Round Up • New Releases From BJ The Chicago, Denmark Vessey, Snow & More
Photo by Michael Salisbury
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.
BJ The Chicago Kid (Ft. Ty Dolla $ign & Anderson .Paak) • "Church (Remix)"
We've gone to church with BJ The Chicago Kid several times already, but he keeps bribing us to come back by mixing up the batting order in his hit single. This time around, BJ heads west and enlists the help of Ty Dolla $ign and Anderson .Paak, a newer name that has been in a lot of conversations following the release of his debut Malibu. It was good the first time, and the second, and I'm still not hating it a third time around. Three is probably it for me though, it might be time to move on.
Denmark Vessey • "Wave Function"
Denmark Vessey, an accomplished Chicago veteran that you probably never heard of. He's been rapping and doing it well for years, racking up over a dozen or so projects, the last of which, Martin Lucid Dreams, featured hip hop greats Black Milk and Guilty Simpson. In his most recent release, Denmark performs the very bouncy "Wave Function" to be included on Scion AV Presents: The Baker Skateboards EP . If you're looking for a rabbit hole to climb into, start with Denmark Vessey's epic catalog of music.
Eyezik • "Rise"
Eyezik is new on the scene, but he raps and sings with the confidence of a vet. Hailing from the Chicago suburbs, Eyezik’s gripping sound combines just the right amount of rock into his raps, resulting in tracks that have a bit more bite than his competitors. “Rise” is probably the best example of this yet, a quick two-and-a-half minute head banger that starts out with Eyezik’s singing ability on display before he goes full tilt into the track and attacks the mic. Seriously, his singing is great but he really annihilates the verse on “Rise”. As he boldly states, “give me a beat and I’ll eat for 5”. No kidding. Eyeziks gonna be on the rise in no time if he keeps this up.
Paige Flowers • "Sex In The Club"
This is Paige Flowers. Paige is new around here, but she's putting it all out there in her new single "Sex In The Club". The experimental and funky production courtesy of Callum Conner serves as the backdrop to Paige's party anthem. If the goal is to turn up and turn up fast, "Sex In The Club" will help you get there. That's two drops this month for the newcomer, hopefully there's more work on the way.
Snow (Ft. Trouble, XVRHLDY & Young Wolf) • "Machu Picchu"
Making his debut with squad by his side, Snow of Oak Park's 3ABM crew and fellow members XVRHLDY, Young Wolf and Trouble get in touch with their inner Indiana Jones in "Machu Picchu". If i'm honest, this song has nothing to do with thrill seeking archaeologists or treasure like you might imagine with a title named after an ancient city, but what this track lacks in bars of gold, it makes up for with... well you get the point. 3ABM celebrates Snow's return from a brief hiatus with and makes their presence known with "Machu Picchu".
Wave Chapelle • "Work"
Wave Chappelle comes in from Milwaukee for "Work", a discordant track that sounds like jazz gone wrong. There's something addictive about this beat; it's disturbing, catchy, haunted. Wave Chappelle drops in on top of it with an off-balance flow that connects. One of the more unique tracks you'll hear this week, "Work" from Wave Chappelle shows that there's no time for rest when there's music to be made. When it comes to this list, "Work" is absolutely a "last-but-not-least" situation". Listen immediately.