even formed.
Treologic keyboardist Lance Loiselle says the organization of the Drop offers the Chicago scene an advantage. "We've all been getting together biweekly to discuss gigs we can play together," he explains. "[After the release of the CD] we did three Thursdays at the Note. We're really promoting the scene as a group by playing together and going to see each other. We're also starting to talk about the second Chicago Drop CD. We're trying to bring people into the Chicago scene where it's real fertile and the people are really into the music."
And that, Kanno says, is the most exhilarating thing about the Drop. "The excitement is the raw talent that is getting harnessed right now. It's just an exciting time. These are the bands I want to see, these are the shows I want to go to."
David Jakubiak is a local free-lance writer.
EIGHT BANDS OUT THE GROUPS THAT COMPRISE THE CHICAGO DROP
The Chicago Drop is a collective of eight organic and experimental hip-hop bands who have come together to cultivate a Chicago-based hip-hop movement based on live instrumentation. For more visit thechicagodrop.com.
ABSTRACT GIANTS>>
This eight-man crew, made of seven Oak Park kids and a Wisconsin import, creates hip-hop seeping rock and funk elements. The rapid wordplay of a trio of MCs is punctuated by the skillful violin playing of Jason Vinluan.
BAD NEWS JONES>>
Add a sax, three rappers, keys and a steady rhythm section to a mango-guava punch and you'll get Bad News Jones, a septet that blends Afro-Cuban and Brazilian rhythms with a pure hip-hop grind.
FARM CREW
Call it art student hip-hop. Farm Crew has long been known as one of Chicago's premier alternative hip-hop acts, blending rock, jazz and real-life experience to create a sound that's part Native Tongue and part folk storybook.
PLANETS AUDIBLE
The punk element of the Drop, Planets Audible creates hard-pounding hip-hop driven by strings, strings and more strings. Comprising two guitars, bass and drums, this is a crew that adds thrash to the boom-bap.
SMALL CHANGE^^
Fronted by the tag-team of raw lyricists made up of MCs Vitamin D and Jah Safe, the five-man band Small Change draws from funk and reggae to create music that ranges from mellow to frenetic, often tinged with biting social criticism or raucous humor.
STAR PEOPLE>>
Thoroughly trained in jazz, this quartet's foundation is the live sampling technique of multi-instrumentalist Josh Thurston-Milgrom and reggae-dripped wordplay of rapper-singer-songwriter Cosmos Ray. Thurston-Milgrom. He calls their sound "hip-hop-reggae with jazz chops."
TABAKIN^^
Named for frontman Noah Tabakin, this quartet creates a tight fusion of rock and funk elements and punctuates its live performances with lengthy freestyles riddled with unfiltered lyricism.
TREOLOGIC
A sextet that has developed out of the rich history of Chicago hip-hop and jazz, Treologic prides itself on the tightness of its compositions. These draw on hip-hop, jazz, funk and gospel.
David Jakubiak
