To keep things up to date and digestible, we’ve put together a cross-section of the latest music news and updates under “The Catch Up” banner. This week, we take a look at a new video from Loren and several other locals and dive into the lineups for Riot Fest and a new festival on the south side at Guaranteed Rate Field plus news from Chance, Chief Keep and more. All that and more available below.
Loren • “Hot Shit”
If there’s one thing you can say about Chicago rapper Loren, it’s that the kid is consistent. Having kept up a steady stream of new singles, videos and projects since emerging on the scene back in 2014, he’s certainly built a name and a following, but his latest work seems primed for newfound attention. The early side of Loren’s career found him as Logan. A bevy of name changes later and it seems as though dude’s found a more comfortable place from which to ply his trade. This one? Simple, it’s some “hot shit” to get listeners in tune for a full-length that should be hitting by the Fall. For now, enjoy the latest from Loren below.
Chief Keep Gets Deep with Vice on ‘The Therapist’
Chief Keep has long been decidedly misunderstood. The folks over at Vice found a way to sit him down with someone to talk to for an insightful one on one as part of their new series, ‘The Therapist‘.
Since blowing up in the summer of 2011 with a string of videos and single that have since become the stuff of legend around Chicago, Chief Keef has largely existed as a precarious character in the larger hip-hop world. A big-name act capable of putting a crowd into a frenzy, but banned from doing shows in his hometown. His career over the past six years has been literally all over the place and people forget he’s still hardly in his 20s. Dude has lived enough life for several human beings and in this one Vice finds a truly interesting way to illustrate his experiences. Check it out below.
Chance The Rapper to Donate 30,000 backpacks at Bud Billiken Parade
Chance The Rapper opened his Lollapalooza set last weekend with a series of news pieces from across the world and media spectrum praising the long list of good he’s done for himself and is community since emerging as the city’s pre-eminent artist over the last few years. He doesn’t seem to be slowing down on the positive headlines either, announcing this week that he and his Social Works organization will give away 30,000 backpacks to CPS students at this year’s Bud Billiken parade.
Chance, who is also serving as Grand Marshall for the parade hosted yearly down King Drive, teamed up with STATE bags to deliver the backpacks at the parade and continues to prove that he is a bright light for his hometown. Get more info on the fest here.
KatieGotBandz Arrested, Released, Announces Project
Chicago rapper Kiara Johnson, better known as KatieGotBandz, is back home this weekend after spending the night in jail this week, and took the opportunity in the headlines to announce a new mixtape, Free Katie.
The 23-year-old rapper, best-known for her single “Pop Out” was charged with multiple counts of identity theft and unlawful possession of a credit card, a Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office spokeswoman said. Her bail was set at $50,000 and she was arrested in suburban Bridgeview.
The arrest comes after Katie faced similar charges back in May. For her part, Katie let off a string of tweets and announced she would be releasing her next project soon. Stay tuned for more here.
Riot Fest Daily Schedule Unveiled
With the 4-day storm that is Lollapalooza finally over for another year, true music fans can once again turn their collective attention towards Riot Fest, which unveiled it’s daily schedule this week. The yearly rock jaunt goes down September 5-7 and migrated to Douglass Park two years ago, emerging as a haven for music lovers put out by more wide-ranging affairs like the Grant Park carnival we just got out of. It’s for a slightly different age bracket and the headliners here underline that sentiment as Nine Inch Nails close out Monday while Queens of the Stone Age and Taking Back Sunday do the same on Saturday before Andrew W.K. handles the final set duties to close out the three-day fest. Click below to get all the set times and start mapping out your experience and click here for tickets if you don’t have them already.
‘Get IN It’ Festival Coming to Sox Park
Last summer Chance The Rapper packed out Comiskey Park The Cell Guaranteed Rate Field for his inaugural ‘Magnificent Coloring Day’ that brought out big-time artist
s from across the city for a one-day celebration at the home of the White Sox. Apparently, organizers at the park down south were impressed by the turn out and this month they’ll debut ‘Get IN It’ Festival featuring the likes of Macklemore, Lupe Fiasco and more September 16, with tickets available on their website.
At Chance’s version, there was a stage set up in centerfield which, while a very cool angle, cut off a great deal of seats from seeing the stage. It’ll be interesting to see just how Guaranteed Rate Field brass strategize for that this time around. The festival is put on by Get IN Chicago, an organization that counsels community-based groups and funds anti-violence initiatives focused on the most at-risk kids in the city. A portion of the proceeds from the festival be donated to the Get IN Chicago organization. Also joining Fiasco and Macklemore on the bill are Jeremiah, Fat Joe and others.