DJ Premier and The Alchemist finally brought their “He’s The Preemo, I’m The Chemist” tour to the United States, hitting LA on May 9th. I am secretly jealous of everyone that got to go - especially seeing that they brought out Dilated Peoples for a surprise performance.
The Alchemist and DJ Premier have a special relationship for sure, one that Al talked about at our Legend Conversation with him a few summers ago. We are posting today in celebration of two Hip Hop master craftsmen, and also with 🤞that they bring this to Chicago.
Legend Conversation returns 6/25/26. Gonna be one.
We are getting to the fun part.
This is the sweet spot.
This is the moment when the boulder isn’t up the hill, but you can see the top. You’ve perfected some kind of haphazard method of pushing the boulder - hands just like-so, legs working together in rhythm, and a 3rd or 4th wind kicking in.
I’m sure many of my peers in the music industry know this feeling. You find an artist, formulate plans to develop their sound, style and audience. You convince (and reconvince) them to keep their head down and stay the course little win by little win at a time.
This is when the little wins start to add up, and your friend momentum gives you a little boost to make that heavy boulder feel not so heavy.
Recoechi Live at Schubas September 2nd.
Recoechi Act 2: Body of God coming right before that.
“SI BUENO / On BRO” out now everywhere featuring Mike DFG and SABA.
RecoeSZN has begun.
Today, tomorrow, and forever - we remember & pay homage to Timothy Francis Jones, better known as the late great DJ TIMBUCK2.
A career in Chicago & a love for our music, his legacy will last for lifetimes ahead.
🎥: @djrtc for @rubyhornet 👈🏼
#ChicagoHistory ☑️
“I’m just excited. I think it’s gonna be a classic.” - Chance The Rapper on Acid Rap, 8.24.12.
From the summer of 2012 to roughly 2014, I hosted Closed Sessions Radio with JR Bang. We broadcasted live from Windy City Underground every Friday morning and these shows became my favorite part of the week. I got to joke around and talk s**t with JR Bang, put him onto the underground Hip Hop I loved as a kid, debut new songs, and interview everyone from DJ Shadow and Wyclef Jean to Freddie Gibbs and Joey Purp. We became a part of the community and artists regularly brought us new music and announcements.
Occasionally they’d call in to start or stop a beef, or air some personal grievances, but hey…
For a show with no budget, no crazy connections or personalities, I think we did pretty well for ourselves.
One of my favorite episodes was also one of our earliest and featured a call-in from Chance The Rapper. He was fresh off his biggest tour to date, opening up for Childish Gambino. He talked about his experiences since 10 Day, how it translated to his new music, and breaking thru writer’s block as he started a new project. That project was Acid Rap, which he announced and broke down here.
It’s a trip to hear him talk about this project in its earliest stages, especially considering what it became. Acid Rap just celebrated an anniversary and is once again being recognized for its brilliance. If you were around the scene at that time though, Chance’s prediction that it would be a classic sounded more like a sure thing than a longshot.
You can hear the full interview at ClosedSessions.com - where we have been archiving a lot of interviews and photos, with more added every week.
******
#tbt
I think praise from @bigdaddydeja is a pretty good sign that you’re onto something.”
Taken from Legend Conversation number 13 with the @djtonytouch . He is known as an incredible DJ and a mixtape legend, but don’t sleep on his emcee skills. The Piecemaker is a 💎
“watch me change the narrative about these east side slums.” - Recoechi
Press ▶️▶️▶️ on “SI BUENO / ON BRO” where ever you stream your music.
produced by: Renzell.WAV
video by: Christian Loggins & Rikkie Khrist
Happy 🎂 to me.
A year filled with many life changes, some high highs and low lows. Best thing I can say is that I made it through, learned a lot, and realized how lucky I am to have my family ❤️ & the Closed Sessions + Legend Conversation communities. Here’s to another trip around the ☀️
LEP Bogus Boys were boiling hot in the summer of 2011. They had the Chicago rap game in a chokehold. Their music was menacing and their presence felt whenever they entered a room.
Closed Sessions Vol. 2 was in its final stages. We’d completed songs and documentaries with Raekwon, CyHi The Prynce, Freddie Gibbs, Ninjasonik, Outasight, and others.
On a hot day in July, I ran into LEP outside the PHLI Store on 53rd, and they asked me why they hadn’t been invited yet to participate in the series. It was a good question. Truthfully, we just didn’t think they’d want to do it or didn’t see rubyhornet/closed sessions fans as their fans.
As Dash says at the beginning of this clip, “I bet you got a lot of happy songs on this,” 🤣🤣🤣
We thought about it more and it became more exciting and appealing. A chance to “f**k people’s heads up,” as we used to say a lot around the CS office. That was always part of the mission - can we do something fresh?can we bring something not expected?
LEP came thru and immediately announced their intentions to compete with the rest of our catalog - to be “the top of the catalog.” I think the whole Closed Sessions experience came to be viewed as an event in the Rap Olympics to many of the artists that participated. They watched our previous documentaries, listened to the music and many saw it as a major proving ground or checklist item for their ascent. LEP was on that from the jump.
This session was a lot of fun, but it was also very long. Finding the right production was a struggle. At one point, I was concerned that this would be our first Closed Session that didn’t result in a completed song. Luckily, we had Nascent on the “phone-a-friend line.” He came through in the clutch with BP of the Olympicks to create an absolute banger while LEP left to get lunch.
Once we had the beat and LEP returned, the energy became electric and everything came to life.
It also opened my eyes to LEP’s secret weapon, Dash, who is now a heavyweight President of A&R at Geffen.
Shortly after, the photographer Alexander Richter stayed at my apartment for about a week and played this song non-stop. I decided to mak
Using nostalgia and honoring traditions is not the same being nostalgic or stuck in the past. All the artists, labels, and brands that I love and study have found a way to continually share their origin story in new ways. They use their beginnings and accomplishments as the solid tree from which to grow new branches and plant new trees.
The Blog era, much like every other era before it, is not coming back. However, energy is neither created nor destroyed, it’s changed. And that energy and spirit is forever.
From my amazing interview with @thoughtpoet77 for his In The Land series.
Quick story time…
Recoechi released his new single, “SI BUENO / ON BRO” on Friday. The song features Mike DFG and Saba. It’s a special record on a few levels, and one that some people may not know about.
shouts to all involved and things coming full circle.
Looking at my Gucci, it’s about that time.
GroundWaves is back in Chicago next week with a smattering of events from an open mic to a bboy tournament, film screenings and open to beats to soccer matches, plus their Sunday family party.
Pop-out and say what’s up if you can find me.
Record Deals vs. Bank Loans…
It’s been an ongoing debate for years. In this clip from Legend Conversation 14 with Little Brother, Phonte breaks down how a studio session with Yasiin Bey shaped his perspective. Agree or disagree?
This clips also contains: DOOM appreciation, and a Hip Hop’s head dream that there is a Little Brother x Q-Tip x Method Man demo somewhere out in the universe 🙏.
Full Episode and all Episodes from Legend Conversation Vol. 2 coming very soon.
