Vocalo Radio

Vocalo Radio

Interviews with local + national music artists featured on Chicago's Urban Alternative.

Episodes

Teacher and Rapper Joel Q Talks New Album "Crazy Road To Glory"

February 10, 2020 • 8 mins
Joel Q is a Special Education teacher at Cook Elementary in Chicago, and a rapper hailing from Auburn Gresham on the South Side. Bekoe spoke with Joel about working with kids and his new album "Crazy Road To Glory."
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Bianca Shaw Talks Lawndale, Bow Wow, and new EP "Exhale"

January 6, 2020 • 13 mins
Bekoe spoke with singer, rapper, drummer and North Lawndale native Bianca Shaw to talk about her recent EP "Exhale," new Single "Seat Back," and what she would like to do for her community.
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2019 in Music with Chicago Reader's Leor Galil

December 17, 2019 • 15 mins
Leor Galil is a music staff writer at The Chicago Reader. He joined Jill Hopkins on Vocalo Radio to look back at some of this year's notable releases from Chicago and worldwide.
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Vocalo Pays Tribute to Juice WRLD

December 9, 2019 • 9 mins
Chicago rapper Jarad Higgins better known as Juice WRLD died this weekend at the age of 21 following a seizure at the Midway Airport. Vocalo's Jill Hopkins and Bekoe pay tribute to the life and music of a rising star.
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Microphone Misfitz Travel to Outer Space on New Album and Comic Book

November 14, 2019 • 12 mins
"Escape from Babylon Vol. 4" is a satirical action adventure comic series and 4th studio album from Chicago's dynamic Hip Hop crew The Microphone Misfitz.
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Theycallmericky Shows His Musical Range

November 12, 2019 • 9 mins
Theycallmericky is a 23 year old rapper from the southwest side of Chicago. From lyrical and mellow to loud and energetic, Ricky's raps span a range of sounds and emotions within the Hip Hop genre.
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Eryn Allen Kane Makes Music to Heal To

November 6, 2019 • 16 mins
Eryn Allen Kane has made her mark as an emerging talent in the R&B and soul scenes. After cutting her teeth in the Midwest, Eryn now calls L.A. home. Her newest EP entitled “A Tree Planted by Water.”
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P.O.S and Sims of Doomtree Make Bangers as Shredders

October 31, 2019 • 6 mins
Shredders is the newest offshoot of Minneapolis-based label and Hip Hop collective Doomtree. Their new album is packed with hard hitting beats, traces of Punk, Drum 'n' Bass, and relentlessly catchy and edgy bars.
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Rapsody is Hip-Hop to the Core

October 30, 2019 • 13 mins
North Carolina bred and raised Rapsody is every MC's MC. Hip Hop to the core, Rapsody is an acclaimed lyricist and a powerful outspoken voice for women and black culture. On her new album "Eve," she takes that ethos to the next level.
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Clipping's New Horror Record Perfect for October

October 14, 2019 • 10 mins
The record is inspired by the horror genre. Images of ghosts, werewolves and other ominous entities haunt the record through and through in concert with the band's usual penchant for experimental hip hop, distortion and glitch noise.
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Chiiild's "Synthetic Soul" Sound Takes Inspiration from Many Genres

October 3, 2019 • 4 mins
After working behind the scenes with artists like Diplo, Skrillex, and Usher, Montreal-based band Chiiild is stepping into the spotlight with their first project gearing up for release by the end of this year.
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Roy Kinsey Examines His Feminine Side and Honors Women in His Family on "KINSEY, House of Marcell"

September 26, 2019 • 10 mins
Following his 2018 acclaimed release "Blackie: A Story by Roy Kinsey," the Chicago rapper returns with the next installment: "KINSEY, House of Marcell Vol. 1." The new album continues the exploration of his multi-faceted identities as a queer Black man, a son, a librarian, an educator and an entrepreneur, among others. On this album, Roy honors a long lineage of strong and resilient women in his family and delves in...
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Saul Williams Expands MartyrLoserKing Narrative On New Album "Encrypted & Vulnerable"

September 17, 2019 • 13 mins
Saul Williams is a poet, musician and actor who worked with the likes of Rick Rubin and Trent Reznor, creating some of the most progressive, genre-bending and conceptual Hip Hop with albums like "The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust" and 2016's "MartyrLoserKing." The latter was based around the story of a hacker and coltan miner from Burundi who, under the screen name MartyrLoserKing, is waging cy...
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SuperKnova Sings Queer Transgender Jubilee On New Album "American Queers"

September 4, 2019 • 13 mins
SuperKnova is a Chicago-based transgender musician Ellie Kim. She creates Queer Pop, a unique sound that incorporates hip-hop inspired drums, driving synths, and virtuosic guitar solos. She writes about identity, queerness and the struggle of being your authentic self. Her latest album is called “American Queers,” and she spoke with Jill Hopkins about the meaning behind the album, and how she finds inspiration as an artist. For mo...
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Isaiah Sharkey Takes Center Stage & Wants to Spread Love through his Music

September 3, 2019 • 11 mins
Grammy Award winning musician and international recording artist, Isaiah Sharkey, joined Jill Hopkins on The Morning AMp to talk about his solo career and roots in Chicago. Isaiah has worked, recorded, and toured with several world-renown and Grammy award winning artists including John Mayer, D'Angelo, Lupe Fiasco, and more. With the release of his solo work, including the 2019 album "Love is the Key: The Cancerian Theme,&...
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Lester Rey Finds A Sanctuary and A Home in His Intersectional Sound

August 29, 2019 • 14 mins
At a time when Reggaeton is topping the charts globally, while Puetro Rican people are making headlines for their struggle for autonomy, Lester Rey's new EP "Epifania" provides a perfect soundtrack for the new era of discourse on social justice, search for new identities, and new experiments in cross-cultural interchange. Lester seamlessly blends the musical traditions of his heritage like Bomba and Cha-cha-cha with his...
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Kiara Lanier Shares the Meaning Behind New Single "Hold On Me"

August 21, 2019 • 10 mins
Chicago's Kiara Lanier does it all! She joins Jill in studio to discuss not only her expansive music career, but also her journey as an actress. You might recognize her from Showtime's "The Chi" or Fox's "Empire." Listen here as Kiara discusses the meaning behind the release of her latest track "Hold On Me," as well as tips and tricks for upcoming artists. For more information and to stay up to...
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J-E-T-S talk their new album, ZOOSPA, chock full of amazing guest artists

August 15, 2019 • 8 mins
Hailing from Detroit, music duo J-E-T-S includes Machinedrum’s Travis Stewart and Jimmy Edgar. The two musicians stopped by Vocalo to chat with Jill Hopkins about their new album, ZOOSPA. The album has been categorized into the very unique niche of "futuristic post-trap R&B." Hear Stewart and Edgar discuss the album chock full of awesome guest vocalists and what's up next J-E-T-S.
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Tobi Lou Breaks Free with New Album "Live on Ice"

August 15, 2019 • 10 mins
The new album "Live on Ice" spans 21 tracks and vividly encapsulates the spirit of Chicago's own Tobi Lou. Listen here as Tobi speaks with Jill about how this album came to be, as well as his Chicago upbringing and his transition from baseball to music.
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Matt Muse Examines All Forms of Love in His Life on New EP

August 12, 2019 • 15 mins
On his new EP "Love and Nappyness," Chicago Hip Hop artist Matt Muse examines the various ways love appears in his life. Whereas its predecessor, "Nappy Talk," focused primarily on self-love, this project looks at the theme in broader terms and offers a series of meditations on other types of love - god, friendships, family and romance, with their Greek names accompanying each track title. Matt spoke with Jill Hopki...
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