Rapsody to headline IBUKUN Hip-Hop Arts & Culture Festival

This summer, Chicago will experience a transformative cultural event when the IBUKUN Hip-Hop Art & Culture Fest launches on Saturday, July 26, 2025, at the Zhou B Art Center. Designed to engage all senses, the daylong event is more than

Maurice ‘Mobetta’ Brown’s trumpet lives beyond genre

Maurice Mobetta Brown doesn’t believe in genre boundaries. The Grammy Award-winning trumpeter has built a career that seamlessly flows from jazz stages to hip-hop studios, from performing with Silk Sonic to producing records with J. Ivy. Now, with five albums

Friday Fire: Slick Rick, Lil Tecca, EST Gee, Will Smith

This week’s music drops hit with purpose, power, and plenty of personality. From the triumphant return of hip-hop legend Slick Rick to a surprise collaboration between Juicy J and Logic, the rap world is buzzing. Lil Tecca delivers sleek melodies

How one Chicago event is redefining Black fatherhood today

For more than three decades, the Real Men Cook event has served as a cornerstone celebration of Black fatherhood and community in Chicago. Founded in 1989, the annual Father’s Day gathering has evolved from an upscale affair featuring Chicago’s elite

What a Route 66 trolley ride revealed about Chicago

A Trolley Ride Through Time: My Journey on Chicago’s Route 66 Choose Chicago’s Route 66 Neighborhoods by Trolley Tour is a moving immersion into the layered neighborhoods of Chicago. Beginning and ending at the Art Institute, the tour weaves through

Icons align: Grace Jones and Janelle Monáe own Ravinia

On June 7, Ravinia was a sanctuary. Black, queer, unapologetically bold. A place where freedom danced alongside fashion, and art bled into activism. When Janelle Monáe and Grace Jones share a bill, you’re witnessing an experience that shifts culture. Monáe

Little Simz airs it all out on ‘Lotus’

UK rapper Little Simz returns with Lotus, her sixth studio album and her most personal and emotionally revealing project to date. Across 13 tracks, she unpacks betrayal, the meaning of loyalty, and the pursuit of inner peace all while anchoring

‘Purpose’ wins Tony for Best Play, makes history

On a night where Broadway celebrated its brightest stars and most resonant stories, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’s Purpose emerged as the evening’s crowning achievement, winning the 2025 Tony Award for Best Play. The Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, which first premiered at Chicago’s Steppenwolf

BabyTron, multiverse, time, travel

BabyTron flexes creativity in new time-traveling video

BabyTron Travels Through Time in New Video ‘Lord of the Multiverse’ Detroit rapper BabyTron continues to prove he’s one of the most unorthodox and talented artists in the game. Known for his humorous, offbeat, and creative approach to music, his

Lil Wayne, Carter

What happened to Lil Wayne on ‘Tha Carter VI’?

The intro, “King Carter,” opens Tha Carter VI with big, bold, and epic energy—a poetic tribute to Lil Wayne’s impact. It sets the stage for something monumental. You expect greatness, a defining chapter in the legacy of one of rap’s

Carter G. Woodson Library: 50 years of Black legacy

In 2025, the Carter G. Woodson Regional Library marks a significant milestone: its 50th anniversary. Situated at 9525 S. Halsted Street in Chicago’s Washington Heights neighborhood, the library has been a cornerstone of education, culture, and community engagement on the

Alfred Lacks Carter honors grandmother’s medical legacy

More than seven decades after Henrietta Lacks’ cells were taken without her consent and used to create groundbreaking medical advances, her grandson Alfred Lacks Carter is working to transform her complicated legacy into a force for community healing and medical

Dr. Teni Brown smashes barriers in women’s healthcare bias

Dr. Teni Brown is working to transform women’s healthcare from within the medical establishment. As a urogynecologist and reconstructive pelvic surgeon, she specializes in treating conditions that many women find difficult to discuss, including pelvic organ prolapse and incontinence. But

Star August Ali fights maternal crisis with tradition

As Black maternal mortality rates continue to reach alarming levels in the United States, advocates are turning to traditional practices and community-centered solutions to address the crisis. Star August Ali, director of the Black Midwifery Collective, is at the forefront

Sister Yaa Simpson blends science and spirit to heal others

Sister Yaa Simpson describes herself as “your favorite community epidemiologist,” and her approach to public health research reflects a deep understanding that effective healthcare interventions must be rooted in cultural authenticity and genuine community connection. Working with the Association of

TACTS honors Henrietta Lacks legacy in Chicago

On May 31, 2025, TACTS (The Association of Clinical Trial Services) hosted its Annual Health & Wellness Networking Social in recognition of National Clinical Trials Day. The event, grounded in advocacy, awareness and healing, brought together health leaders, community members

NHS mobilizes Chicago for NeighborWorks Month

Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) of Chicago is rolling up its sleeves and calling on residents, corporate partners and community organizations to do the same. As part of its 50th anniversary and in recognition of National NeighborWorks Month, NHS is leading

Dr. Chakika Williams elevates wellness and aesthetic care

Dr. Chakika Williams is redefining what comprehensive healthcare looks like in the modern era. As a dual board-certified family and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, she has created something unprecedented in the wellness industry through her SkyRose Rejuvenation Clinic &

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