Blog: Ruby Hornet

It's a very exciting time for Chicago Hip Hop these days. The scene is bubbling on several fronts. You have drill-hop popping off via cats like King Louie, Chief Keef, and Young Chop. You also have another crop of up and comers like Vic Mensa, Chance The Rapper, Kembe X that pay closer homage to Chicago's strong indie-conscious Hip Hop history. You also have producers across the board making noise and vets like Scheme, GLC, Tree, Treated Crew, YP, Rockie etc all getting ready for the next level of their careers. The term "New Chicago" has been tossed around a [...]

Today we present to you Sloane Peterson, the debut mixtape from Chicago's Supreme Regime. The young crew has assembled quite a product, complete with 13 tracks that vary in their sound, style and vibe. Starting from the down-tempo intro "Digital Communication", containing the audio of MJ's infamous 'shot', the tape goes full circle and ends with "Beach House" with a sample from the Gorillaz "Plastic Beach". Most of the beats on the tape are handled by Supreme Regime's production duo Green Iris, comprised of Mulatto Beats and Smoko Ono, "How Cruel" and "Down" are the exceptions. Group MCs Loud [...]

"You know that Jesus saves, but Alexander Spits." Alexander Spit is teaming up with Decon for a new EP. Apparently, the process is going pretty well as indicated on the EP's first single, "BNE", a thick and stomping record detailing Spit's "best night ever". The record also features L.A.'s Chill Black Guys, and is available for free download. Grab it below. Alexander Spit: "BNE" feat Chill Black Guys

Portland, Oregon's James Winters must be a pretty big Beastie Boys fan. The film maker put his whole family to work on this "Sabotage" tribute video featuring his kids and nephew as a way to pay homage to MCA. Winters writes, "Worked on this with the wife, kids and our nephew over the past week to pay tribute to Adam "MCA" Yauch." Watch the clip below to see the Beastie's classic "Sabotage" reworked by little kids. It's pretty dope. Beastie Boys - Sabotage / MCA tribute from James Winters [...]

Last week we posted Oddisee's remix of Marvin Gaye's "Ain't That Peculiar". It's been in my head since, and if you're like me, then you're definitely stoked about the rest of Oddisee's Odd Renditions project, which is available now for free download. The remix project is 4 tracks deep, including "Ain't That Peculiar" as well as remixes of "Man I Use To Be", "The Gold Is Mine", and "Paralyzed". This sets the table for Oddisee's forthcoming LP, People Hear What They See, which drops June 5th. Enjoy.

Here's another video from Pavy's Middle Class Ignorance . This time Pavy gives visuals to the energetic "Rage", directed by Thomas Price. This is another solid offering from yet another up and coming Chicago Hip Hop artist. Watch it below.

Last weekend belonged in part to Chicago's Chance The Rapper, who gained national props throughout when he released a new music video for "Hey Ma" just in time for Mother's Day. The song comes off Chance's acclaimed #10Day Mixtape , and the new music video was directed by Elijah Alvarado. For those paying close attention, they'll notice that the version of "Hey Ma" that made the final tracklist is not the original version , which was produced by Tree and dropped in the fall of 2011 as viral promo for an early #10Day [...]

"You done broke your soul on your Reeboks." World premiere... Yesterday we brought you photos from Martin $ky's studio session with Vic Spence r, and we told you we had the video and new music on the way. Martin $ky just sent over the finished version of their collaborative track, "Rocky" along with the in-studio music video. The song is a mellow, flute-looped and soulful joint about the ins and outs of hip hop modern day and also another cool collaboration in Chiago Hip hop. Very dope. Watch the video and download the song below. [...]

"This just ain't earth to me." I got to know The GTW a little bit over the past year thanks to his involvement in the Class President EP . Today he sent me a new record from his forthcoming EP with producer Beng Fang, which is titled #4814 . The numbers stand for working overtime in the Internet-age, and from what I know of GTW, he's definitely on his grind. This record is built around a Gwen Stefani sample, which GTW and Beng Fang flip to tell their own unique story. Listen and grab it below.

Viru is gearing up for a busy summer. He is working on finishing up a proper LP, Sicker Than Yo Average , as well as a pre-album mixtape, Return of The Bad Guy . We should expect the mixtape soon as spring turns to summer with hosting duties played by DJ Sean Mac and DJ O-Zone. Here's a little something from the mixtape, the very poignant and on point, "Hood Morning AmeriKKKa", which features Naledge of Kidz In The Hall. The song is produced by ClassicK, and is thoughtful take on the cycle of poor education and few [...]

Giving a nod to the music of "The Karate Kid" tabi Bonney links with Ski Beatz and Yasiin Bey for "Chop Chop". The song is a quick, breezy and intelligent new joint that will appear on tabi's Endless Summer project, which is coming out on May 17th. Listen to the it below, and download if you dig it.

Pitchfork TV spent a couple days with Danny Brown in his native Detroit. They give audiences a look at Danny Brown's hometown and his family, as well as shady promoters, and a trip to the studio where he recorded this familiar feature . This is a solid documentary. Carve out a spare half hour and hit play.

"Welcome to the control system." Ab-Soul released his new album, Control System , last week. Since then, it's been getting great reviews across the industry, and made Ab one of the web's most buzzing artists. TDE is offering the album up for a full stream, allowing fans to preview the album before purchasing. This is a really dope project. If you haven't heard it yet, I suggest you take full advantage of the stream below.

Last week we posted up a pic of an MCA Tribute Mural done by ELS out in Brooklyn. Today I spotted another MCA tribute mural, this one by Brighton's AROE. Arrested Motion put up pics of the mural, which uses the Beastie's Licensed To Ill cover as the framework. Check out a couple more pics below.

"Lames gonna get left, I ain't talkin' bout south paws." GLC has a bevy of work done with Chicago's Blended Babies. It was kind of in album-inferno for a little while, but he has announced today that the album is dubbed Cathedral! and will see the light of day soon. He coupled the announcement with the album's first video and single, "Custom Detail" featuring Tennille and Nico Segal of Kids These Days. The video and record are both dope. Watch it below and don't forget to catch GLC live at Digital Freshness this Saturday at Beauty Bar.

Auggie The 9th has definitely been holding court with his weekly drop series, The People's Court. This week, he laces up one of my favorite record, "My Block" by Scarface. This song is great for the summer, and Auggie as well as special guest Chandler London, do this one justice by reminiscing about coming up in Chicago. Check out the record and download it below. Auggie The 9th: "Attack My Block" feat Chandler London

Here's some good music and good news on a Monday morning. Smoke Dza hits us with "New Jack", which is the first single from his forthcoming album entitled Rugby Thompson . The news gets better, as the LP is produced entirely by Harry Fraud, who is one of my favorite producers right now. Watch the clip below, and pre-order Rugby Thompson right here .

Artists evolve throughout their careers. Some change for the better and some for the worse. Some artists don't change much at all, producing a catalog of stale material with redundant lyrics and sounds. Other artists change noticeably from project to project, but struggle to recreate the same success found in earlier work. Luckily for us, there are a handful of artists who seem to just get it and manage to deliver a variety of quality music. Enter Warm Brew. These guys get it. They have an expanding collection of tracks that might make some listeners reminisce on the [...]

Bebe O'Hare is an Chicago femcee trying to make a name for herself with some new rap music. Her first submission to RubyHornet comes in the form of his video for her "Trilla" freestyle. You can watch the clip below and let us know if you dig Bebe, as well as if you don't.

The Palmer Squares released a new EP last week, and follow up the full drop with this video for "Bring The Bacon". Beats, rhymes, and clever word play do well to describe this record, and the video gives viewers a look into the Squares recording process. I dig the two mic setup. Watch the video below, and check the Palmer Squares recent release, Spooky Language , for more music