Chicago's South Side drill scene hasn't exactly gone dark this summer; two of the city's biggest songs locally were from South Siders. But a new spotlight has opened up on the West Side, where groups like M.I.C. and rappers like ZMoney have scored local anthems. Surrounding these figures is the uptempo, dance-oriented "bop" scene.
"Bopping" first gained national attention in part thanks to Chance The Rapper, who referenced the hook to DJ Nate's "Gucci Goggles" ("I jack ball, I bop I flex") on "Pusha Man." "Bop" is a dance style—check the scene's biggest star, Lil Kemo, performing some of his moves here—and the parties where "bop" dancers participate are called "fiestas."
The genre has also been getting increasing media attention, from Pitchfork to an in-depth article by ChicagoReader writer Leor Galil, who describes how the dance has impacted the West Side's hip-hop scene:
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Perhaps the biggest group whose songs soundtrack "fiestas"—parties where folks go to bop—to pop off is Sicko Mobb, whose anthem "Fiesta" is rapidly nearing a million views. And the scene is really popping off, at least locally; check The Cutest Bop Vine Ever, courtesy Katie Got Bandz:
Last night, Sicko Mobb dropped their latest track, an ADD-addled sunbeam called "Maserati," which features drill rapper and Def Jam signee Lil Durk. It's got an especially bubbly, euphoric bop beat. Durk sounds liberated, spitting with double-time enthusiasm rather than his typically anguished real talk. He also quotes a recent Chicago reference from Rick Ross: "I might money dance with a hundred bands, that chopper make you do the running man/I don't bop, I do the money dance, so money dance, my bitch bop."
As Andrew Barber points out, it's not the first time Durk's spit over dance beats; last year's "I Get Paid" found Durk rapping over a similarly uptempo footwork track.
[via FakeShoreDrive]
