Mark Braboy

Chicago, Eastern Region

Writer at Freelance

3x Award-winning music/canna multimedia journalist. He/him. JSU /G\. [email protected]

Articles

Federal charges aren’t stopping Lil Durk’s message of peace

3 weeks ago | thetriibe.com | Tiffany Walden |Mark Braboy

On October 20, 2024, at his birthday concert at the United Center, Englewood’s own Lil Durk was on top of the world. He was performing for a packed house and sharing the stage with other popular acts, including BossMan Dlow, JT, Sexyy Red, and Lil Baby. He was riding the positivity wave of being the first Chicago drill rapper to win a Grammy Award in 2024, for his collaboration with J.
WWE Hall of Fame Inductee James "Kamala" Harris Shows How Black Wrestlers Overcame Racist Gimmicks

4 weeks ago | okayplayer.com | Mark Braboy

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in August 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness. The story of Black professional wrestlers throughout the 19th and 20th centuries is a familiar one. Talented Black athletes had to overcome racial barriers and discriminatory practices.
Rico Nasty’s ‘Lethal’ Era: Rage, Reflection & Resisting the System

1 month ago | bet.com | Mark Braboy

When a teenage Rico Nasty started making music in 2014, amid the raging Soundcloud era led by an emerging Lil Uzi Vert and Lil Yachty, the context for her rager music was very different than it is today.
Why New York’s Own Kelly Moonstone Chooses Her Self Care Over Everything

2 months ago | bet.com | Mark Braboy

For Kelly Moonstone, an exceptionally talented rapper/neo-soul singer from New York City’s thriving underground scene, the women in her life set the foundation for who she is today. As she gears up for a yet-to-be-titled follow-up to her 2023 album, I Digress, she reflects on the women in her life and music who shaped everything she is in honor of Women’s History Month.
How Star Bandz's Village of Women Made Her The Star She Is Today

2 months ago | bet.com | Mark Braboy

By the time the youthful “Yea Yea” rapper Star Bandzturns 17 on March 28, she will become one of the hottest young newcomers from Chicago. Throughout 2024, she toured high schools from her native South Suburbs to the inner city, leading to the release of her debut mixtape Estrella. Even at an early age, thanks to her upbringing from her mom, Anna Deleon, she’s fully aware of her responsibility with her growing platform. And she embraces the power that comes with it. “I embrace a lot.
The Making of G Herbo’s 'Welcome to Fazoland,' The Chicag...

2 months ago | complex.com | Mark Braboy

In the early 2010s as Chief Keef, Lil Durk, and Lil Reese were becoming the de facto faces of drill music, an adjacent movement was brewing on the Southeast side of Chicago in the historic neighborhood of South Shore. Two baby-faced teenagers, Lil Bibby and Lil Herb, aka G Herbo, were unknowingly becoming legends online, uploading uncut, gritty raps about the violence and trauma that was around them.
2hollis plays a sold-out show at Metro

Feb 1, 2025 | chicagotribune.com | Mark Braboy

Amid a January littered with tragedies across the country, 2hollis’s sold-out show at Metro was a cathartic escape from reality. Chicago’s prince of hyperpop played a homecoming concert as part of a North American tour even after devastating wildfires in Los Angeles claimed thousands of homes, including his mother’s house in the Altadena neighborhood. He was greeted with a turnout so warm that the “Jeans” singer was overwhelmed by the end of the show.
Closed Sessions celebrates underground rap and itself

Nov 21, 2024 | chicagoreader.com | Mark Braboy

Since its inception as a multimedia project in 2009, local label Closed Sessions has become a shining beacon for Chicago hip-hop and independent rap across the midwest. On Thursday, October 24, hundreds of fans from across the city and beyond gathered for the label’s 15th anniversary at a concert that cofounder Alex Fruchter, aka DJ RTC, had put together at Avondale Music Hall. The event celebrated not only Closed Sessions as an enterprise but also underground hip-hop as a culture.
From rising star to radiant return: Ravyn Lenae serenades a sold-out crowd

Oct 16, 2024 | thetriibe.com | Mark Braboy

West Pullman’s own Ravyn Lenae came home to a queen’s welcome when she serenaded a sold-out crowd of wall-to-wall Black and brown faces at the Vic Theatre this past weekend. The Chicago songstress returned to her roots by inviting around 1,000 fans to rock out to songs from her new album Bird’s Eye. She had been working for 10 years to get where she is now: an eclectic, genre-crossing artist whose current album has features with Ty Dolla $ign and Childish Gambino.
Riot Fest 2024: A Weekend Of Music, Murals, Makeup And Matrimony

Sep 23, 2024 | blockclubchicago.org | Jamie Nesbitt Golden |Leen Yassine |Mark Braboy

NORTH LAWNDALE — Riot Fest returned to Douglass Park this weekend as thousands of people poured through the gates for three days of alternative, rock, hip hop, metal and punk performances. The fest featured more than 90 acts across five stages and three days — plus crowds of people donning the usual black clothing, band T-shirts, fishnet tights and combat boots. Colorful mohawks, banana and bowling pin costumes and inflatable aliens could also be seen in the sea of attendees.