Each week the These Days staff comes across great music from Chicago artists that we could not provide individual features for. In an effort to keep our readers up to date with more of our recent favorites, the Round Up segment provides quick summaries and additional noteworthy content. Check out our latest picks below and feel free to submit a comment if you feel we missed something. 

Benny Nice • "New Myth"

Benny Nice's moniker may be an understatement based on his track “New Myth”, a song that feels like a particularly badass bowl of chicken noodle soup on a cold day. “New Myth” is heavy on the soul, and Benny Nice stays bringing the soothing vocals and some surprisingly crunchy guitar riffs. Production is covered by B3 and Benny Nice, and the background meshes perfectly with Benny Nice’s classic voice. Indisputable fact incoming, “New Myth” is worth a listen or three. 

Blake & NoTalent • Dark Liquors For Dark Times

Blake & NoTalent's Dark Liquors For Dark Times is the day after. It's got a hangover's lack of balance and is certainly sobering as Blake raids the medicine cabinet and looks for a vacation getaway in dead-ends. The production from NoTalent meets the lyrics halfway by combining fun and the twilight zone, giving a warped soundtrack to Blake's downbeat sad-boy party raps. You've got some new music for the next time your morning is ruined.

Cassius Tae • "Extra Push"

Fadelife is a new 14 track production tape curated and produced by CBBeatz. The tape features an eclectic array of rappers, and a standout track on the project is "Extra Push" from Cassius Tae. He's got a reassuring voice that sinks into the submerging beat. "Extra Push" is a good representative of the project, which has a shimmery, wavy aesthetic that pulls you in. As for Cassius Tae, he may be new to you but has been dropping some quality tunes of late. Check out his recent video "Ice Cream", which has a different sound but is similarly effective. 

Loud Mouth • "Hit List"

"Hit List" is aggressive and raw, the sound of an ambitious rapper wanting results now. You might not have heard of him yet, but Loud Mouth makes it obvious that his  should be sneaking into your ears anytime now. D.R.O. creates a beat of twisted strings that takes me to a western flick, with Loud Mouth traversing the city Sahara looking for challengers. "Chi-Town grime that's my hygiene", Loud Mouth's rhymes might just be leaving a mark on the scene.  

M.A.B. • Mother Earth EP

Not your usual project, M.A.B.'s Mother Earth EP is overgrown and wild, downloading an image of nature taking back rap. Three ingredients for success: spaced out but catchy rhymes, beats that range from dance-y to somber, and a dash of Buddhist philosophy. Something great about this project is how many styles you'll find in it, broken into the 4 different seasons that all move a little differently. Because of this, it's not easy to pin Mother Earth EP down, hell, a number of the tracks are acapella. If you want something outside the norm though, you should know that this is the planet you want to land on. 

Max Wonders • "humma (2088 remix)"

One lesson 2015 has made clear? NEVER pass on a Max Wonders x Sowle track. These two work some magic together, piecing together songs with contemplative, ethereal vibes that sneak into your head and don't leave. Sowle's production is not to be underestimated. He was all over Max's You Will Never Find and a large part of the reason we found the project so unbelievably un-pause-able. Production from Elliot Beats is excellent here, with distorted fuzz and piano keys, and this time Sowle jumps on the vocals with Max. This is a remix of Denham and Don Von's "Humma", also worth listening to.

Plain Dave • "Controller$"

Nothing but bars here. Over a restrained sub, Plain Dave takes "Controller$" for a round of precision lyrical domination, no button mashing. The beat is subdued, nothing more than piano, a kick and some hats, and Plain Dave's elaborate raps take this deliberately placed void and fill it with his mind. "Controller$" didn't grab me much at first, but it has a hypnotic quality, and repeat listens will have you getting more and more into it as Plain Dave's maze of words takes flight.