Chicago Hip Hop History

This was compiled by my homie Kevin Beachum of Rhyme Sayers.


The Chicago Hip Hop Story

compiled & written by Kevin Beacham (a.k.a Formless)

Obviously the history to Chicago's Hip Hop scene is much more complex, intricate, and extensive than can be covered in this article, a magazine special or even a series of stories. This is merely an attempt to spotlight some of the key names, places, and events that helped shape it into what is has become. For more info on the Chicago Hip Hop scene (past, present, and/or future), as well as any of the artists or information in this piece feel free to contact: formless21@hotmail.com

Information sources & inspiration: J-bird, Bomb The Suburbs, E.C,, The Molemen, Upski, Flypapers, Jesse De La Pena, Kingdom Rock, Third Rail, PLEE Fresh, Slang, Trixster, Denz, Demon, Zore.

The earliest stages of the Hip Hop scene in Chicago don't differ much from most other areas outside of New York. It began by listening, admiring, bonding, and ultimately imitating it. The roots of Hip Hop date back to somewhere in-between the early to mid 70's. Its story can be told by a variety of means. I've always found it best to visualize it as a series of chronological eras:


I. Old School to Middle School
II. The Golden Age of Hip Hop ('86-89):
III. The Production Era ('90-'93):
IV. The Independent label Era ('94-'97):
V. The Internet Era ('98-the present):


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I. Old School to Middle School:
Pioneering Era ('72-'78)
The Old School ('79-'82)
The Middle School (a.k.a The drum machine era, '83-'85)
Here we find the happenings in Chicago at a minimum. As the titles of the eras suggest, the culture had just begun to grow. The focus of attention was on New York and a few neighboring cities. More than anything it was the breaking crews in this era that dominate the scene. They became the foundation of the Chicago scene with

many B-Boy crews were already making a name for themselves; D.T.R (Down To Rock, Krazy Krew, Floormasters (the crew stretched from the North to the South side), TopTen, Out To Rock, Freeze Crew, The B-boys, The Freshboys, Windy City Breakers, Hypnotic Rockers, Los Ninos, etc... It was many of the breakers who would later go on to become some of the key Graf writers in the city. By '82 the Graf scene was very active with several known crews hitting up all sides of the city; CTA, ABC, MPC, TCP, ACW, CAR CREW, MOSA, IAC, OTR, GGC, GBC (w/Crazyman), CISA, GAS, BTB, FCA, AIM, GMC, SMOG, & The HITMEN. From there, things slowly began to take shape...

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1979 New York Graf writer, Nick Salsa, moves to Chicago and starts bombing the city and becomes recognized as the first local writer. Later he starts the first known Chicago Graf crew; C.T.A.
1980 Casper-"Groovy Ghost Show " 12" (first Hip Hop release from a Chicago artist although it's not generally known that it was a Chicago based recording)
1982 Graf Writers Slang & Trixster started getting their names up and out there.

Key innovator, Caution, known for being the first to paint Chicago scenery into his backgrounds (other artists usually drew New York backgrounds based on their influences) also hits the scene.

1983 Plee Fresh hits Chicago from New York and helps pioneer the Chicago Graf scene. He meets up with Stane (a.k.a Akbar) and Kaos to form T.C.P (The Crowd Pleasers). As he gets more involved he sets his goals, "I wanted to see Graf everywhere. I wanted to bring Hip Hop music to Chicago. My goal was to make Chicago like New York"-PLee Fresh

On The Fourth Of July the C.T.A crew becomes the 1st to Bomb the Ravenswood Yard and hit virtually every train in sight.

Robert Cliemente School (Division/Western)-starts having regular Graffiti classes for their students. The teachers gave lessons and regularly brought in various guests from varying crews.

University of Chicago station WHPK introduces their first Hip Hop radio show. The founders, K-III & Patrick Moxy (also the founder of Payday records) initially started the show with a dance & rap format, but the popularity of rap was heavily reflected in the requests and eventually they became strictly rap.

1984 The Muralists, painters Roberto Valedez & Ray Patlan, held regular art fairs on 18th Street and would invite Writers (ex: Zore, Fess a.k.a Freezario, Nick Salsa, Caution) down to do pieces. Making them among the first "outsiders" to help the culture by not just giving them a place to paint, but supplies as well.

Chicago's first organized Graffiti Art competition at Harrison Park

Chicago's first Graffiti Art Show, "Rapid Enamel" at the Renaissance Society at the U of C Bergman Gallery, Cobb Hall.

1985 "Rappin Duke" 12" (The "duh-ha-ha-ha" was undoubtably widely known). However, again it's not generally recognized as a Chicago release. It fit nicely in this time of Hip Hop paying homage to T.V. shows & Hollywood as The "Duke" dropped rhymes in his best John Wayne voice and let us know about Hip Hop cowboy style.

Chicago Bears-"Superbowl Shuffle" 12"(Although some may wince at the thought of the Chicago Bears being "pioneers" of Chicago rap, it certainly can't be overlooked).

Chicago Graffiti writers unite for the first time for an"All City Writers" meeting in Cabrini Green at the YMCA. A plan set in place by key Graf writer, Warp.

Northwestern's WNUR 89.3 captivates the Hip Hop generation on Saturday afternoons with "The All Rap Party" with DJS Larry Lar & Sweet M.D.


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II.The Golden Age of Hip Hop ('86-89)

This period in time gave birth to some of the most respected and talented artists existent today in the realm of Hip Hop (ex: KRS, RAKIM, SLICK RICK, PUBLIC ENEMY, EPMD, ULTRAMAGNETIC MCS, etc...). Hip Hop had dispelled the myths of it being a short term passing and scenes throughout the world began to thrive. The main spot to scoop the latest wax was The Loop, Imports & Dr. Wax. There was a few Hip Hop club spots, but it was mainly house parties. Most likely the turntables were being worked by one or any combination of the following DJs; Plee Fresh, Boogie Boy, Jackboy, Adam 12, Pacman, Pumpin' Pete, Rick The Ripper, & Gabriel Rican Rodriguez. The Graf scene was at it's heaviest point as writers started to further develop their styles and separate themselves from the writers in New York & L.A. The key new crews getting up were X-men, Ice Pack, Ice Inc., TCA, Def Crew, The Union, CGA, BTB, & SAS. From '85 till '87 it was all about the walls, tunnels & rooftops being hit. The stretch from Division to Logan Park was covered in Graf. Around '87 til '89 is when the trains became a focus. Trixster & the ABC crew made the Congress line the hottest line from '84 til '86. The main spots doing regular Hip Hop events were The Rainbo & Jenals. The big tours that swept thru town were being booked at UIC Pavilion, The Rivera, & Aragon Ballroom.

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1986 J.P. Chill got his radio spot & begun planting the seeds of a legacy. On WHPK he created a forum that not only kept everyone current with the latest Hip Hop singles, but also gave a home-base for local talent to test market their latest creations. Mind you, JP Chill is currently still holding that same radio slot on WHPK 15 years later which to the best of my knowledge is quite possibly the longest running Hip Hop show in the country.

PLEE Fresh gets his show on WNUR 1986: Trixster & Deske have a brainstorm that leads to the forming of The Federation which is the combined forces of TCP, ABC, & MPC.

All Writers Meeting at Lincoln Park City Zoo

A spot over in Chinatown at 22nd & Cermak becomes known as the "Wall Of Fame" and is a homebase of sorts where writers from all over the city came to regularly put up new pieces.

The Spray Can Art book is released featuring a piece by Trixster from Logan Square making one of the first national known local Writers.

Graffiti '86 is a big gallery opening at the Axe Street Arena featuring most of the top Writers in the city.

The Chi-Rock nation was formed by a merging of two crews (Nine Trey Posse & TWR plus a few others) and developed into a enormous conglomerate that contained representation of all the elements of Hip Hop.

Chi Rock members OZ & the D.V.S crew release the first recognized Chicago based Hip Hop album that represented the city.

Sugar Ray Dinki-"Cabrini Green Rap" 12"

Richard Davenport a.k.a 3D of the Krazy Krew (MC, Breaker, & Graf writer), at age 14, gets a write up inRight On! magazine for winning a contest by doing two P.S.A's for The National Safety Council.

1987 Ramonski Love & Disco Dave starts the "Rapdown" show on WGCI.

PLEE Fresh introduces what is widely recognized as the first regular Hip Hop chill spot at a place named Steps up North by Loyola. It was like a boys/girls club that started at 3 p.m. in order to catch the younger crowd. There were DJS, MC battles, Graf writers showing off piece books, breakers on the floors & T.V. screens showing Style Wars or Wildstyle in the background. It lasted about 6 months, but when Plee went back to New York to stock up on music as he regularly did the person he left in charge let it fall apart.

In March Pinkhouse & Andrew Dunn kick off The RapHouse show on WKKC


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1988 Chicago Old Schooler, Cassius D, started and maintained a Chicago Chapter of the Universal Zulu Nation.

Kingdom Rock, Prodigy, Chain, & Riot split from their former crew, Empire Of Destruction, and establish The Ill State Assassins. Consisting of talent covering all areas of the Hip Hop spectrum and the know how of the hustle to get their projects completed and out to the public. Ill State continues on to be one of the most innovative, inspirational, and productive crews in Chicago.

Kingdom Rock of Ill State Assassins adds another notch to his belt as the promoter for the now famous parties at the Blue Gargoyle on the U of C campus.

His Majesti-"Armed & Dangerous" 12". In '87 suburban N. Chicago MC legend,

Shakespeare, graduates High School and ventures out West to make this music thing happen. One year of struggling later he forms a new crew in the L.A. (W/Insane Poetry founder, Psycho) and becomes the first Chicago area MC to be signed to an established national Hip Hop label, Egyptian Empire. An album is completed, but the label goes out of business before it hits the streets.

1989 Together A Posse-"Bring In The Funk b/w Don't Bum Rush The Sound" (Feat D.J. Pumpin Pete) 12"

Whiteboy Mike-"Something To Dance To" 12" (Jive)

Rhymepoets-Nation With A Nation EP

Upski became one of the first national voices for Hip Hop in Chicago with his "Reginal Rap Report" in the Source

Those who made use of the EL trains may have periodically looked around at one of the stops and saw an issue of "It's Yours" (Elevated Press) taped up somewhere which was this short-lived, but classic magazines main and unique means of distribution. Another, Upski Innovation...

The popularity of Chicago's Hip House sound, pioneered by guys like Fast Eddie & Kool Rock Steady, can no longer be ignored and nearly every rap album this year from New York to L.A. had one Hip House attempt on it.


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III.The Production Era ('90-'93)

Things started to shift from the importance of the word into the importance of the music. This is perhaps the most critical point for Chicago Hip Hop as things swung into full gear. The Technic 1200s were being frequented by the likes of names such as Twilight Tone, Tone B Nimble, 33 1/3, Archive, Spin, Ram, Diamond Kut, pns, G Most, Third Rail, & Kaze. Gmost gets a spot over at Gramaphone records and builds up the first official Hip Hop wall. Around the same time, Hip House expanded it's rap section as well. DJ V had the Raphouse record store going on on the South side. Cliff Livingston was doing some semi-regular Hip Hop shows at The Rivera. On the Graf tip, you had SB, DC5, J Force, UAC, &TAC up everywhere. Regular Hip Hop hang spots were in Wicker Park's Triple X (gear and graf accessories) & Lit Ex (book store w/reg mc & poetry open mic sessions). There were semi-regular club events at spots like -clubs: The Oak Theater, AC Club, China Club, Shelter (Phat Fridays), and B-side Cafe. Beyond the popular Hip Hop club nites there were equally important more underground & illegal parties thrown, mainly in Lofts, around the city; 811 loft, Vision Village, Love Loft (kids would rent this spot from local legand, Wesley Willis, and have parties while Mr. Willis played his Casio in the background), 500 W. Cermak, No Palace Studio, Cafe Graf, 162 N. Jefferson, etc...

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1990 (Nov 18th): Local MC, D.A. Smart is disqualified from The Regal Theater city-wide music competition after performing his acappella piece "Black People Ain't Prejudice, We Just Mad". It was said he was disqualified because his message may have been considered offensive to White people.

Raw Material & Def Intelligence E.P. (early release from some of the members of the crew later to be better known as M.A.T.S and/or No Pity Committee)

1990: Black A.G.-"No Typa Drugdeala" 12"

1991 Richard Davenport a.k.a 3D is murdered. R.I.P

Common Sense grabbed some attention by winning the Source's Unsigned Hype in the Oct. 91 issue. This eventually led to his deal with Relativity.

Prince Akeem (w/Chuck D & Flavor Flav)-"Time To Come Correct" 12" & video [Produced by Plee Fresh]

Slang opens his Slangwear store down on 95th

A year after of the crew name being made known, the Dem Dare (Twilight Tone, Reg Noc, Claydough, etc...) Crew throw some classic Hip Hop events at the Alcatraz & The Hot House.


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1992 Tung Twista releases a few singles then followed by his Runnin Off at Da Mouth LP making him the first artist on the Loud/RCA label and more importantly, the first Chicago MC with a major label deal. In '92 he continued to break more records. This time by being the first Hip Hop artist in the Guiness Book Of World Records as they clocked him as the world's fastest rapper.

The Metro has an all local Hip Hop show on April 2nd featuring He Who Walks Three Ways, O Type Star, Steady Serv & Discover (Unison crew), Twista, F.A.T.E, Ang 13, & Mental Giants. The show is closed with a freestyle session with most of the above mentioned as well as many others (including myself).

Big Lip Promotions (Duro & crew) have the club scene on lock with the classic open mic/artist showcase spot Lower Links which was the meeting ground and foundation for many of the crews that would come out during and after this point. Later they also had success with events at the Avalon & Smart Bar. Who knows what to say when I say, "Who got big lips?"

Ten Tray release the Realm Of Darkness LP on Smash/MCA making them 1st Chicago Hip Hop group to release an album on a major label. Initially making it's debut as the Rap Sheet, but due to legalities they soon after become known as the Flypaper. The Flypaper is a key publication figure in Chicago's Hip Hop journalism history. At the time, it existed as well of information from the Chicago underground scene. If there was Hip Hop happening in Chicago then chances are they covered it.

Well respected Graffiti artists, Zore & Rafa open a spot called 935. They sold graf gear, shell toe adidas, fat laces, local tapes (ex: Stony Island), & other items that represented the essence of Hip Hop.

Whether you were in need of new music, graf supplies, gear, Hip Hop videos or who knows what else, the place to make that score was The Yard which was the brainchild of DJ Jesse De La Pena and friends.

E.C. drops his first piece of wax and just can't stop or is it can't be stopped?; The Invisible Man EP (feat. Sista Ang) ('92), Ease Back EP ('93), Ill State Of Mind Double LP('93)

1993 Underground favorites, Kinetic Order, became the first artists to ink a deal with Chameleon records which was a new subsidiary of Elektra. However, the label fell apart before anything was released.

Must have underground tapes by Stony Island "Slowly On the Southside" (3 song demo) & The Grass Is... (You Can't Bluff Father Time or Fool Mother Nature EP) were in regular rotation in many a walkman and car stereo thru out the city. The best way to get your hands on one of those gems was to catch them at one of their shows

Chicago Rocks magazine makes it debut and focuses on local Hip Hop artists with a strong connection with the Graf scene in Chicago also.

Dialing 708-918-RAGE connected you with the RAGE Hip Hop info line which kept callers updated on local events, new releases and featured exclusive freestyles and verses from a variety of national artists (ex: Kool Keith, Kurious, Godfather Don, Pudgee, Coolio, etc...). All arranged and managed by a four-track wired to the phone line...

Rage Cage Productions compiles a compilation demo titled "Out Of The Cage Into Confinement" (feat. Rubberoom, Undaground Soulution, etc...) and embarks on a mission to give New York a taste of the flavor in Chicago. However, only after getting a few tapes out and receiving some positive responses, while in the Stepsun Records office their vehicle is broken into and only the bag of demo tapes are stolen...

Disco Dave of WGCI's "Rapdown" show passes away (R.I.P)

Common-Can I borrow A Dollar? LP

D2ThaS-"Hellhole" 12"

J.G.-"Put Down the guns" 12" (w/Ten Tray, Rhyme Poets, Prince Akeem)

The popularity of Mixtapes swept the Midwest and DJ Third Rail started his "Subway Hip Hop" series Mixtapes & Mixx Massacre of The Molemen drops "A View From The Underground: Fat Tape 1".

In June, WJPC 950 AM becomes known as Rap Radio and sports a new sound as a 24 hour Hip Hop station

Hip Hop Phenomenon: On March 5th, Zore & Rafa give a Graffiti art exhibit. They hads some of their work on exhibit, a room with a full wall burner top to bottom, a full size wall piece of Afrika Bambaataa done by Rafa and a few blank walls for Writers who came thru to put their work up on. All that plus performances from the likes of Dead Poets Society, Knomadz (their first show), Stony Island, Ang 13, & The Grass is...


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IV. The Independent label Era ('94-'97):
Indie labels had always been a part of Hip Hop, but it was still a system were artists relied on someone to sign them to a label. In this instance, it was the motion set forth by groups, such as Wu-tang, that gave artists the incentive to put their music out themselves.



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1994 Common releases his lead single, "I Used To Love H.E.R", off his sophomore LP, which metaphorically describes his love for Hip Hop and how "she" changed thru out the main different eras and eventually abandonded the conscious statement and strayed into gangsterism. This was misinterpreted by Ice Cube as a diss to the West Coast and sparked him to lash out at Common on a Wessyde Connection record. Which ultimately lead to Common's rebuttle with "The Bitch In Yoo!". Allow me to also mention that I was the one who had the pleasure of putting that Wessyde Connection LP in Common's hand and quoting Ice Cube when Common asked "...so what did he say about me?"

Wildpitch, known for having a great ear for talent, snatched up All Natural, but they folded before releasing anything (except "Hip Hop Is Back" on the now famous Wildpitch Classics mixtape).

In the summer, WJPC gets bought out and becomes 106Jamz and in an attempt to compete with WGCI adopts a Hip Hop/R&B format based on the blueprints of stations such as Hot 97 in New York.

After a successful performance night on March 31st at the Playhouse in Forest Park the plans were set in motion that lead to the forming of The Elements Of Nature crew (Rubberoom, Children Of Reality, Spelany's, Gravity, Thawfor, Dirty M.F., Verb, etc...) A collective of Mcs of producers who soon solidified themselves as a force to be recognized and respected.

The Elbo Room became the first home to Jesse De La Pena's "Blue Groove Lounge" nites which has since moved around a bit, but 6 years later is still in tact.

In print, Caught In The Middle magazine made a strong debut, giving Common Sense his first cover story, but only survived thru two issues.

Upski released one of the most talked about and respected pieces of Hip Hop journalism, Bomb The Suburbs.

Former Kinetic Order member, Judgemental, impressed as well as shocked many by taking the first place slot at the last New Music Seminar in New York by taking out many Mcs, including King Sun in the final round.

Local pride was at an all time high which prompted The First Annual Props awards which was a ceremony to give due credit and respect to various local artists who had made their mark on Chicago Hip Hop history and/or were currently making moves to do so.

Steady Serv-You Know The Time 12" (reigns as one of the most respected singles in the Chicago underground...purely classic)

Fully G-There She Goes Again 12"

Blazae Blazae sign a deal with Island, but this deal also falls apart.




East Of The Rock sends in three different singles for pressing, but none of them become actual releases and exist in the most minimal form possible. Regarded as three of the most sought items by Chicago DJ completest. The most popular being the Egyptian Musk/Galaxy Rays 12".

Treach of Naughy By Nature is quoted as making a series of negative coments about Chicago Mcs and then continues on by disrespecting Tung Twista on their 19-naughty-3 LP. This sparks much controversy and a barrage of verbal assaults from Chicago artists. Most notably on D2ThaS-Dissin These Fools 12" & of course by Twista on "Suicide" which was the first single to what would have been his sophomore LP, Resurrection. However, it was never released.


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1995 On April 20th The Time Travel show was established on WNUR in an attempt to make the education of Hip Hop culture, the artists involved and all the inner-workings as important as the musical selection.

E.C. delivers his Illa LP and makes his biggest noise yet. This one helps him not only continue his success locally, but reach out to many welcoming ears from coast to coast. Complete with the "On Ill" video which captures the essence of the Chicago scene rather excellently.

Tha Chamba-Makin' Illa Noize LP (Ichiban)

Common-Resurrection LP (Relativity): Simply put this is a must have. Regarded as a Hip Hop classic by some of the most respected names in Hip Hop.

Legally, Common is forced to drop the "Sense" from his name

Demon, Nerd, & Ewok open up a shop called Uptown/Beatdown; selling local music, Graf mags & gear, mixtapes, and other treats.

Rubberoom-Gothic Architecture EP

Talent Fest Compilation (feat. Juice, Spelanys, Undaground Soulution, Ang 13, etc...)

The Molemen started with a series of cassettes with various artists. The most memorable being the Vakill "Who's Afraid?" release.

Crucial Conflict signed with Pallas and made plenty of noise with their "HAY" single. The LP, Final Tic, goes Gold.

Roc delivers Klipart magazine which had quite a concept; it was made backwards, meaning you had to flip the pages to the right not the left... you get it? Anyway, the best thing about it is that thru out the whole issues there were actually Graffiti flicks that pulled right out!!!

1996 A year after their tape only releases, Rhymefest became the first Molemen full vinyl project and his "How we Chill" & "How We Chill PT. 2" (w/J.U.I.C.E) both reign as local anthems.

Stony Island-Super Transfer EP (features the first official production by pns)

Whatnoxic-Fly Urban Scenery 12" & EP

Gravity, Originally from New York, but arrived in Chicago around '91/'92 caught a deal and the result was his Down To Earth LP (correct)

T.S.P-Look What the Wind Blew In (tape only)

Earatik Statik release their double cassette LP "Enter The Third Rail".

Howie opens up the Beat Parlor record store and quickly becomes one of the top Hip Hop spots in the city.

DJ pns releases the first in a series of three mixtapes entitled "Chicago Rocks" strictly featuring the best, most rare and/or important work of local talent from all eras of Chicago Hip Hop history.

In honor of it's 50th show anniversary (May 2nd), The Time Travel show (WNUR) hosts an on air local free-for-all; "Skill Showcase/Style Wars '96". Over 50 of the top MCS were invited to the show and though all couldn't make it, between the ones who did and the hungry new Mcs who just showed up it was a full house. The show started off with a huge freestyle session and it was an all out MC battle (the first organized radio MC battle...perhaps?). Every year after that Time Travel had an annual all local show.

2nd annual props awards

Pinkhouse, Chicago Hip Hop radio pioneer and legend passes away on Nov 2nd (R.I.P)

JUICE & Rhymesfest take 1st and 2nd place, respectively, at the Rapsheet battle in LA

1997 DEE JAY BIRD drops his "Beneath The Surface" mixtape that utilizes all sorts of movie dialog collages and all sorts of other studio trickery that helps set a new standard in recording mixtapes.

JUICE wins first at the 2nd Annual Scribble Jam MC battle in Ohio

Do Or Die & Twista are key factors in Traxster & Wendy Day being able to get Creators Way signed, to what is still the biggest Chicago Hip Hop label deal in our history, with Atlantic. They land a $2 Million contract to release and produce acts as well as remain the owners of the masters.


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V. The Internet Era ('98-the present):
By now everyone knows that these days most businesses, particularly independently owned ones, depend heavily open the internet for their success. It's an excellent means of getting information on your company and what you have to offer...and quickly. The Chicago scene is pretty well captured by the likes of the following; www.madeulook.com, & www.rebirthmag.com, Musically, the last two years have been dominated by two forces in Chicago; The Molemen & All Natural Inc. After releasing their "Buried Alive" EP in '97 and receiving national attention the Molemen became a hot commodity on the indie circuit. Panik, Memo, & pns were all quickly sought out to lend their production to various projects from coast to coast and along the way they reached out to many of the same artists as well as many more to drop vocals on a variety of releases for Molemen recordings. All Natural paved their road to success the old fashioned way...strictly skills & persistence. Approximately ten years of turntabism with precision, rhymes with wit, & concepts with depth on the local scene has slowly, but efficiently built All Natural a formidable foundation as well as a solid fan base. 2001 marks the release of a worthy sophomore LP, "2nd Nature" and a shifting of focus to the remaining members of the Family Tree (Daily Planet, Iomos Marad, & Mr. Greenweedz, etc...).

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1998 All Natural embarks on a independent journey with a few singles and then the All Additives, No Preservatives album. Which was well received on a national level. Included with the album is a 95 page pocket sized book called Fresh Air that contains a series of essays, comics, short stories, and the albums lyrics all written by Capital D.

Undaground Soulution-In Spring Training EP

Thawfor-Where Thawght Is Worshipped EP

The album dropped on cassette only in '97, but the Knomadz (a.k.a S.B.) come back a year later with an EP version of Chicago Avenews on limited edition vinyl. The bonus, the once plain white jacket of these white label records all have different Graf pieces and tags from the crew drawn right on them.

Nacrobats-We Equator (tape only)


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1999 Rubberoom gets signed to 3-2-1 records and completes their Architechnology LP and a few weeks after it's release the label folds...the Chicago legacy it seems.

Seel-Abnormal Psychology EP

Matlock-Crazy Artist Type cassette album

The Galapagos4 label kicks off with a local compilation called the Blackbook Sessions followed by the debut album, Squints, from Offwhyte. Since then they've released the both very successful Typical Cats & The Netherworlds LPs and have positioned themselves as a potential powerhouse for the Chicago indie label scene.

2000 Juice releases his Molemen produced "Sincerely" 12" and makes a lot people eat their words about him not being be able to wrote great songs... particularly ones not about battling.

TBA-Them Bad Apples & Costume LPs

Slang opens his Extended Imagery studio downtown

2001 www.hiphopquest.com. makes its way on to the web. It was created and set-up with the primary function being used as a Hip Hop search engine. They've also added many other features that add to his appeal. Including a extensive Chicago Hip Hop timeline that focuses strictly on artists releases (singles, albums, demos, etc...).

With detailed information on a healthy helping of Hip Hops all time greats as well as rarely known "whispered legends", newcomer, www.legendarylyricists.com is destined to garner a lot of attention & admiration.

Trixster prepares to release his book on the art of Graffiti culture. Working title, Grafology.

For the 6th year anniversary (April 19th) Time Travel does a 3 week local spotlight. 6 hours of Chicago Hip Hop played in chronological order from the first record to the most current.

After over 15 years of building his name up locally and nationally as an ill Graffiti artist (a.k.a Stane) and a top notch MC, Akbar finally drops his debut Big Bang Boogie album. It's being regarded as one of the most solid releases of the year and is stocked with head nodding production & lyrics that boast wit, spirituality, dominance, and compassion.

The Molemen's Ritual Of The Mole LP has them working with some of the most sought after Mcs on the underground, ranging from the abstract to the in your face hardcore.

Family Tree-Plantin Seedz EP (cd only) & Close Knit Family EP (vinyl only. double vinyl, one vocals & the other instrumentals).

Thawfor releases his first official album, Where Thawght Is Worshipped, on Indus. However, it's manufactured by Tri-Eight Distribution in Tokyo and is only available on import outside of Japan.

The Opus (the production team behind Rubberoom) complete their first project independent from the Rubberoom Mcs. Contains eight intrumentals and five vocal tracks (feat. Murs, Micronauts, Aesop Rock, Lumba, Slug, and others).

Slaughterhouse V member Lord 360 drops a self produced solo single; "Hail To The Profit" b/w "The Third Type"

Seven of Chocolate Industries masterminds a "box in the park" jam. They ran a pirate radio station out of house in Wicker Park with various DJS and had everyone bring a radio to the park and tune into the station and listen

3 Wisemen Entertainment compiles a collection of various rare Chicago demo recordings and releases them on a limited edition CD.



until the next thought I see ...

Peace, Visual