2024 is gone, and 2025 is already shaping to be a hectic year. 2024 was such a busy and exciting year in music and wanted to share some things I witnessed and observed over the past year.
Zack Fox DJ Sets (Elevator Music, NTS Radio, Lot Radio, Boiler Room)
Most know Zack Fox for playing the delusional but positive Tariq on Abbott Elementary or for a run of his comedic-bent rap songs such as “Square Up” or Jesus is the One (I’ve Got Depression)” a few years back. Ever since his DJ mix on the Chicago based YouTube DJ Channel Elevator Music dropped back last May, he’s touched every DJ channel (Boiler Room, NTS Radio) along with sold out DJ sets in multiple cities.
Fox has been DJ’ing for a minute putting mixes on Soundcloud and its good to see his sets gain prominence after years of putting his side effort to the forefront. My brother shared some of Fox’s older Rap & retro soul mixes dating back from 2018. Back in the summer of 2019, me and a few other friends went to a DJ set Fox was playing as an Anderson Paak. concert afterparty in a now defunct Chicago bar. Thundercat was chilling with Fox on that night.
The exciting part Fox’s mixes is the taking on the regional and global dance sounds from Jersey Club, Baile Funk, Chicago based Juke and Footwork layered over 90s and 2000s R&B and hip-hop. It brings a lot of joy in hearing these sounds played on a wider platform with his sets. And Zack Fox is basically the cool uncle with the music tastes. Some sets feature laid back R&B and soul I used to hear on a variety of radio stations growing up around Chicagoland. The 90s kids continue to share the music our parents or relatives played for us to be played for the next generation at future functions and cookouts.
At your Listening lesiure:
Driving in LA the night Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” dropped (May)
There could not have been a perfect time to travel and visit Los Angeles and the greater SoCal region the weekend at the height of the Kendrick and Drake beef. While driving to different sites such as the Santa Monica Pier, Pasadena, or on the 405, I was constantly glued to my phone seeing updates and posts as the previous songs in the beef from “6:16 in LA”, “Meet the Grahams”, and “Family Matters” went back and forth hours before the dust was able to settle. Not only was it entertaining, but basically being in the timeframe of a culture shifting moment in hip-hop play out in real time. The night of Saturday, May 4th, was the exclamation point for Kendrick in the beef. This was the night “Night Like Us” dropped as people danced in nightclubs as Kendrick accused Drake and his OVO Co. of henious offenses and improper relations spanning back years and Drake treating his rap peers as networking opportunities rather than true collaborators.
Seeing the initial post drop of the song, I drove into a Fatburger to try my hand at West Coast Fast Food. When I got back in the car, and connected the bluetooth. Driving in LA near Hollywood, The Walk of Fame, as I played “Not Like Us” blaring from the car, was an ascending moment in seeing the city enlivened as Kendrick issued the final blow in back in forth feud of word. The day after Drake’ released the “Heart Pt.6”, but if felt like a post-mortem of waving the white flag. As, LA and the greater SoCal region deals with wildfires that have engulfed the region in the early part of 2025, to be in the City driving listening to “Not Like Us” was a magical moment of driving and listening to the song that etched Kendrick as the winner and shaped and the state of Hip-Hop for years to come.
Tracy Chapman with Luke Combs at the Grammys
Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” is one of my favorite songs in a beautiful and impactful debut album that I’ve heard multiple times growing up. The older I get, “Fast Car” is a reflection of finding identity not only from a failed relationship, but in the hope that with a special someone, love and comfort can be found in a world where it can feel fleeting given economic or familiar circumstances. Driving must be done to move to that destination of love, comfort and safety, against the odds. Against the world. The duet at the Grammy’s was great as Country singer Luke Combs’ cover of Fast Car soared up the Country music charts in 2023, gave flowers to Chapman with the duet becoming a full circle moment as Combs regularly performed the song in bars when the first started out singing.
BBL Drizzy
In the wake of “Not Like Us” being released at the height of the Kendrick and Drake beef, producer Metro Boomin added another caveat to the back and forth that had every bedroom rapper and producer jumping in. A beat that sampled an AI comedic song joking of Drake’s alleged plastic surgery, Metro Boomin offered the free beat for everyone to take a spin. What took place is, hearing several jokes at Drake of changing his figure in different music styles.
Ranging from Meregnue, Dancehall, Bollywood, Pop-Punk taking jokes on Drake through BBL Drizzy. Companies, got in on the joke on social media, and led to a flurry of rappers using the beat on freestyles. Drake eventually would rap over the beat on a Sexyy Redd song a few weeks later. with diminishing returns. As Metro Boomin had a falling out with Drake, it shows previous collaborators and colleagues of Drake eventually saw him as a carpetbagger hoping on styles and trends to his advantage.
Gum.MP3 @ Schubas (Feburary)
Forget what you know with the basic DJ set and allow to what you find on the dance music and global sounds found on the internet led the way. I had followed the DJ formerly know as DirtyBird at the height of the pandemic. Hearing the sounds of Southern Rap, John Legend and balie funk come together in the night was an exciting time to dance and scream lyrics with others.
Questlove @ Thalia Hall (June)
Questlove has worn many hats over the years. From the Drummer of the Roots, DJ, producer, Documentary Director, NYU Professor. It’s really a gem when Questlove puts on his author hat and gives his thoughts on Soul, R&B, and Hip-Hop interlooped with his personal and musical history. For an hour on a rainy weekend afternoon back in June, it was engaging hearing Questlove with questions moderated by Chicago indie rapper Open Mike Eagle on a variety of topics. Including how Quest engages with discovering new music, his controversial comments on the Kendrick vs. Drake beef, to the need of archiving music of yesterday in the age of streaming and TikTok.
Everyone in the audience got a copy of Questlove’s new book “Hip-Hop is History” which takes on from his initial book “Music is History.” The audience were given different snippets of the book such as the watershed moment in Hip-Hop of the 1995 Source Awards in which Nas was nominated for Best New Artist, but was overshadowed by the surging East-West Coast Feud fueled by comments stated by Death Row CEO Suge Knight and Snoop Dogg over the eventual evening.
The night is most known for Outkast’s Andre 3000 definitely stating “The South got something to say” after Outkast won the Best New Artist in a room galvanized by East and West. Questlove talked about how the controversial night and was a moment Nas moved towards making more commercial music and the moment Southern Hip-Hop became more well known. Always loved Questlove for his music knowledge so this was a great afternoon. For Hip Hop fans, his latest book is a great timeframe breakdown on the changing trends within different hip-hop eras.
Cypress Hill Playing with the London Symphony Orchestra (July)
I love how a long-standing meme became a real thing. I stand by the first 9 seasons of The Simpsons, especially seasons 3-8 are one of the best shows one can watch on television. One episode in Season 7 covers a Lollapalooza-esque festival coming to Springfield where Homer becomes a traveling performer. Now prior to Lollapalooza being set in Chicago for the last 20 years, Lolla back in the 1990s, traveled to multiple cities featuring alternative acts such as Jane’s Addiction, the Beastie Boys, and the aforementioned Cyrpess Hill.
The Simpsons episode featured Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth and Peter Frampton on the traveling tour. There is a segment were someone on the tour (Frampton later on) ordered the London Symphony Orchestra to perform. No one takes for the Orchestral players until Cypress Hill takes on the orchestra for their animated set. A brief moment on the show, but a long-standing joke that came to fruition. Cypress Hill fulfilled the nearly 30 year promise and had a one night only concert with the LSO.
Seeing Vampire Weekend (July)
Full Circle moment that took 15 years to see a band that very much molded my music tastes back from high school. This really was my “eras” tour enjoying the songs from Vampire Weekend’s new album “Only God Was Above Us” to singing along to the songs that made initially made me love them from “Oxford Comma” “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” to “Hannah Hunt”. The encore with the Vampy Weeks taking in fan selected covers was hilarious and showed their technical skill set to play tracks on the fly This was a night to remember as I spent a few weeks before the concert relistening to all their albums and hearing these songs live made me remember how I discovered Vampire Weekend from CD’s from the library after hearing them from MTV and Pitchfork back around 2008-2009. It also struck me how Vampire Weekend has released albums within different moments of my life ranging high school, college, grad school, to my late 20s.
Listening to all of Vampire Weekend’s albums prior to the concert was my own reintroduction to the band as their previous album Father of the Bride, featured solely frontman Ezra Koenig and and a plethora of other guests such as Haim’s Danielle Haim and guitarist Steve Lacy. When founding member Rostam left the group to pursue more solo and producer work, Father of the Bride felt a step in a new direction which I didn’t quite comprehend at 24 or 25. Back on relisten this past summer, the lyrics on love, heartbreak, and connection hit close to home and changed my initial thoughts on Father of the Bride.
The discourse around Vampire Weekend breaking into the indie/alterantive space in the mid-late 2000s have a large standing disdain for the band of Columbia University graduates. I can’t blame the critics. Its not every day you see an Indie band full on Ivy Leaguers take on Afrobeat influences mixed with their presentation of preppy apparel for a weekend in Cape Cod. I remember, when I first started reading about them, Ezra Koenig described their band’s style as “Upper West Side Soweto” (lol). With subsequent releases, Vampire Weekend shed the dominant Afrobeat influences, taking chords, production and ethos ranging from 90s Hip-Hop, Ska, country rock and Jam Band to name a few.
Regardless, their music has struck a cord with in how catchy their rhythms are, but as I’ve gotten older the lyrics have opened poignant deeper meaning on topics ranging from class, religion, and relationships. Hearing the song “Hope” on this night and hearing Koenig sing “The enemy is invincible…I hope you let it go.” is a song acknowledging we have little control how on what may happen tomorrow, the friendships and relationships or a dream deferred, but we can continue to forgive ourselves and others in order to move forward. Experiencing Vampire Weekend live, and re-living the experience in concert on tour, has made me love them even more in this trajectory of their career.
Breakin’ at the Paris Olympics
This may have been the first experiment with the Olympics that went horribly wrong. It goes without saying that its awesome hearing a Method Man track being played during an offical Olympic sanctioned event however. The impact of the Austrlian “Breakdancer” Raygun attempting to execute and getting zeros in all her events, made Breakin’ a hard sell on a global stage for years to come although the event was a test sport in Paris.
For breakin’ to be an official Olympic test sport shows the impact of Hip-Hop now over 50 years strong around the globe. Breakdancing is considered one of the 5 pillars of Hip-Hop in addition to DJ’ing, Graffiti, Mc’ing, and Knowledge. It also shows from a mainstream perspective, in Hip-Hop/Rap ignoring the pillars in teaching people of Hip-Hop or that are new to the culture. When ther is a girl from a Lithuania in a durag brakin’ in the Olympics and getting a medal, we can’t be mad that people around the global have been influence by aspects culture hip-hop not just with rap lyrics. Clothing aesthetics aside which can be questionable without context, most conversations on Hip-Hop ignore breakdancing, graffiti and their impact around the world.
Irish kids doing drum n’ bass
This made me smile, having these kids from Ireland enjoying drum n’ bass which they made in a children’s workshop and this is way better than anything Kidz Bop ever released.
40 Years of Chicago House Music
House music started in Chicago. Not New York, Paris or Berlin. From the ashes of Disco Demolition Night that took place at the old Comiskey Park back in 1979. In the early 80s House Music in Chicago grew in nightclubs catered to young LGBT, Black and Latin identities through places such as the Warehouse and the Power Plant with all weekend dance parties and DJ sets. Through originators Frankie Knuckles, Paul Johsnon, Marshall Jefferson carried today through DJ’s such as Green Velvet, Ron Caroll, Gene Hunt, Kaskade and even (yes, he’s from Naperville) John Summit. Make sense the NASCAR street race would have an event with Chicago House DJ’s to cater to the year of House music.
From its inception from Warehouse parties in the early 80s, Chicago House has influenced the likes of Beyonce to Daft Punk. We can thank Chicago House music for the Preculator. One can’t deny the ebullence and joy House music brings uniting all creeds and colors to dance uninhibited. When summer rolls back round events such as the Chicago House Music Festival and Chose Few Djs Picnic will have people dancing again.
Marshall Jefferson – Move Your Body
Chappell Roan
It was her “Hot to Go!” Year. I’ve never seen an artist of Chappell Roan’s caliber have a rapid rise in a short amount of time. A distant runner-up is seeing Lady Gaga ascension in popularity in 2008-2009, but pales in comparison with Chappell Roan’s 2024.
If any attention was paid at Lollapalooza this year, a sea of people where there for Chappell Roan who’s had a smaller afternoon performance but switched lineup times with Ke$ha as her popularity ascended over the spring/summer. One the way back home on the EL the day before Lolla started, Roan had her Lolla pre show at the Vic Theatre in Lakeview. On the El stop in Lakeview, I saw people miles away from the theater waiting in line for hours before her show. Which made me stop and think, whoa, this is a moment.
“Good Luck Babe!” is a standout pop song of 2024. Hearing “Hot To Go!” constantly, on Chicagoland radio stations 96.3 and 103.5, I realized Roan is the real thing that worked for years for this. Despite having her music initially shelved. Happy she has been able to advocate for herself in terms of taking touring and scheduling breaks and calling out obsessive parasocial fans. Seeing her performances and outfits for every performance she treats every conert like its her Super Bowl as she said on her Tiny Desk. So many facets of pop lovers have clung to her and it is intreseting to see where she takes the spotlight with balance in her career moving forward.
Rappers Running Side Quests
Snoop Dogg at the Olympics
Lil Jon moving into mediation
Flavor Flav at the Olympics and Taylor Swift Concerts
Well, all the events listed above took place well before Uncle Snoop decided to make an appearance at a Trump-adjecent inauguration event for Crypto-bros. Was it the edibles? Snoop would take any ad or guest feature under the sun, maybe we should have saw what happened at the previous inauguration week a given. Also with Nelly, Rick Ross and Souja Boy, Rappers will take on opportunities no matter how unscrupulous the event is to boost their brand.
Once Rappers move past a certain age, this was initially 30, but perhaps after 40 now, where albums and singles become increasingly meaningless in a young persons’ genre. Rappers and groups end up going on nostalgia tours or start being involved in unnecessary promotions. Usually or unfortunately how you spin it, crypto or NFTs. Seeing rappers move into new avenues, converged the tide of moving beyond to rapper or the dj title to pitchman, Olympic cheerleader, or Swiftie.
As Andre 3000 said on pivoting to avant-grade flute Jazz instead of rapping, “What am I supposed to rap about, getting a colonoscopy?” A lot of rappers are moving into areas to expand their brand as the music side of their business plateaus. For good or for bad compromising their moral principles. It goes without saying, over the last several years, we have lost many rappers and DJs of middle and older age or not in the spotlight as a result of poor health or addiction. This includes Rich Homie Quan, Shock G of the 90s rap group Digital Underground, or mostly recently OG Maco of the 2014 viral hit “U Guessed It” and DJ Unk behind ringtone crunk raps “Walk It Out” and “2 Step” to legendary NYC and radio DJ Clark Kent. Seeing Lil Jon or Andre 3000 move into different creative mediums as they grow older, is a reflection of taking on different creative aspects and boundaries beyond what consumers or fans expect.
Stevie Wonder @ United Center (November)
Initially, I saw the first run of concerts Stevie Wonder was doing and saw he was only going up to Milwaukee in late October. I had the slight hope to go up north, but doubted I had the time. When I saw Wonder’s tour was coming to Chicago in early November, I jumped on the opportunity, to see the Motown legend. With a friend, we saw Stevie Wonder play to a packed United Center for close to 3 hours, performing decades of hits with a live band, string section, and gospel choir.
It was so heartfelt to hear songs from Wonder I loved growing up such as “Overjoyed” “My Cherie Amour” to the enamored crowd. Hearing many selections from the landmark album “Songs in the Key of Life” were beautiful with the live band and string section. When Wonder took time to talk with crowd between songs on how life events and outcomes became music, it was an open invitation invited into his world from his childhood of Saginaw, Michigan, growing as an artist in Motown, and now being a living legend. Another truly lovely moment was when Wonder asked the crowd to give flowers to Rev. Jessie Jackson who was in the audience.
Held a few days before Election Day and eventual (perhaps inevitable) outcome. Wonder encouraged the crowed to not focus on the hate, but the love each of us possesses. One of the first songs Wonder played to start off the night was, “Can We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart” it was the first new song Wonder had released in the last few years, but it answers the uncertainty to determine if the Country’s original sins of race and hatred are burning the country’s from the roots stoking further divisions among us.
The night was filled with joy and beauty for many singing aloud to Wonder’s classics. And gave a memorable night to hear a living legend at 74 sing and play piano and harmonica effortlessly starting from the age 12, being introduced to the world as “Lil Stevie Wonder.” As 2025 has begun with a lot of uncertainty ranging from natural disasters, lack of censorship and control on social media, and the dawn of a 2nd Trump administration, people are wanting hope to know things will work out for the the good. Hearing Wonder play on this night, felt like a soundtrack that things will be ok with the ups and downs of the new year.
Concerts
Chance the Rapper @ Ramova Theatre (April)
Friends had free tickets for the show for Chance’s Birthday and Social Works fundraiser. Chance’s time in the rap conversation is passed, but man what a fun time hearing songs from Acid Rap and Coloring Book live for the first time which marked my soundtrack in college and mid-20s. Tossing the last few years aside with memes and very saccharine dad-rap lyrics, this truly was a fun concert. His unreleased tracks were worth the listen. If an album ever comes up Chance really still has the pen.
Kaytranada, Channel Tres & Sam Gilletery @ Northerly Island Pavilion (October)
It took a few times to see Kaytranada (traveling, schedule, pandemic) but it was so worth it.
The Juju Exchange @ Schubas (August)
Julian Davis Reid, Nico Segal, and Novo Zaii are effiicient stwards in Chicago Jazz scene. And all have deep work as individual and collobrators. Seeing them coming togther on a rainy night improvise and play together was enlighting and fun.
Dawn Richard & Spencer Zahn @ The Old Town School of Folk (November)
-Wish I took videos of this, but seeing what Dawn Richard has been through over the past few years with her history being part of two groups of the now disgraced Diddy, (Dirty Money and Danity Kane) is such a testament of reclaiming your power in the face of tragedy, grief and pain.
Anderson .Paak playing the album Malibu @ Northerly Island Pavilion (October)
-Felt the entire city came out for this album as Fall began. Paak and the Free Nationals covered the Family Matters theme that provided a great local touched as Paak played his critical coming of age album.
Common & Grant Park Symphony Orchestra @ Millennium Park (July)
Hometown show and crowd, celebrating 20th anniversary of Millennium Park, with plenty of guests. Jennifer Hudson, Pete Rock and De La Soul
Other Musical Moments
NPR Tiny Desks (Chaka Khan, Maxwell, The Lox, Carrtoons, Chappell Roan, TV on the Radio)
Video Essays (FD Signifier, The Company Man, Professor Skye Review, Open Mike Eagle Donellwrites, Mic The Snare, Digging the Greats, Rick Beato )
The algorithm provides so many reaction and thinkpieces to choose from. Way to many to view. But there are great think pieces on the state of hip-hop and music criticism in a world of content. Here were a few favorites, but its always best to go to their YouTube or Instagram of TikTok (If you still use these sites at this point) and jump in.
FD Signifier – Hip-Hop Industry Plants, Drake Vs Kendrick
Mic The Snare – 2024 Songs of the Summer
Professor Skye – Vampire Weekend Review
DonellWrites – Hip-Hop and the Hood Gospel
Digging the Greats – Using Ipod for 30 Days
Project Pat – The most influential rapper for the last 25 years in triplet flow cadence, samping, and continues to do the prison ministry after his expereinces.
Dilla Time
-Pefect bio on J Dilla from his producton style to the history of Detroit
-Watch me be at 40 buying this kids’ first album
Kendrick & Friends The Pop Out
Kendrick performing “Not Like Us” Times, TDE reunions, Demar and Russell Westbrook on Stage, Tyler arc from Odd Future to West Coast Rapper. The showcase of the new guard of the West
The Typecaster 