Joel Q stands against the negatives of Drill Music and releases the powerful story telling “Dear Future Hip-Hop”

During the blog era the “The New Wave” or the “Chicago Renaissance” that took place then created some of the most memorable moments that don’t get acknowledged enough. Artists like Chance The Rapper, KidsTheseDays, Mick Jenkins, TREATED Crew, Tink, ShowYouSuck, and so many others started pioneering what talent looked like in Chicago while the Drill Music scene roared just as proudly. From 2011 to 2019 the Chicago music scene and organizing scene contributed some of the most important moments in history to the hip-hop genre and world culture overall. While all of these things and more are true the opportunity to become successful in the Chicago music scene for other artists was yet still very difficult. While some artists were recognized for their talents, their peers were not as successful. Not that these individuals weren’t working as hard, there was just a hard time getting more artists acknowledged in this era. With the 2020 pandemic however there was a huge shift in the Chicago community..

Artists and curators that have always been in the city were starting to be acknowledged a lot more. A lot of artists began speaking their truths on how they believed the structure of the city could be better. For the last three years the music scene and organizing scene has been transforming and challenging the cities standards when it comes to success and creating more opportunities for others. This came in the form of certain artists speaking on building more into a mentality that doesn’t exist in Chicago enough. The ability to collaborate more with each other and support each other’s businesses and platforms. This mentality in Chicago is not uplifted enough, and going into 2024, right after the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, and going into the 40th anniversary of house music, artists that have been in Chicago for so long came together to form the new Chicago wave..

The New Chicago Wave kickstarted when artists in the scene began working together more and making sure the community being uplifted was the priority. Artists and curators like Waterr, GQ tha Teacha, APJ Films, Brittney Carter and others started curating multiple shows in 2024 that sold out ten times over because of the audience having a love for Chicago hip-hop and it’s many different genres overall. Artists and fans alike are coming together to keep uplifting the fact that everyone can be acknowledged at the same time for being amazing in your art form. All of this led to the artist Goalden Chyld being acknowledged in huge ways for his community work and being cosigned by community legends like Larry Hoover JR., just as his debut album “War Cry” charted to number three on the hip-hop charts. It charted past Ye’s “Vultures” album..

While all of this is taking place there was a photo shoot curated by some of the individuals apart of the new wave. Other platforms challenged the concept by saying that the name was somehow taking away from what already was being highlighted in the scene from the blog era. Some of the artists and curators apart of the wave began to point out that the new wave term itself is a play on words to acknowledge what had taken place in the Chicago blog era. They also continued to point out that the new Chicago wave is a mentality centered in unity and collaboration. Even more importantly it wasn’t a list that folks weren’t able to be apart of. If you care about the future of this city and want it to be better you are apart of the new wave. Those same artists have been responding in their own ways to let the world know that the new Chicago wave is a mentality based on collaboration and unity that is growing more and more. One of those artists is the legendary Joel Q..

Q had a incredible year in 2024 building with some of the cities very best and doubling down in his support of the new Chicago wave by contributing to documentaries and conversations centered around the future of Chicago’s sound and culture. Joel Q has been very intentional about making his statements very clear and concise in regards to how things can change in the scene/industry for the better. Through his powerful album releases and opening up for legends like Rhapsody Q has been building on the foundation of what is quality and life changing music coming from Chicago. With 2025 in full effect Q wastes no time in speaking on his truths and challenging the status quo of the industry world wide. With the “Drill is Dead” conversation building momentum and opinions around Q’s stand against the negativity surrounding it he responds in the best way possible, releasing a powerful and soul bearing record..

“Dear Future Hip-Hop” is an incredible record that speaks on the climates of the scene/industry that has been the same for over forty years. He holds no punches as he speaks on his own actions in the Chicago music scene and because he didn’t want to be overlooked made moves that could have helped shape the narrative of how Drill Music has come to be. He delivers so many picture perfect bars that explains the foundations of our education system, our music industry in Chicago and how it can be clout driven and harmful, and how the mentality of drill music is no longer going to be overlooked. The level of story telling Q constructs on this record is so important as we continue to see the conversations around “Drill is Dead” play out and how we must view the platforms that have benefited from the negatives coming from the drill music genre. Rumors are that Joel Q will be gearing up to put out another album soon. While we wait for his next move take a listen and let us know what you think..