The Next Generation of Chicago Rap : Gaming Club Turned Rap Stars.
By: Soda Run Media
Tags: Rap, Hip Hop, Chicago, Music, New Music

The Next Generation of Chicago Rap : Gaming Club Turned Rap Stars.

Historically, Chicago’s rap scene has been the home to many different generations of regional style. Similar to other cities, each generation to emerge from Chicago has a hallmark sound with several artists making music within the same wheelhouse to help shape distinctive tendencies sonically for the region. For example, Do or Die, Twista, and Crucial Conflict carried the torch for Chicago hip hop’s iconic fast rhymes over melodic hooks. Another example, Common, Lupe Fiasco, and Kanye West collectively pioneered diverse word play matched with soul samples and elaborate drum patterns.

During more recent years, Chicago’s influence in other markets has been clear and obvious. The local Drill movement has inspired rappers of the largest acts in UK’s Grime genre and launched a sub-genre in “New York Drill” with rappers such as Pop Smoke & Sheff G.

Many local enthusiasts wonder what the next sound in Chicago will be… look no further than “Exit the Premises.”

The story goes- Exit the Premises, or ETP as they nicknamed themselves, is a collective of Westside Chicago youths that started off as a small gamer community that eventually turned into habitual recording artists. The ETP crew consists of 8 rappers SoloCelo, Vell Le Villain, Goldenboymnny, Kredit, Jae Rio, Kaisaanne, T3, FlauntKid, and producer- Prod.Ra. ETP thrives on recording solo projects — imagine ASAP Mob without the two Cozy Tapes. However, do not write off an Exit the Premises crew tape. Many of the members have recently completed solo albums and all signs lead to a joint album in the near future.

The most recent release from ETP is Vell Le Villain’s debut album LIVEVIL, a dark & melodic coming of age story detailing the survival of a child growing up in the actual environment of Drill movement. Vell started his music career in 2018 releasing the EP Heartbreak Planet with tracks focused on regretful relationships and drug abuse. After suffering writers block post Heartbreak Planet, Vell was given the assignment by his management team to record a Halloween EP. He began recording in September 2019

and tapped into experiences growing up on the West Side of Chicago as inspirations for what was to be pitched as a horror themed tape but quickly turned into a nightmarish chronicle of real-life events. Vell explained specific life altering situations he used for inspiration such as being face down in the pavement while frantic police officers held guns to his head, locking eyes with fellow friends, and believing his life would be over for simply running home past curfew.

In addition to the insidious experiences, Vell explores his vocal range more than previous projects. He grew up as a singer in choir acts most of his childhood. In many ways Vell’s style exploration has brought Chicago’s rap community full circle with his effortless transitions between rapping and singing over Prod.Ra’s defiant beats.

LIVEVIL marks a pivot for ETP. Their producer, Prod.Ra, has perfected his craft to help boost a more mature sound than previous projects. Ra, the 17-year-old production guru, has not only been producing for ETP, but also for local contemporary Supa Bwe. Beyond that, Ra produced the viral hit by Future Kingz, 3Vets, which hit 100 million streams in one quarter.

ETP’s path to being the forerunner of Chicago’s next generation of rap stars will be shaped in the coming months by releases like SoloCelo’s — Life Is Drain due April 26, Goldenboymnny’s- Once Upon A Time due in May, and the continued traction of from previous projects Kredit- Better Off Without You & T3-Self Titled. Kaisaanne and Jae Rio are expected with debut releases in late 2020.

The future in this world is grim at the moment but one thing is for certain, Exit the Premises will have made a case for being the next sound of Chicago’s illustrious rap community.