The hermitic Chicagoan had quite the year with three glowing releases: Nothing is Something, a collab with Windy City stalwart Vic Spencer; WE Grown NOW, MC Tree's first solo album since 2015; and the ...

In 1986 Sugar Ray Dinke released one of Chicago’s first homegrown hip-hop songs: “Cabrini Green Rap.” The tune’s hard-hitting house-influenced beat is a nice riff on the sound Run-D.M.C. rode to ...

There are plenty of MCs who can put together a solid case for why they believe they’re the next big thing and why the masses should flock to them—hell, there are some who can fill an entire mixtape ...

If Chicago is the second city, MC Tree is its second son. The data will tell you that he’s a few tiers below the city's global superstars and national celebrities, but Tree — born Tremaine Johnson — ...