When a superstar rapper teams with an up-and-comer it has the potential to obscure what the latter has already built. So now that Kanye and Drake have taken interest in grime artist Skepta these past couple years, the stateside pop fan might not care as much about the reemergence of the genre as it pertains to its native U.K. In the early 2000s grime grew out of pirate radio stations that illegally flooded London’s airwaves with the sounds of jungle and garage, with DJs inviting tag teams of MCs to rap atop hard-edged, 140-BPM electronic instrumentals....

Lost Lake 3154 W. Diversey Runner-Up The Sixth

Blurry Photos blurryphotos.org/podcast @Blurry_Photos Runner-Up Clerk & Dagger

Even after spending decades moshing in dank VFW halls and DIY basements, Gossip Wolf never tires of well-crafted old-school hardcore punk—and Chicago crew Uglybones always deliver a mighty wallop! Last month they dropped their sophomore LP, Sunshine, on local label Don’t Panic, and it packs a truckload of righteous fury into barely 17 minutes. “Bottom Feeder” and “Animal” deliver enough chugging breakdowns, blistering riffs, and obnoxious vocals to satisfy any meathead punk....

On February 10 at around 9 PM, Richard Pallardy was walking home to his apartment near Fullerton and Sacramento from a swim at Logan Square’s Kosciuszko Park. Strolling south on Kimball, the 33-year-old freelance writer began crossing Wrightwood in the crosswalk, with a walk signal. As he did so, a northbound driver made a sudden left turn on Wrightwood and struck him. As I noted a year ago, when 34-year-old mechanic Christopher Sanchez was killed in Avondale, 40 percent of Chicago pedestrian fatalities between 2005 and 2014 involved drivers who fled, according to Chicago Department of Transportation data....

California Avenue between North and Chicago Avenues is blossoming into a must-visit corridor of modest, tasteful shops and restaurants that has the potential to reach a saturation point when Brendan Sodikoff does whatever he plans on doing to the California Clipper. Hopefully it won’t drive up the price point at any of the highly affordable furniture shops that’ve popped up—especially not at Humboldt House, my personal favorite. Proprietor Claire Tibbs has excellent taste in midcentury-modern furniture, specifically sofa chairs, tables, and lamps....

oozingwound.bandcamp.com Runner-Up Yakuza

Kelis Rock legend Elvis Costello’s show this week might be sold out, but in typical Chicago summer fashion, there’s still so much going on you’ll probably have trouble keeping track. On Monday, local rock outfits Post Child and Strawberry Jacuzzi play a free show at Whistler while on Tuesday there’s a weirdo-rock freak-out fest at Township with locals Toupee and Lil Tits. On Wednesday, Fuck Buttons play at Bottom Lounge and Disclosure makes two appearances—one at the zoo and one at the Mid....

My first appearance in the Reader—following a few decades as a devoted reader—was in a fiction issue, and it always struck me as a fantastic way to round out a year of alternative newsweeklies. Of course to do it right we would have had to have planned it several months in advance, but Karen Hawkins—our digital managing editor—and I had both just started by the time it became clear, in early November, that no fiction issue had been scheduled for 2018....

Blue Is the Warmest Color In yesterday’s post, I briefly compared the pleasure of delving into an epic narrative to that of preparing an elaborate meal. I could have noted that these pleasures often overlap. Two of the examples I cited yesterday—Thomas Mann’s novel Buddenbrooks (1901) and Abdellatif Kechiche’s recent film Blue Is the Warmest Color—feature lengthy scenes of meals being prepared and eaten. In both, these scenes deepen our understanding of the characters’ domestic lives—and, by implication, the social traditions they inherit....

chicagotribune.com/entertainment/books/printersrowlitfest Runner-Up Chicago Zine Fest Louder Than a Bomb

Bike the Drive bikethedrive.org Runner-Up Critical Mass

Shuffleboard may have been a favorite pastime of King Henry VIII’s, but you’ll never feel more American than when you play at the Revolution Brewing Tap Room in Avondale while standing in the shadow of a monstrous star-spangled banner. The 15-feet-tall-by-25-feet-wide flag lords over the bar nestled inside the brewery’s complex, with the shuffleboard table situated between the two, gamely playing its role as one of the best activities to eat up hours of an afternoon....

“Black Caucus, Black Caucus They don’t really care Black Caucus, Black Caucus Always backs the mayor Black Caucus, Black Caucus They don’t vote with us Black Caucus, Black Caucus Now your time is up! Now your time is up! Now your time is up!” “If anybody else wanna protest you better take it outside,” Austin said, laughing. “‘Cause I guarantee you ain’t seen no gangsters like this city’s aldermen.” #NoCopAcademyJustice for #SnoopJustice for #TyrellJustice for #MauriceGrantonJr Justice for #RonnieMan#BlackLivesMatter #BlackCaucusShutDown They called themselves “Gangsters” yup your Black caucus!...

Tomorrow, the women (and male allies) of America march on Washington and more than 200 other cities, including here in Chicago, where nearly 50,000 people are expected to rally in Grant Park and then walk en masse to Federal Plaza. But even before the marches, people are gathering to prepare, to make hats and buttons and signs, and to talk about their reasons for marching. There are few things more threatening to the patriarchy—or more overlooked—than a women’s crafting circle....

A plan for Logan Square Change has come to Logan Square at a decent clip in recent years. Now a local group is promoting a plan that could bring even bigger alterations to the neighborhood’s landscape. The idea really started with traffic. There’s a science to making the roadways safer and work better for everyone, according to Semple, who says that better routing for cars and paths for bikes through the main segment makes things safer and more efficient for everyone....

Chicago Urban Art Society 600 W. Cermak, unit 1B 773-951-8101 chicagourbanartsociety.com Runner-Up Pawn Works

Granted, this 13-episode venture created by and starring Brandon Ogborn, Brianna Baker, and Mike Malarkey doesn’t really bask in its Chicagoness. Its true focus is on newlyweds Chris and Nic, played by Ogborn and Baker respectively, as they comedically and often dramatically navigate the ins and outs of the bedroom, the still-distant prospect of parenthood, and the introduction of an irksome ex-husband (Malarkey) into the couple’s still-fresh relationship. But establishing shots of el tracks hovering in the background of a street lined with two-flats, not to mention a finale set at the Diversey River Bowl, add precisely the right touch of the city—the show’s never too stiff a cocktail, just strong enough to get you a tad sentimental....

Chicago Diner 3411 N. Halsted Runner-Up Alice & Friends’ Vegan Kitchen