"The Loud Live Series" took place at Leaders 1354 last week in Chicago and the jam-packed boutique was treated to performances from Chance The Rapper, eGo, the Save Money Crew with Joey Purps, Kami de Chukwu, Thelonious (who was celebrating his birthday), Lili K and Peter Cottontail, Caleb James, and a DJ set by the Nordjs (Tima Fei and Ivan Cirkovic). Plus, the event was hosted by Add-2 and the people in attendance received a free, exclusive LDRS x SAE tee, and the Loud Chicago Sounds compilation album. Peep the photos above to catch what you may have missed and shouts to everyone who put it together - Leaders 1354, SAE Institute Chicago, and Honest Tea.

To view and download all of the images, click here.

The Mash is the teen edition of the Chicago Tribune - a high school newspaper distributed to Chicago area high schools, produced entirely by high school students! Today's issue brought Chicago hip hop to the forefront after the recent murder of Lil Jojo ignited a look at how hip hop and its violent, lyrical messages, especially seen here locally, is having an impact on the youth. 

The cover story 'Bad Rap?' does a great job concisely describing the issues with an informative, light-shedding perspective, letting people within the scene tell the story. Amongst them: rappers Rhymefest & Chance The Rapper, WBEZ/Vocalo radio host (and birthday boy!) Jesse Menendez, Fake Shore Drive deputy editor Ty Kidd, and our own GY312.

Simply put, this is a must-read for any local visitors where this topic hits home, but really to everyone reading out there, wherever you are. We can all assess how this issue influences our own communities and focus our intention on learning and growing from it. Big ups to The Mash for a job well-done informing and sparking conversation and action.

Read the full cover story here. Comment with your thoughts!