As divided the city of Chicago has become over the years, one thing has helped to unify the city. Music has always been embedded in Chicago's culture, from raising artists to being a reference point in popular songs, Chicago is a hot spot for musical talent across all generations. During the early 90s names like Twista, Common, and Da Brat were slowly and unknowingly pioneering a billion-dollar industry beneath the streets they grew up on. Aside from Twista's Guinness World Record for fastest rapper in 1992, notoriety was sitting low aside from occasional appearances from Da Brat on kids TV network Nickelodeon. As impressive as this may seem, the collective presence paled compared to the fame of Snoop Dogg, The Notorious & Tupac who were all arguably in their prime. Amid the buzz, a kid from the south side decided to start writing and recording music in his free time, not knowing he would be the greatest single influence in the world of Chicago Hip Hop/R&B.
In 1996, Kanye Omari West of the South Shore neighborhood recorded and published his first song titled "1996 Fat Beats Freestyle". Kanye's first "album" wasn't an album at all, but rather a collection of beats he had produced, as Kanye had taken akin to music production just as much as recording, leading to a unique fusion when he produced his songs. Kanye remained relatively unnoticed in the mainstream until his first studio album and 4x platinum + Grammy-winning "The College Dropout" released in 2004. However, the Rap scene between those years crucially developed to a point that allowed Kanye to take advantage of a perfect storm to fandom ( and eventual controversy ). Artists like Lupe Fiasco and King Louie were gaining local traction selling early mixtapes of their work.
Back in the early 2000s, rap labels were the only way into the game without industry connections. Twista had Atlantic, Da Brat had SoSoDef, but young artists were stuck doing everything by themselves. Artists took to hustling on corners selling prerecorded mixtapes on CDs of their newest work, if you lived in Chicago between 1998-2008 it wasn't uncommon to have people ask you to listen to their rhymes before you entered a store. This only goes as well as the other person's day is going, as usually the music wasn't worth your precious errand time. This was the state that the new generation inherited the industry in, how could an average person make it into the practice without an army surrounding them?
-DB
