Chicagoan Heads to the Final Four!

I know a ton of people of from around our city & state were super pissed when local high school point guard jon scheyer picked attending duke over my alma matter, the university of Illinois… we all heard the boos at Wrigley, on the ice at the blackhawks game… but now that he’s headed to the final four w/duke.. do all those haters still blame him? Will they once again claim him as one of our own?

A very short time will tell as march madness ’10 comes to an end w/ scheyer & team taking it to the final stages! As for me, I’m just throwing a shoutout to him here because he has demonstrated mad skills on the court, has been a good sport & role model, and is simply a product of our community… so wish him all the best!  Even if he did sell out!  haha…. kidding man… bring home something substantial to make the heat worth it!

Kidd Russell : Chicago Talent Pick of Week!

While i was a guest on WGN 720Am Radio this weekend (click here for podcast), I was excited to hear all the interest in the way this blog has been highlighting new Chicago talent offering them a shot at much needed exposure… and just wanted to thank all of you who have made all the suggestions to me via twitter, facebook, in person,… its all about you and them… and I thank you for letting me be a part of it!

In that spirit, I thought I would share something that really caught my attention today that someone just sent me on twitter about a local performer whose latest song and video will for sure stick in your head (watch above)!  His name is Kidd Russell, a former college football player turned indie music favorite. While in school, Kidd took a radio production class and started to realize and appreciate the music business. After his first five years in the music business he teamed up with producer Matt Jenkins in 2008 and started Junkyard Productions. Since then, Kidd has had songs featured on MTV Jams, MTV2, Foxsports, CW,…

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Hip Hop Allstars in “The Chicago Vault”

As everyone knows, Chicago’s Hip-Hop talent, like Common, Kanye West, Twista, The Cool Kids, Rhymefest, Kid Sister, Lupe Fiasco,.. are all celebrated as world class! And I am sure as they will tell you, it all starts with our support on a grassroots level.  So today, giving a shout out to one of the biggest supporters of Midwest hip-hop over the years… DJ & Producer Naki the Beatman. (thanks to a suggestion on twitter!)

As a DJ at two of Chicago’s biggest rap and R&B stations, WGCI and Power 92; Naki championed artists before they were accepted by the mainstream. After stints on radio & MTV, where he hosted events like NBA All-Star Weekend & MTV2′s Hip Hop Countdown, Naki become the CEO of Life Music Group, where he recently dug through his archives to create “The Chicago Vault” (dropping 5/11) compiling unreleased tracks from some of the biggest names in Hip Hop. A two minute preview of the album is available for download now at http://bln.kr/CSV .. enjoy!

Urban Indigenous Presents “Code of Ethnics”

Thanks to some interesting artistic friends that follow me on twitter, and their persistence (which is a good thing!), I’m giving a shout out today to “urban indigenous!”  Omg, this video is ridiculous I know. But Seriously folks, that is what this blog and I am all about, sharing, celebrating and showing off Chicago passion for performance, story, art & culture.. so thank you! (by the way everyone, send me more!)

Urban Indigenous is a mult-ethnic comedy troupe formed by Chicagoans that literally are from across the globe- which being from an ethnically diverse background myself, I got to admit, I dig right off the bat. Well, that, and again, this video is ridiculous, cant imagine what they are like live. Anyway, the group is relatively new in and of itself but the players have been on the comedy scene for many years and bring their experiences and comedic styles together for their new show – “Code of Ethnics.”

Running from March 27th to May 15th at the Gorilla Tango Theatre on Milwaukee Ave, Code of Ethnics delves into a variety of classes, cultures, linguistics and other situations when ethnic issues arise. UI guides the audience and kind of teaches them how to react, what might be seen as politically correct or not correct at all…all of course in a super funny manner!

Check out www.urbanindigenous.com for show dates and tickets!