The basement area of BING Art Books is a strange space. There’s not much to it—some brick and concrete, basically—but it comes together nicely to create a near-eerie feel under the otherwise pleasant bookstore. It was here, on a late-May evening, that Chicago footwork dance crew The Era, close kin of DJ Rashad’s legendary Teklife label, gave a crash course on the origins and developments of footwork—a wide, but often unseen, world.

Album Cover for Coloring Book

“i wish i loved anything as much as people from chicago love chicago”

Vanessa Valadez

When asked if this network of Chicago artists is more of a collective, a “scene,” or something different, Via Rosa says “You know, I’d call it a family.”

Mojek comes to his audience with open arms, aiming to please but also to serve as a guide.

Courtesy of Jackson Duncan

119 Productions doesn’t let itself get pinned down. While its origins are in hip-hop groups organized among Chicago high schoolers, the collective has since expanded into videography, blogging, and freelance video work. They’ve worked with Chicago icons like Mick Jenkins, Savemoney member Dally Auston, and Via Rosa on videos and features, even collaborating with New York rappers Benny Nice and Chelsea Reject. 119 recently oversaw the production of World of Mojek, an EP from producer Mojek that has been covered in the Reader and on hip hop blog Fake Shore Drive. The Weekly recently spoke with Jackson Duncan, 119’s primary blogger, to talk about the collective and its development.