Chicago hip-hop finds its stars in the underground scene

CHICAGO -- Before Kanye West and Twista shot to the top of the charts last year, their hometown's hip-hop scene was an unknown underground of artists with huge local followings but no quick route to the national stage.\nThe city's thriving club scene pumped out local celebrities with comfortable local careers.\nBut those hungering for more had to get out of Chicago and go where the management was: New York or Los Angeles.\n"From what I can tell there is no management culture," said Chicago radio deejay John Schauer, aka JP Chill, who hosts a hip-hop show on WHPK. "People would pick their friends or someone they know from their neighborhoods who know nothing about management."\n"When people came by the station from the West Coast and East Coast they always had people, such as managers who are professionals, with them."\nThough a few Chicago artists, like Common, Do or Die and Crucial Conflict, had some mainstream hip-hop success, none received overwhelming attention and recognition until West and Twista seized it last year.\nTheir stardom has turned a spotlight on their hometown hip-hop scene, and the attention could intensify Sunday when West, a producer-turned-rapper who grew up on Chicago's South Side, is up for 10 Grammy Awards, including album of the year for "The College Dropout."\nOnce the domain of New York and Los Angeles, the national hip-hop scene has reached across the country with rappers from the South and Midwest controlling the airwaves and record sales.\nBut while Nelly, Eminem and Ludacris who hail from St. Louis, Detroit and Atlanta, respectively, became superstars, rappers in Chicago remained largely unknown.\n"We have had our share of big-name artists but not on the level of creating a mainstream scene," said David Kelly, a Chicago rapper and president of the record label All Natural, Inc. "It's an underground scene."\nChicago's streets provide inspiration for powerful lyrics, but the city lacks the strong management to sell records, Schauer said. Chicago's underground is so vibrant, though, talented artists can still thrive without the national exposure.\n"People were happy to exist locally and there wasn't much incentive to do anything else," Schauer said. "My guess is in St. Louis there couldn't be 10 people who could make a mini-career off of hip-hop like in Chicago."\nTwista, who maintains a Chicago address, may be the exception. But while the rapper has been making songs for more than a decade, "Kamikaze" was his first on a major label in almost seven years.\nOne of the reasons "Kamikaze" sold more than a million copies last year may have been West, who produced some of the album's songs and was featured along with actor/singer Jamie Foxx on the No. 1 hit "Slow Jamz." The song also gave Twista one of his two Grammy nominations.\nUnlike many rappers, West first made a name for himself as a producer for artists such as Ludacris and Brandy.\n"Kanye West's success has given Chicago artists a platform," said Erik Parker, music editor at Vibe magazine. "He has both the critical acclaim and commercial success, which is important. And now, because there is a potential for record companies to make money off of it, they are starting to get their checkbooks out."\nBump J, whose real name is Terrence Boykin, hopes that new attention to Chicago hip-hop can propel him and other young artists to the top. He may not have put Chicago on the map, but hopes to help keep it there.\n"There's so many rappers in Chicago now, mini-Kanyes, mini-Bumps, mini-Twistas. There's definitely talent here in Chicago," he said. "Everyone has their time to shine and it's definitely Chicago's time"