The Heat Index: Big Bill • The Fredman Joint (feat. Freddy Stone)

The Heat Index is These Days’ hip hop column showcasing a new hot record we can’t stop playing.

Allow me to introduce you to Big Bill, a Chicago-based abstract rapper/producer who teaches music production at CPS by day. Any Big Bill track is likely to have heavily chopped soul samples with plenty of horns and reference-heavy bars that are guaranteed to make you crack a smile. His subject matter ranges from reflections on past relationships: “Plus One,” awkward grocery store encounters; “I Don’t Go To Wegman’s,” and even an ode to his cat while paying homage to a classic 90s cartoon; “catdog.”

For his most recent release, “The Fredman Joint,” Bill enlisted the help of New York MC Freddy Stone —who delivers the first verse in a monotone that fits well over the Big Bill beat. With vocal and guitar samples chopped to such a degree that they’re barely recognizable, lines like “all the real dudes in the can, like Juicy Juice” are both poignant and hilarious (who remembers the 2002 Juicy Juice PBS commercials?). Bill follows this up with a higher-pitched verse, taking shots at Spotify’s pitiful streaming payouts and yearning for pairs of Chicago 1s and ’85-style Jordans. With a running time of 1:22, “The Fredman Joint” fits lighthearted, enjoyable raps into a tidy package.