Qari • "Caterpillar, Butterfly"

Late last month, we reported the apparent end of Hurt Everybody, our third cover story subjects and one of the staff's favorite acts here in Chicago. The announcement effectively ended the run of a group of artists that had catapulted themselves to the forefront of hip-hop locally with a combination of incessant releases and high-energy live shows that earned them a dedicated fan base. With that out of the picture, 19-year-old Qari, better known to Hurt fans as Carl, has been taking some time to think, reflect and look toward the future.

Those thoughts became animated today as we get the first page of a new chapter for one of my 'Artists to Watch in 2016'. Possessing a sort of innate ability to dive straight to the proper depth of a subject, the young man continues to espouse wisdom from beyond his years while subtly turning the page to a more solo-centric, interpersonal feel that is both exciting and the realization of a long road. The title of the song and the overriding attitude throughout plays to the sense of starting something new out of something forgotten, understanding the positives in life while trying to realize what love is. It's all here, arranged in careful layers.

Hurt Everybody was fun, but it wasn't until here, with Qari juxtaposed against simple imagery of him and his daughter, Loti, that one begins to understand the kind of depths that Qari regularly operates at. I just can't wait to continue hearing more in the coming months.