The site continues to write about local rappers with two-digit Soundcloud followings, but it’s also become a sort of hub for the newest wave of rising stars-the hip-hop community, not just in Chicago but around the country, is so rich in talent and evolves so quickly that in less than four years Chance the Rapper has become part of the old guard. The Chicago scene responded with enthusiasm, and in short order Lyrical Lemonade grew into a brand, adding events such as the Summer Bash, a clothing line (often emblazoned with the site’s lemonade-carton logo), and sidelines in music-video production and artist management. It found a gap between what was attracting media attention and what local hip-hop heads wanted to hear, and it made that space its niche. Lyrical Lemonade, which launched in fall 2013, began with a mission to spotlight Chicago rappers who were getting zero or very little coverage elsewhere. And they’d all been brought together by a scrappy Chicago hip-hop site called Lyrical Lemonade for its second annual Summer Bash. Some of the openers have built similarly impressive online followings ( Famous Dex), while others are local cult favorites (Big Body Fiji). Headliner Ugly God has parlayed his millions of Soundcloud plays into mainstream visibility, and in June the Houston rapper became one of ten MCs selected for XXL‘s annual “freshman class” issue. I’m just 31, but I looked to be one of the oldest people there-many of the dozen rappers who performed that night have audiences who on average are barely past voting age. When I got there just before ten, a thick layer of haze hovered above the roughly 1,400 fans packed into the hall-in retrospect I’m sure it was mostly weed smoke, but my first thought was that the humidity in the room had literally formed a cloud. On the evening of Friday, July 28, while the temperature outside hung in the low 70s, the Portage Theater was an enormous steam bath.
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