TOP STORIES & ARTICLES
|MUSIC EDUCATION|
What does signing to a record label look like in 2026?
ESC takes a deep dive into the some of the HYPEBEAST artist turning heads in CHICAGO and surrounding areas
SUPER PRODUCER JONNY YAYO TALKS
ENGINEERING, ARTIST DEVELOPMENT,
& THE BLVCK WELATH ERA
FOR THE CULTURE SEGMENT
DJ MH2DA and DJ P1 dive into a question that has been recently debated throughout hip hop: Are DJ crews still relevant in today’s music industry? From the legendary DJ crews that helped shape hip hop culture to today’s era of streaming, social media, and independent artists, the role of the DJ—and the power of being part of a crew—has changed dramatically.
ARTISTS ON THE RISE
Detroit's rising underground star Lelo—who earned a spot on Billboard's Artists to Watch—released his dual-project Mastiff and Pink Tiles. The release highlights a major trend in Detroit's scene: blending classic "Detroit Player Rap" with ghettotech and hip-house production.
Following her high-profile national run on Netflix's Rhythm + Flow, breakout rapper Detroit Diamond sold out Southwest Detroit's independently owned El Club.
Chicago's independent rap circuit is seeing a major collaborative push through the Groundwaves Hip Hop networking collective. The platform is heavily highlighting a wave of upcoming independent projects, including highly anticipated tape releases from underground mainstays RecoEchi (Body of God)