Artist Spotlight: Damute

Oh.Globe is obviously mainly a hub for hip-hop, but we don't discriminate here. After all, the base of our beloved site relies on the ability to contain and maintain an open mind toward music in general, regardless of genre. That being said, I introduce the incredibly talented 17 year old electronic (yes, I said electronic) producer from Chicago, Danny Brooks, better known as Damute. Damute is a very close affiliate to Ontario, Canada-based Limbic Records. His age serves as anything but a barrier; the dude hosts raves in the Chicago area and already has a huge discography with styles ranging from dirty electro to testing the emotional ranges of house. Damute is doing big things over in Chicago and at a young age, there's no reason for him to slow down. Look out for his new project to drop in April or May.

You can peep some previews of his newest tracks below:






Damute's Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/danny-brooks

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Artist Spotlight: Will is Chillin'

Coming straight out the Chicago underground is the phenomenon known as Will Daniels, better known as Will is Chillin'. Born and raised in Logan Square, the young man raps and produces his own stuff. A self-described hip-hop head, he began producing Sophomore year of high school because, according to him, he had had "no life". He created a short-lived rap group named DDN with a friend. That same friend was the one who convinced him to rap in the first place. As soon as a started rapping, he became obsessed with it and now all he does is create music. He is currently the leader of a crew called VOTV (Voices of the Voiceless). Will is Chillin' is one of those rare rappers who's life is defined by music.


His catalog is immensely large and when you listen you can instantly pinpoint his influences. The work ethic of Charles Hamilton (minus the batshit crazyness) with the lo-fi lyrical genius of Benefit (minus the whole falling off the facw of the Earth thing) lives in this guy's soul. His latest release, Voice of the Voiceless: Forever Chillin', perfectly encases all the techniques and styles that ol' Will has worked on with his previous projects and ties them together into an amazing album for someone without any sort of deal in place. Chicago is budding with local talent right now and Will is Chillin' is right there at the forefront.


You can listen to Will is Chillin's album Voice of the Voiceless: Forever Chillin' here:

Will is Chillin's Tumblr: http://willischillin.tumblr.com/

Will is Chillin's Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/will-is-chillin

Will is Chillin's YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/WillIsChillin 

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Artist Spotlight: Beyond Belief

Year started- 2009
Projects: Bobby J From Rockaway, What About Bob?, Beyond Your Reach
Best songs: "U Don't Know Me", "Bobby Meets Bless", "Irrational Thoughts", "E.L.O", "Father's Day"

There has been a surge over the past few years of new white rappers that come into the rap game with the gimmick being that they don't fit in with the hip-hop culture. They take the fact that they're anomalies in hip-hop and use that to propel them in the spotlight for a quick fifteen minutes and their rhyme skills are just a secondary aspect of their character. Beyond Belief does not fit in with them at all. The man can rap and that is not a compliment I just give to anyone. Beyond Belief is a breath of fresh air to anyone that truly loves rap and misses hearing good verses all over good beats. Bobby J From Rockaway was Beyond Belief's debut mixtape and it was full of him rapping over classic 90s beats, even going over an almost-but-not-quite "Ice Ice Baby" and making it listenable to hip-hop purists that just like to sit back and enjoy good bars. You need to have more than just have good wordplay and flow to make it as a rapper though, you need to have content behind your songs and Beyond Belief delivers. Beyond Belief is very personal with his music especially when talking about the suicide of his father in particular. You can feel the raw emotion behind his vocals, the somber feelings of regret, shame, and sadness all behind his bars.

When Beyond Belief released his first album, What About Bob?, I was admittedly a little worried about the direction he was going in as an artist. What About Bob? sounded more like a mix you would hear at a frat party with the exception of "U Don't Know Me" which is my favorite song by him, easily. I was afraid that he was going to denounce being regarded as a good lyricist and try to cater to the fanbase of the afrementioned "rappers", but with his second mixtape, Beyond Your Reach (which has a really cool E.T. cover), he proved my assumptions wrong. He goes back to his roots, but does it in his own new refreshing way and once again puts out quality music all the way through which is a rare find nowadays.

Only time will tell what will come next from NY native Beyond Belief, but you can be the first to know what he's up to by following him on twitter (www.twitter.com/beyondbeliefnow)and checking out his youtube page (http://www.youtube.com/user/focus282)that has new uploads with snippets of new music and videos every Wednesday.

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Artist Spotlight: Supreme Regime

Supreme Regime is a Chicago based collective that is rapidly gaining buzz around the internet and around the city. Consisting of Jommis Jettison, Loud Mouth, Paul-O, Smiley Nahsa, and the production team Green Iris, the crew has established a well grounded following and they do live up to the hype. Backed by a fusion of new school techniques and rooted boom bap laced by Green Iris, the emcees of Supreme Regime mix raw lyricism with natural born Chicago swagger...they know how to construct enjoyable hip-hop. I dare you to try to keep your head from bobbing as you listen to the promo singles they got out on their Soundcloud. Look out for their debut project Sloane Peterson dropping May 11th. Also, I got a chance to speak a little with Loud Mouth, so look out for that Q&A with him posted up real soon. In the meantime, enjoy the future of Chicago hip-hop blossoming before you eyes:










Also, check out their debut music video for their track "S.O.V." here:

Supreme Regime's Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/supreme_regime

Follow Supreme Regime on Twitter: @Supreme_Regime

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Artist Spotlight: Emperor Bohe

Emperor Bohe, birth name Kevin Matos, is a young hip-hop producer hailing from Toronto, Canada. He is known for his lo-fi soul sound and expert sampling skills. Bohe was once a member of the Rhythym Voyagers Crew, a collective of prodigious hip-hop talents that consisted of himself along with PCO, Velosity, Direq, BE.water, Sketch, Jansport J, and HM!.  The 20 year old has been making beats since 7th grade and has released 5 projects, with his first being a fully produced collaboration with fellow RVC rapper PCO entitled Elevator Music. Bohe released that project when he was 14 and it was released to mass critical acclaim from those who were fortunate enough to get their ears on it. His latest release was also a joint collaboration with rapper Broken Pen entitled Free Health Care that dropped June of 2011. Bohe has been working on a project that he's dubbed his "dream project", so if it is going to be any better than what he has already put out, then you should really drop what you're looking out for and turn your head to the dude. Look out for an interview with him coming really soon.

You can download the Broken Pen/Emperor Bohe collaboration album Free Health Care for free here or stream it here:


You can download the fantastic PCO/Emperor Bohe collaboration album Elevator Music for free here or stream it here:

Emperor Bohe's Bandcamp: http://emperorbohe.bandcamp.com/

Emperor Bohe's Tumblr: http://emperorbohe.tumblr.com/


Emperor Bohe's Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/emperor-bohe

Follow Emperor Bohe on Twitter: @EmperorBohe

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Artist Spotlight: CASTLE

CASTLE is a Greensboro, NC product who does it all. He produces his own stuff, raps over it, and then designs his own artwork. He comes from a family of DJs, breakdancers, and emcees. His pops rapped while his mom wrote for him. Needless to say, he was born into the game. When he was five, the two got him involved after his dad thought it'd be a dope idea to put his son on a track. There are many influences to CASTLE's craft, but artists that have majorly impacted him include the legendary crews Native Tongues, Wu-Tang & Slum Village, from emceeing to production. He has put out 3 fantastic mixtapes and 3 song remixes on his Bandcamp and his latest, pictured above, is titled Tasting. The free EP sets the artist's rapping talents aside and puts CASTLE's experimental layered out production on display for 9 short tracks. If heard by the right ears, there's no reason why CASTLE can't blow up...he's certainly got the talent. Look out for a Q&A feature with the dude in the coming week.

You can download the EP off his Bandcamp here or stream it here:




CASTLE's Bandcamp: http://castle.bandcamp.com/

CASTLE's Twitter: @cstlnova

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Artist Spotlight: ILLXLOVE

ILLXLOVE is an up and coming producer from New York. ILLXLOVE's main inspirations stem from the sample-heavy elite: J Dilla, Madlib, and Pete Rock, among others. He began his venture in music making like many other aspiring producers in that he began studying many producers' styles and making music for fun at home. It soon became something he did on the regular and ILLXLOVE was born. The inspirations mentioned are more than musical, as he's been a workhorse just like Dilla, Madlib, and Pete Rock are known to be; 5 tapes since October 2011 should prove that. His latest release, Amor Ad X, is up for free download on his Bandcamp. With this project, ILLXLOVE pushes sounds which touch aspects of genres in Electronic, Indie, Soul, R&B, and of course hip-hop. If you dig instrumental hip-hop, then you will love ILLXLOVE.

You can down his album off of his Bandcamp here or stream it here:





His Bandcamp: http://crooklynsfinest.bandcamp.com/

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Artist Spotlight: Kontakz

 Kontakz (born Gabriel Thomas) is an up and coming 20-year-old rapper from Chicago. The stage name stems from his idea of seeing music and certain aspects of life in general better than a lot of people, "like contacts".  Kontakz began writing music at the age of 9 and his passion to innovate the genre and create a legacy has only grown with age. Influenced by artists such as A Tribe Called Quest, Kanye West, UGK, Outkast, and The Cool Kids, Kontakz makes positive music and at the same time lives the lyrics that make up his songs. He prefers to be unbound by a label, proclaiming “you can’t put me in a box, because as soon as you do you’ll hear a song that’s totally different from the first one and have to reconsider”. He has a knack of flowing through his bars with an introspective but yet never boring poise. His brand of versatile, sometimes genre fusing hip-hop is a nice breath of fresh air that has personified the new school hip-hop scene rising from Chicago lately. Kontakz is poised to take major position amongst the bevy of new Chicago artists rising and gaining steam.

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