The Monkey Hermit releases his first EP Abstrct. Part of the Artistic Brigade this Chicago local chooses to remain anonymous behind a monkey mask keeping it more focused on the music. If you are lucky enough to know the Monkey Hermit personally you can probably make out his voice as he does his own vocals. The Abstrct EP contains 4 tracks with some hip hop and boom bap elements, making it the perfect ep to kick back and chill to. This is only his first EP of many so make sure to follow him on his soundcloud for future updates. You can also catch the Artistic Brigade throwing parties every weekend showcasing their music. More info on the Artistic Brigade facebook page.
ProbCause comes out with the perfect summer album to listen to while you are out chillin with the homies. While ProbCause is busy on his nationwide tour in the states he managed to perfect his album Waves with some massive collaborations. Working with Exmag, Gibbz and Chicago locals Donnie Trumpet, Chance the Rapper and even Twista, Prob otherwise known as Colin Grimm spits the rawest lyrics over smooth beats. The diversity in music styles that Colin can work with shows what talent and creativity he is capable of. I cannot wait to hear what ProbCause has in store for the future. You can follow Prob on facebook and soundcloudto keep up with his updates as he continues on with his tour into the summer.
Check out Waves below. Download link in the soundcloud description.
CRNKN has the the third free release on the Nest HQ platform in what he is calling his “first legitimate EP”. Along with the 6 track EP, the man also known as Gabriel Baer released a concept video to outline the overall feel and idea of new EP “The Clearing”. The video is a black and white grainy artist rendering of a mans struggle to overcome fear to reach his goal, with clips of all 6 tracks playing one after the other setting the mood for the visuals. It is seemingly an artistic metaphor for whatever challenges lie between person and their ultimate goal and what it takes to achieve it.
For Gabriel it seems his goal is to challenge what people expect of him musically. In an interviewwith Nest he states, “With The Clearing I wanted to try and distance myself from whatever preconceived notions people had / have about the kinds of music that I make”, he goes on to say, “It’s really important to have room to experiment and grow as an artist so with this release I’m hoping to lay the groundwork for that”.
CRNKN’s shift in artistic expression musically is apparent with one of his recent remixes “Bedroom Wall” from Banks, taking on a more deep house vibe rather than his usual trap beats. His experimentation is getting some positive feedback from the fans as well. I personally enjoy hearing an artist take on new styles mixed with their own, and with CRNKN, you can you can really hear how his style is evolving scrolling through his soundcloud.
Zeds Dead still fresh from releasing their single “Hadouken” come back around with another epic remix. This time DC & Hooks put their attention on Broken Bells “Holdin On For Life” adding their deep synths to give this song new life. Compared to the massive bass of Hadouken this remix creates a deep vibe you can lose your head to, which would add a breathe of fresh air a crowd can come down to in a live set filled with the crazy highs and lows DC & Hooks uses to control their audience with their versatile sound. Zeds Dead continue to amaze with new tunes while they continue on with their 2014 Tour schedule. Make sure to follow Zeds Dead on facebook or soundcloud so you don’t miss out on any updates!
DJ Rashad passes away Saturday, April 26 at the at of 34.
DJ Rashad was found unresponsive on the West Side of Chicago at 1:30 pm. The cause of death was a blood clot in his leg. Rashads cousin made his label Hyperdub aware of the cause after reports from blogs and other media outlets prematurely concluded that his cause of death was due to an overdose. News of his death began circulating through social media websites as friends and artists began posting their condolences after DJ Godfather, who was scheduled to play alongside DJ Spinn & Rashad that evening, revealed the news via Twitter.
Born Rashad Harden, the local Chicago DJ is well known for his influences and contributions to the rise of the juke and footwork scene in the city. Getting involved with ghetto house in his early years he started out dancing and taking part in battles before moving on to DJing and his own music productions alongside lifelong friend and collaborator DJ Spinn. Rashad and the Teklife crew gained a reputable following after Rashad signed with British Dance Label Hyperdub and releasing a beautiful dance album “Double Cup” in 2013. DJ Rashad also released a new ep “We On 1” on the 22nd of April, the first release on Southern Belle Recordings.
Check out DJ Rashad perform at last years Pitchfork Music Festival.
Hyperdub and Rashad’s representatives have released a statement on his death. Read it in full below:
DJ Rashad aka Rashad Hanif Harden, 34-years-old (born October 9th 1979) the Calumet City, IL-based DJ and producer, passed away around Saturday, April 26, 2014 on Chicago’s Lower West Side. He leaves behind a nine-year-old son, Chad and his parents, mother Gloria Harden, and father, Anthony Harden. The cause of his death has not yet been determined.
Rashad’s father told the Chicago Sun Times on Saturday: “Since he was a kid, he’s been doing this. He knew what he wanted to do, and a lot of us don’t get a chance to make our dream come true.”
His manager, Wes Harden: “Rashad was a kind soul that left an indelible mark on the music world as the torchbearer of Footwork and Juke. Rest assured that all of those close to him will make sure that the legacy lives on for a great man whose life has been cut far too short.”
Kode9 from Hyperdub: “I was honored to release music from Rashad on Hyperdub. I’ve only known him for around 3 years, but he had become a good friend and one of my biggest musical influences. He was one of the funniest, most positive people I’ve ever met and a true innovator. Everyone at the label is devastated by his passing and wish to send our sincere condolences to all his friends and family in Chicago, the Teklife crew and anyone anywhere who was graced by his presence and uplifted by his music. I’ll never forget singing duet with him in a karaoke bar in Tokyo”
DJ Rashad was a quintessential figurehead in the evolution from Ghetto House to Chicago Juke to Footwork and one of the artists to have to consistently pushed the evolution of the Footwork genre forward. He was born in Chicago and moved to the deep south suburb of Calumet City, IL soon after. Rashad started out as a dancer (around the time he was in seventh grade) cutting his teeth with some of the most respected dance groups including HouseOMatics, The Phyrm, and Wolf Pac. He quickly thereafter took up DJing with some of his first public gigs around 1992 at spots like his sixth grade high school club Jubilation. He met his longtime ally, DJ Spinn, during homeroom class at Thornwood High School in 1996. They quickly began producing tracks at each others’ houses. During this era, they DJ’d parties with the likes of RP Boo, DJ Clent, Gant-Man and others.. His first release to make it to vinyl was the track Child Abuse on Dance Mania (mislabeled as DJ Thadz) in 1998. Following the release of his single Itz Not Rite (Planet Mu) and his inclusion on the Bangs and Works album (Planet Mu) circa late 2010 he was constantly in demand around the world and spent the majority of his time on the road touring the world as a DJ, more often than not in tandem in with his closest, lifelong friend, DJ Spinn.
He was involved in many Footwork cliques – including Beatdown House (founded by DJ Clent), the Ghettoteknitianz (with DJ Spinn) and Teklife. As a producer his crowning achievement was the October 2013 release of his album Double Cup on Hyperdub Records featuring collaborations with DJ Spinn, Taso, DJ Phil, Manny, Earl and Addison Groove. His last performance as a DJ was at Vinyl Club in Denver, CO on April 24, 2014. A new EP We On 1 is slated for release today Monday April 28th via a new Houston-based label called Southern Belle. His collaborationsAcid Life with Gant-Man and Bombaklot with DJ Earl and DJ Taye are featured on the forthcoming Hyperdub 10th anniversary celebration album Hyperdub 10.1 which will be released May 20th. His music will live on eternally.
New EZY Era
New EZY Era is a Chicago born artist with an enigmatic sound. Raised in the multicultural suburbs of Chicago his sound blends as much as his surroundings.
Frekwenzy
My name is Ken and I am an engineer/ producer/ and graphic designer out of EverEvolved Studios located near Montrose Blue Line train station in Chicago, IL.
I specialize in EDM and trap based production. I tend to enjoy creating beats from scratch with the people I work with just because I believe in the artistry. It’s always fun to create something organic from scratch. What usually happens in one of my sessions is I would start working on a beat with a lyricist and we would bounce off ideas and give each other critiques.
Tamica Renee
Gridlock Andy
GridLockAndy is a 22 yr old Music Producer from Chicago. He started his music career at 17 making beats in his spare time from home. Eventually moving to his first music studio in 2013. In the beginning of 2014, he moved to his second music studio which was in the back of a cellphone store where he learned how to audio engineer. Later that same yr he teamed up with Rhymster, Frekwenzy, Z3ndoctor, and Will Balonos to rent I studio room in the highly acclaimed Fort Knox studios where they currently house the Ever Evolved headquarters. A could of yrs later in the the spring of 2016 he release his first beat tape “Is Andy Real?” sporting neo-jazz hip hop tracks that defines his sound.
William Bolanos
EverEvolved Owner
Born and raised in Chicago, Il. I started EverEvolved as a music blog to promote conscious creative music from Chicago. Throughout my life i have been entertained by music of all genres. Music is my one consistent love and seeing it promoted in mainstream television networks in such negative and lazy form, i decided to take matters into my own hands. Making it a mission to open minds to the underground and artists who create original music out of passion rather than greed.
Working along side Rhymster and Frekwenzy at Fort Knox Studios, we quickly transformed EverEvolved into a music studio, event and promotion company. With this platform we not only promote music, we create it and bring it to an audience directly. Hoping to inspire and bring talented individuals together. We aim to create a future of music with class, soul and original style.
Xandr
I started gaining an interest in music from a young age. Eventually taking guitar lessons when I was in 6th and 7th grade. Then later into highschool I was musically involved with some friends in a band for a while which just brought me closer and closer to music. Which ultimately lead to me picking up Ableton which completely changed my outlook on music altogether.
As far as to why I do it….well it’s just a part of me. Sitting down to compose and edit music always gives me a really calming rush. Especially knowing that I came from dreaming about as a kid to being here right now.
RhymSter
RhymSter
Julian Rodriguez, aka RhymSter, was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. The interest to take on music didnt catch on until he graduated high school in 2010. Looking back on his past, he realized that all his life his family had exposed him to different genres of music such as 80s-90s Hip Hop, Jazz, Rock, Oldies, Soul, House, R&B, & various types of Spanish music. In a way, he was already preparing himself for what was to come.
Julian was a solo artist for some years building his skills and relationship with fellow partners/producers Frekwenzy & GridLockAndy. After some time Julian linked with William Bolanos, Founder of Ever Evolved, to establish a vision that both of them shared musically and creatively. During the time of building the company Julian expanded his creativity into production as well as taking on the business side of Ever Evolved. A jack of all trades is what you can call him.
