Alex Wiley On The Road To Becoming His Own Man

Last Wednesday I noted what a strong week it had been for Chicago hip-hop, even though it wasn’t entirely finished, and the day after that I got stuck on new tracks from, among others, Ibn Inglor (“Belief”), Lucki Ecks (“Boomin’”), Chief Keef (“Save Me”), and Chris Crack (“DopePussyMoney”). February’s shaping up to be quite a month for local rap. Just yesterday west-side group Sicko Mobb dropped the glittering bop cut “Pump Fakin’,” and iTunes began streaming Rick Ross’s Mastermind, which includes a track produced by Kanye West and LA ratchet king DJ Mustard called “Sanctified”—the track’s so great it even makes Big Sean’s generally unexceptional rapping sound somewhat decent.

Leor Galil writes about hip-hop every Wednesday.