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Hip-hop wars used to mean East Coast vs. West Coast, with artists hashing out beefs through lyrical insults and gracelessly slamming adversaries on MTV News. Not in Chicago—here, two of our beloved emcees are dueling over politics. It all started when Lupe Fiasco stated in an interview that, although he doesn’t plan on voting, he’s just wild about Hillary. Rhymefest responded on Obama’s behalf, clarified a few of Fiasco’s false statements about the junior senator from Illinois and requested that Fiasco not “let his arrogance be the fuel of his ignorance.” Enter the overtly polite message board wars, airing of political grievances and endless invoking of the Lord’s blessing. In the midst of primary season, it’s your political duty to check out Rhymefest’s show at the Metro. We suspect Fest will lean heavily on “Man in the Mirror,” a Michael Jackson dedication album. The album, a collaboration with Mark Ronson, reaches all the way back to the Jackson 5 for falsetto harmonies laced with hilarious freestyling. (K. Tighe)
Friday, January 18 at Metro
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