New York may be the undisputable birthplace of hip-hop, but Chicago was one of the first cities outside of the Five Boroughs to embrace and expand upon hip-hop culture. While the Windy City didn’t export many recordings until the early-90s, all four elements — MCing (rapping), DJing, breaking (break dancing) and graffiti — have been present since the early 1980s. This is especially true with the breaking and graffiti movements that graffiti writers like Slang and Trixterand b-boy crews like The Floormasters and Windy City Breakers actively spread across the city beginning circa 1981. As Chicago is one of the most segregated cities in the country, hip-hop became common ground for people who might normally not associate with one another.
By 1985 graffiti writers/hip-hoppers like Warp and Orko began throwing “All City” writer’s meetings, which helped unite writers from all sides, all crews and all nationalities. Not too long after, in the summer of 1986, an MC named Kingdom threw the first citywide “rap meeting” as well. While the unity didn’t pan out quite as planned, graffiti and hip-hop in general continued to flourish in Chicago. Writers’ superimposed names became bigger, brighter and present in more locations. The famous 1987 graffiti art book, ''Spraycan Art," got it right in saying that Chicago’s scene centered around rooftops along the CTA “L” lines. However, many writers feel the books didn’t give the city enough credit for its contributions to the graffiti art movement.
Another big development in the mid-80s came with the launch of J.P. Chill’s hip-hop show on WHPK. With his weekly radio spot at the University of Chicago, J.P. helped give an outlet to local talent who were longing for a platform. And, ultimately, he helped pave the way for college-based hip-hop shows across the city. A year earlier, Northwestern’s WNUR gave the green light to one of the first hip-hop radio shows in the Chicago-area: “The All Rap Party" hosted by DJs Larry Lar & Sweet M.D.
By the late-90s, the graffiti scene went through a big transition. Some older writers put down their cans of paint while other legends like Zore of the Spray Brigade crew kept the momentum going. By this time writers began flocking to walls along the river on the Near South Side — the most renowned being “The Wall of Fame” just north of Chinatown. Although, as graffiti writer/ journalist William “Upski” Wimsatt noted in his 1994 book, ''Bomb The Suburbs," hidden walls like these took away the public value of the art. Thus writers like Upski, Deep and Antck kept the rooftop legacy of Chicago graffiti alive.
Meanwhile MC/writer Raven of the Spray Brigade crew brought back the idea of unifying hip-hoppers with the longstanding Chi-Rock Nation (CRN). By the early-90s, the CTA had commissioned Raven and other aspiring artists to paint walls along the Red Line. The CTA also began sponsoring an annual graffiti competition to help deter vandalism on their property. One of the local publications that helped document this and other hip-hop related happenings was the magazine Chicago Rocks, which also included features on MCs like Rhymefest before anyone else did.
A Recording Tradition Emerges
While MCing had been a regular occurrence in the city for years, Tung Twista became the first MC from Chicago to release an album on a major label (Loud/RCA) in 1992 with ''Runnin Off at Da Mouth''. Twista even snatched up the Guinness Book of World Records title for the “world’s fastest rapper.” For better or for worse, though, the first Chicago MC to really grab mainstream acceptance was Da Brat, a saucy female discovered and produced by Southern hip-hop mogul Jermaine Dupri. Her pop-friendly debut, ''Funkdafied'' (Sony/So So Def) became one of the most popular “urban” albums in the summer of 1994.
Only a few months later in the fall of 2004, Common (previously known as Common Sense) released his second album, ''Resurrection (Relativity)'', arguably the most important hip-hop record ever to come out of Chicago. With singles like the metaphorical masterwork, “I Used To Love H.E.R.,” Common rose above all of the trends, diluting the music to help resurrect the essence of hip-hop with producers No ID and YNOT by his side.
While not exactly in the same vein as Common, the rowdy West Side group Crucial Conflict made a significant amount of noise with the single “Hay” and the subsequent gold-selling album, ''The Final Tic'' (Universal) in 1996. Similar groups like Do or Die followed suit. But 1996 was also a vital year for the underground. One of the first Caucasians to represent Chicago, E.C. Illa, released his full-length debut ''Da Illa'' while freestyle master Rhymefest put out the influential 12” single “How We Chill,” produced by The Molemen. Independently-released records and CDs became essential amid the record industry often giving Chicago the cold shoulder.
Graffiti Art in Crisis
The mid-90s was also a turning point for graffiti in Chicago, albeit not necessarily a good one. At this point Mayor Daley’s notorious Graffiti Blasters program was well underway, covering thousands of pieces and tags with an unsightly shade of brown paint. Influential work by writers like Sivel, Page, Deep, Pengo, Ages and Denz that had gone untouched for years on rooftops and walls were lost forever. Tougher laws were eventually enforced, making some acts of vandalism a felony.
While illegal graffiti died down somewhat in the late-90s, some resilient writers like True, Temper and KC kept the rooftops and walls covered. Around the same time, a good deal of graffiti writers like Seel, Pugslee Atomz (Nacrobats) and Qwel (Typical Cats) began focusing more on the art of rhyming. Another graffiti head, Juice, made a huge name for himself in 1997 when he defeated a then unknown Eminem at the Scribble Jam MC Battle in Cincinnati, OH. Juice’s counterparts, The Molemen, produced some of Juice’s first singles like, “Sincerely” and went on to work with groups like All Natural, thus helping to create one of the strongest underground/independent hip-hop movements in the country. All Natural’s classic self-released debut, ''No Additives, No Preservatives'' (All Natural Inc.), quickly became an example for groups and labels like Galapagos4 Records who wanted to put out music without any assistance from a major label.
Meanwhile, breaking was still active despite the misconception that it had died in the ‘80s. B-Boy crews like the Brickheadz continued to compete locally and outside the city, proving that Chicago was one of the key cities that kept the art alive.
Contemporary Resurgence
Within the past few years, hip-hop music in Chicago has largely pulled itself out of the shadows of the industry, thanks in part to the oft-talked about MC/producer Kanye West. Schooled by producer No ID, Kanye’s big breakthrough came via his autobiographical single, “Through The Wire,” which detailed his near-death car accident. What followed was the critically-accclaimed album, ''The College Dropout'' (Roc-a-Fella), which helped reintroduce local legends like Common and Twista. While both of these MCs have always been hailed for their skills locally and abroad, West’s clout in the industry helped bring these two into the limelight more than they have ever been. In turn, some lesser-known but respected acts in Chicago felt slighted about not receiving help from Kanye. Meanwhile, unfazed hard-working independent labels/crews like All Natural Inc. continued to put out more quality records than ever.
As Mayor Daley continues to crusade against graffiti, steadfast writers like Temper, Fact, True and Wyse continue to resist, placing their names across the city on harder to reach surfaces like billboards and water towers. In an effort to preserve the endangered art, local writers launched web sites like http://www.hotheadz.org. The same people who put together the Hotheadz.org site also compiled footage of local graffiti to produce the aptly titled DVD, ''The Forgotten City''.
Chicago has often been ignored for its contributions to hip-hop culture, but finally in the early twenty-first century, the city’s many artists are starting to get their due credit. If this progression keeps up, Chicago hip-hop may very well transcend the dreaded “Second City” label it has carried for so long.