Hometown: Forest Park, IL Age: 22 Follow: Twitter // Soundcloud

BigBodyFiji is a boss, and a strange one at that. With only a year of released music under his belt, Fiji has library that's ridiculously diverse. He hails from Forest Park, Ferdinand Ave. to be exact, getting his start in music on the business end as a manager. He's a member of the group known as Decent Militia, making waves with some of the most grimy, feel good, spun rap you're going to find in the underground. Some combo of trap / internet / rapper / singer,  BigBodyFiji is the big question mark that always snaps, and there's a few points to understanding this crazy artist.

The first secret to BigBodyFiji is his voice. It's why, regardless of Decent Militia's deep bench, Fiji stands out. It's also why he crushes every damn feature he puts his hands on. While his persona is larger than life, the voice of BigBodyFiji can be straight up delicate. Or it can go loud. It can go pretty much anywhere, and Fiji bends his voice like an instrument. Listen to "AcneJeanStuntin", then how he gets close to a whisper on the "Ferdinand Anthem" - there's a lot of feeling in those notes. It's serious range, allowing him to ride over anything from heavy gutter beats to a street bedtime story.

Second, BigBodyFiji is but a piece of Decent Militia, the group makes the individual and vice-versa. Decent Militia is totally on the same page with each other, a sound 100% their own.  Vocally, everyone is different, with complimentary strengths - Jose Franco the (somewhat) lucid voice with bars, BigBodyFiji cool as hell, Vela Seff getting weird, Lil Chevy and Stunnaman Stacks raising hell, and so many more. Fiji is fun by himself, but gather these voices together and you've got a raging party. The point is, you don't just listen to BigBodyFiji. You may start with him, but as a decent person you'll be listening to the rest of the Militia soon, forming like Voltron.

Third, repetition is a huge part of Decent Militia and BigBodyFiji's philosophy. Their tracks get stuck in your head, finding the best music in the simplest places. "Stack it up, stack it up like pringles", "Money up, bands up", phrases that have been stuck in my head for weeks now. Producers like Dexter and Sean Mamos are essential to this, taking the stripped down basement vibe but keeping it subtle ("Death of A Skinny N*gga" from BigBodyBreazy is the realest production I've heard in ages). The result is rap you get lost in, everything flowing. In this simplicity, BigBodyFiji and Decent Militia are making some of the most tripped out, psychedelic raps you're going to find, seamlessly rolling from one bar and beat to the next. Less is more. 

Lastly, BigBodyFiji is the man ("I'MTHEMAN"). His rhymes can be laugh out loud funny (just realized his X-videos profile is on his twitter bio, LOL ), and life through his eyes is addictive. This is an artist who knows who he is and what he wants, quiet confidence that's making him the talk of Chicago right now.  There's so many sides to BigBodyFiji, and Decent Militia as a whole, just know that it's happening. So get with it.