On February 28, the South Side showed out at the Ramova Theatre in Bridgeport for a lineup of heavy hitters, including Sonny, Mike DFG, Asha Omega, Chris The Kingpin, and Dj Preme. Sonny, an artist from Greater Grand Crossing, performed his newest album, Till Death Do We Ball, in its entirety.
Sonny wasn’t the only South Sider on stage that night. His childhood friend Chris The Kingpin opened up the show with an electrifying performance. Chicago is a city where artists aren’t afraid to collaborate. We’ve seen this in mainstream albums such as Acid Rap, which featured local stars Chance the Rapper, Noname, and Saba; and on Late Registration with Kanye West, Common, and Lupe Fiasco. In the current age of Chicago music this culture hasn’t changed.
“When I started making music, it was me and Chris The Kingpin,” Sonny said. “We would go to the open mics Chance The Rapper and them used to have…. We go down there to the Harold Washington Library and then we just discovered YOUmedia and we was like, ‘Oh, there’s a spot where Black people can just come through and be creative.’”
Chance The Rapper’s open mics at Harold Washington Library and his performances at YOUmedia have become hip-hop artifacts. These spaces were also frequented by Noname, Lucki, and Mick Jenkins. Sonny’s presence in these spaces—a music scene that prioritizes building and cultivating relationships and community spaces—helped build his foundation as an artist. Growing up in this music culture was special. “Where I’m from specifically, it was like music was like the coolest shit you could do,” he said.
Sonny understands that having space to cultivate Black art is integral to nurturing creativity, especially for youth on the South Side. Sonny said he was also driven to make music by the people in and from his neighborhood.
“It gets to a point where we all just kind of start looking out for each other wherever we can like, ‘I got this studio pull up here.’ I got this, that means we got it,” he said.
Sonny brought out a few local artists during his Ramova performance: Supa Bwe, Bandhunta KT, Ine’a J, and NombreKari. This special lineup of guest performances made the room ecstatic as more familiar faces within Chicago started filling the stage, further highlighting the talent within the Chicago music scene and the bond that Sonny has with these artists.
He opened up about NombreKari introducing him to other creatives early on in his career. Now, Sonny is introducing new fans to Kari who is an artist from Bronzeville that has been in the Chicago music scene for the past decade. Kari’s most recent release was his project Titled The Echo.
“We were studio rats for a second,” Sonny said. “Wherever we could get in, we would just pull up with the intention just to create some.”
Luke Almighty was one of the first producers to reach out to Sonny and give him studio time. These early friendships have all come full circle as Sonny has cultivated a community around him. Their presence with him at the Ramova made the show feel like a family reunion. He explained how he builds these relationships in a personal and genuine way.
“I’m gonna treat you how I treat someone I’m cool with,” he said. “If you need some, you can call me. Somebody tweak with you? I’m a tweak with them. It becomes very personal.”
West side artist, Mike DFG delivers a high energy performance. Credit: Paul Araki Elliott 
Asha Omega, the second performer of the night, hails from South Shore and brings her signature energy to the stage. Credit: Paul Araki Elliott 
Sonny brings NombreKari to the stage, with the Bronzeville artist adding his own vibe to the night. Credit: Paul Araki Elliott 
Multi-instrumentalist 9magicforever1, played the flute, guitar and clarinet for Sonny’s set. Credit: Paul Araki Elliott
Mike DFG, an up-and-coming West Side artist, also shared the Ramova stage with Sonny. Mike credits The FortuneHouse, which is an art gallery and a multidisciplinary event space.
“FortuneHouse really gave a lot of people their start, especially here with Sonny and Dreamer Isioma,” he said. “I didn’t even know they were from Chicago until I started going to FortuneHouse events and I’m starting to see these people. I’m like, ‘bro, I just heard your song on TikTok.’ It’s crazy how everything came full circle.”
Connections like this don’t happen by coincidence in Chicago, and running into other artists is a regular occurance in this close-knit music scene. Just by attending events one can meet great musicians throughout the city because artists often support artists. One example of this cohesive support was the Summer Of Greed hosted by Bigger Than The City, which is a collective that highlights and uplifts artists within Chicago that Mike founded.
“The people I put on shows, I actually listen to their music,” he said. “I love to enjoy art cuz how you gonna get inspired? I live, but you as an artist need art to live. Sounds Of Sonder, bro that that was probably one of my best received events.”
Sounds Of Sonder was an event that Bigger Than The City hosted on February 15 at the new BookClubChi, where eleven up-and-coming artists performed.
The effort to uplift each other is a sentiment that is solidified within Chicago’s music scene. Sonny, Mike DFG, and other artists have a long list of names that helped them come up in the scene. Mike DFG shares the same mentality and gives credit where credit is due.
“Add-2, and Pinqy Ring. That’s like my OGs of the game, honestly. That’s how I’m on the Grammy board, cause Add-2 looks out for me,” he said.
In this age of social media and the allure of reclusivity, it’s important for creatives to reach out their hand and interact with the world in a meaningful way. Chicago is special in the way that it is able to facilitate genuine connections and this Ramova show was further proof of that.
“Chicago is very community-based,” Mike DFG said. “If ain’t nobody got us, we got us.”
Keegan Hon is an independent journalist who focuses on topics surrounding art and music. You can find his work on all platforms under KayHon. This is his first time writing for the Weekly.