Don’t Hate Them Because They’re Hip
One of Chicago’s hottest scenes has attracted the inevitable backlash.
By Miles Raymer
June 5, 2008
In late May the old-school hip-hop site Unkut.com put up a post called “The Search for the Biggest Douchebag in Hipster Rap.” Site curator Robbie Ettelson defines the hipster-rap scene as a “new wave of ‘ironic’ rappers who seem hell-bent on achieving new levels of sucking,” dismissively calls their style “Party Rocking,” and complains about the “gimmicky, calculated vibe” of everything they do. “Whether it’s wearing 80’s gear and garish print hoodies, rapping about skateboards and BMX bikes or making songs about nail polish/lip gloss, these wacky young ’uns are poised to take ’tarded rap to the next level.” The post ends with a poll, “Who Is the Biggest Hipster Rap Douchbag [sic],” and five of the eight contenders presented are from Chicago: the Cool Kids, Kanye West, Kid Sister, Lupe Fiasco, and Kidz in the Hall.

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Kanye West- duh. Numerous albums with amazing hit singles, sweet sunglasses and his fame beginning with an almost tragic car accident. Kanye might have a few attitude adjustments to figure out but don’t we all?

Common**- double duh. Smart and pensive lyrics make me really respect him. Right on, Common.

J.U.I.C.E.- or MC Juice respectively, he’s “the illest warrior of all time in rap music”, or so says the intro on his myspace page.

CopperShot- Made up of emcee LongShot and producer Copperpot, Coppershot is a little less abrasive than most mainstream hip hop out there today. More smart lyrics make the listener actually live up to their name and LISTEN. The song “Save Me” is really good.

White Boy- Chicago- based ICEE Records’ own has been wowing crowds since 2004 with his amazing and energetic music.

Nacrobats- consisting of Pugslee, Thaione, Psalm, infinito and Cosmo, Nacrobats bring the sounds or early hip hop with today’s technology and present something totally cool.

Lupe Fiasco- “Superstar” anyone? Enough said.

Lord 360- Straight out of Rogers Park, Lord 360 incorporates loops of creative sounds with hypnotic rhymes that captivate the listener instantly.

Common Sense- ** This is actually what Common was known as in the early ’90s. Youtube Common Sense and you’ll probably die laughing.

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