Red Bull Music Festival Chicago presented a late-night music event called Futurehood & Friends at the Wicker Park nightspot Subterranean.
The concert venue filled two floors with people from the LGBT community ready to be entertained with a variety of talent. Many were from the Chicago-based, LGBTQ-centric label Futurehood that is spearheaded by rapper Mister Wallace and producer Anthony "aCeb00mbaP," also known as aCe, Pabey.
Although no longer working with Futurehood, trans artist KC Ortiz is still a friend with the collective. Ortiz brought fierce raps and beats to the dimly lit stage upstairs.
DJs played in between brief set ups for performers Blu Bone and Kidd Kenn.
Born and raised in Chicago, openly gay rapper Roy Kinsey performed with his two moms for his segment. He took the crowd to church and described his choir background earlier in the evening sitting down with Windy City Times, "We used to sing "Joyful, Joyful" from Sister Act 2. I had the rap part. I have been doing this for a very long time. In fifth grade, I wrote my first rap song. In college, I put my first album out."
Although he had always written songs about men, he musically came out on his third album Beautiful Only where he addressed someone of the same sex. He feels he is growing into his voice on his new 11-track album, Blackie: A Story by Roy Kinsey.
His song "Ring Ring" was inspired by his husband and that, in turn, inspired the jacket and hat Kinsey wore during the performance.
He brought a duo called Mother Nature to support him toward the end of his set. Kinsey became involved with Futurehood from his college friend aCe and the Banjo Report, a weekly dance party that aCe threw that later turned into Futurehood. "We bonded through music and culture," Kinsey said.
The operation of Futurehood was started by aCe and Mister Wallace in 2016 with the release of the FAGGOT EP. Wallace was the headliner for the Subterranean show, bringing an out-of-this-world artistic piece for spectators.
Before his set, he spoke of his live music being improv and playing in the moment. He stated, "I like to vibe it out."
He described himself as "an alien inhabiting a form 3,001 years in the future." His goal is create an identity and evolve along the way as a person.
Futurehood continues to evolve as well, as a movement of artists and chosen family in the Chicago area that simply won't be defined. Wallace explained, "We may not be popular in mainstream society, but I am here to create a platform for them. I find the artists from the ether. People can reach out to me and we will find a way to navigate their dreams. I am the cool mom and their life coach!"
For future releases, such as Wallace's upcoming music COOL MOM, visit Futurehood.net .