Rembering Julian Malone..

The Chicago music scene/industry has always been a mystery to many individuals that can’t understand it’s roots or it’s influence on almost every important moment in human history. Sometimes it’s hard to understand how a city that’s in the middle of the country that’s so small and yet so enormous can have such a powerful and historic connection with the entire world. The many special moments that helps one really form a love relationship with the music and art that can be created from this city is something to be studied and understood, especially when it comes to the birth of certain flows and creative inspiration coming from Chicago’s very best. Specifically speaking on the blog era and definitely before that, it’s still so many artists that pioneered the different growing sounds that are just starting to be recognized coming from Chicago and never were fully recognized for it. One of those artists is the phenomenal Julian Malone..

To understand just how important Julian Malone is to the blog era you have to know the powerful impact that came from the group 2008ighties. The Chicago music scene was booming because of the drill music genre but something else was growing with a powerful force within the open mic scenes that make up Chicago. Emcees like Femdot, Murph Watkins, Kembe X, Rapper Chicks, ShowYouSuck, Caleb James and so many others were making a powerful impact on the music scene/industry. This being said the collectives that were forming in the scene were making a powerful impact you couldn’t ignore if you were really looking for Chicago talent. Collectives like OnGuad productions, THEMPeople, Higher Learning, Modern Vintage, Treated Crew, Savemoney, Outsiders Clique and so many others were shaking things up but the collective 2008ighties just moved different. You couldn’t get away from how 2008ighties truly were in their own element and were effortlessly carving their own lane not only in the city but the blog era overall. Calez, Legit, Fonz-E Mak (now nofonefonz), Johnny St. Cloud, UG, & LA Van Gogh (now Galaxy Francis) had no shame at all being from different parts of the city and suburbs that at the time wasn’t always being uplifted. Their music truly was changing the city..

Julian Malone and his team created records that truly have grown better with time because of the care and love they put behind how they structured their entire creative direction on projects and content they made overall. They never shied away from the humble beginnings they had which made them more relatable artists and individuals. This was during the same time that legends like Mac Miller and Wiz Khalifa were also coming up. This team was creating music that was just as impactful as the artists that we have always heard about in the last ten years. But you couldn’t get away from how special of an emcee and talent that was Julian Malone. His honesty and creative direction helped him create some legendary bodies of work that to this day if you are aware of his music you always will play it because of the quality that was attached to it. Yes it’s on Soundcloud, but that was the way the world received new music during the blog era. Malone knew that and made some records that are doing nothing but getting better with time..

Malone truly created some of the most timeless records for one of his most known projects “Enemy”, which was also pushed by legendary platforms Rubyhornet and 2dopeboyz. His honesty and surreal emotions accompanied with phenomenal self production made his records hit in a way that was breaking creative boundaries as far as what was the creative norm and what was a popular sound back then. Malone never aimed to make any music that was popular, he always believed in creating music that challenged the normalcy of how life can be. His ability to be street knowledgeable in his bars by using certain slang only folks very familiar with the city would understand put him in a league of his own. That’s why the records he made with the artist Calez Ceito are so amazing because they both figured out how to really add their personality to the music they made. With each member of 2008ighties Malone collaborated with he brought something out of them that only made the music they made as a collective even more unique and powerful. That was one of the many reasons Malone was able to sign to the legendary Stones Throw records..

Julian Malone might not be in this world with us anymore but his legacy is truly in the team he was apart of and in the souls of the many that knew his music and influence on the blog era. His touch on the music industry will continue to grow as those who really were inspired by him will continue to uplift his memory by doing what he wanted the most, listening to his music and growing as human beings..