Okay so Stephen is one of my all-time favorites. The LA-based artist has 100% blown me away with everything he’s done and to see him collaborating with a whole crew of artists from my home town of Chicago is so cool. Hell, I’ve fucked with Saba since way before his collabs with Chance back when my college’s student-run record label released a compilation featuring him on multiple tracks. If you know Chicago music, you know The O’My’s have been killing it around the Windy City for a hot minute, and while I’m unfamiliar with Ravyn Lenae and J.P. Floyd, they both bring something incredible to this collab, Lenae with her silky pipes and Floyd with the badass brass swagger. All in all, while turning a track into a trilogy could be seen by some as a lazy move creatively or that he’s “milking” the hit, I for one am not at all mad that Crossfire has turned into it’s own little movement. The song’s message, supported by the powerful track artwork, also speaks to the violence that’s continually prevalent in Chicago’s South and West Side neighborhoods and the difficulties local children face growing up there that much of us can’t even imagine. I’ve been told 15 percent of all earnings from this record are going to Young Chicago Authors, a creative after school program serving 10,000 youths per year.The only thing better than dope music is dope music with a meaningful message.
