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Bless has asked me to retire the usual photo that I post whenever I put up one of his tracks, so instead here's a picture of another one of Chicago's finest.
I first heard Bless 1, the Chicago producer and MC who's been featured several times on this site, on a freestyle he did as part of Oh Word's tribute to J Dilla. It was just a "freestyle," but the lyrics made me stop the track and play it back several times just to catch all of the little details that Bless had scattered throughout. Though I've spent less than a day of my lifetime in Chicago, after listening to Bless' freestyle I felt like I had an intimate understanding of the city.
That ability to paint a picture with his lyrics, an ability that, sadly, no longer seems to be a requirement for an MC to get a record deal, has become a signature of all of Bless' songs. Whether he's talking about his hometown of Chicago, the struggles of an unsigned artist or, as in today's track, reflecting on life itself, Bless 1 always manages to continue on the tradition of storytelling that too often seems like a lost art in today's hip hop.
As dope as he is as an MC, though, it should also be noted that he's a pretty damn good producer too. I don't know how this dude has remained unsigned, but I'd imagine its only a matter of time before he starts getting some shine from more than just hip hop blogs.
Here's one of his newest tracks:
Bless 1 - My Existence
Bless 1 is currently working on a mixtape that he plans to release at some point this summer, featuring a mix of original beats from producers that he's been working with and beats jacked from some of his favorite producers. He let me listen to a couple of the tracks, and it's sounding top notch so far. He also has a second mixtape with French producer Rhythm From Art in the works (though that project seems to have been put on pause for the moment).
For the previous Bless 1 songs that have been featured on this site, click here.
And to hear even more from Bless, including a new freestyle over a Madlib beat, hit up his MySpace page.
5/13/2007 5:28:29 PM posted by Fresh